{"id":122708,"date":"2022-06-28T09:15:49","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T16:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/?p=122708"},"modified":"2022-06-28T09:15:55","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T16:15:55","slug":"in-case-of-recession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/in-case-of-recession\/","title":{"rendered":"In Case of Recession"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Richard Munchkin and I received the following question for our mailbag show on Gambling with an Edge<\/em>. I think my complete answer is too involved to answer on the podcast, so I\u2019m going to attempt it here. The question was:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both of you were active APs (I think, anyway) during one of the worst recessions of the last century, in 2008. What meaningful effect did this have on casinos and on your work? Did games tighten up? Comps? Do you have any advice for APs in the event of a deep recession (hypothetically of course…)?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since my expertise is primarily video poker, I\u2019m going to address that here. But most of what I have to say would apply to any game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy to understand why our listener wishes this information. After all, if we know exactly what\u2019s coming, it\u2019s easier to prepare. It\u2019s like a lawyer knowing exactly what the other side is going to say. That\u2019s simpler to prepare for than if the opposition can say anything they want. Unfortunately, life doesn\u2019t work that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2008 recession you mention was caused primarily by a failure in the sub-prime housing market. There may well be another recession soon, but it very likely won\u2019t be caused by that. In other words, next time will be different than last time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2008 recession hasn\u2019t been the only recent shock to the system. There was 9\/11 back in 2001 and restarting after the pandemic in 2020. Casinos made huge adjustments for those situations too. There have been other such situations in the past, and we\u2019re guaranteed to have more coming. We just don\u2019t know exactly when, how severe, and the exact nature of the next such situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have to assume that casino executives are trying to do well for their casinos. They tried things in 2001, 2008, and 2020. Some worked. Some didn\u2019t. These executives attempt to learn from that experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added to this uncertainty, it\u2019s a fair guess that different casinos will try different things — and that most of them will make adjustments on the fly depending on how things worked for them initially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, while we can safely conclude that we don\u2019t know exactly what\u2019s coming, there are some things we can do to prepare. Some of my suggestions may be controversial, especially the first one. You are welcome to disagree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how I\u2019m preparing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Maintain a cash bankroll sufficient to last several months. This will go against the grain for people who believe that since we\u2019re in an inflationary period, we\u2019re losing money if our assets are in cash. That\u2019s true, of course, but assets in the stock market, real estate, crypto, NFTs, etc., can easily lose a lot more. Especially in a recession. There will be casino opportunities. You don\u2019t want to be shut out because your money is tied up.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    1. Up your game.  Some casinos will remove their loosest games. That\u2019s the go-to move for some casino executives when facing hard times. So examine the second-best and third-best games in the casino now. If they\u2019re still positive considering everything, start to learn them. At least obtain good strategies and practice. You may not need to go to a lesser game, but you might. And the more you know, the more you can exploit different promotions.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      1. Upping your game does not have to be limited to staying in video poker. Whether it\u2019s poker, blackjack, sports betting, slots, or any other game, there are plenty of opportunities to exploit. The more arrows you have in your quiver . . . <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        1. Start reading promotion rules more closely. During a recession, promotions will very likely be different than they are today. Possibly better. Probably worse. If you assume things are staying the same, you\u2019re going to be taking the worst of it.

          In addition, the people in charge of rewriting the rules may not give the job the attention it deserves. They will probably start with the rules they already have and make adjustments. This is not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes they don\u2019t change everything they want to change. If you know the rules inside out, occasionally you can talk them into something extra when they goof up.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
          1. Scout. This should always be part of your game plan, but over time you\u2019ve decided that Casino A is good and Casino B is bad, and have stopped looking at Casino B. During recessions, things change. Maybe Casino B will make an adjustment in your favor.

            Other casinos loosen up things during the recession because they still want players and players will have less disposable cash. You won\u2019t know until you check.
            <\/li>
          2. Finally, don\u2019t blow your bankroll on lousy games. Don\u2019t play unless a game is worth playing. The recession won\u2019t last forever. Things will change again. If you lose your entire bankroll during the recession, you won\u2019t have any left after it\u2019s over.<\/li><\/ol>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"youtube\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Richard Munchkin and I received the following question for our mailbag show on Gambling with an Edge. I think my complete answer is too involved to answer on the podcast, so I\u2019m going to attempt it here. The question was: Both of you were active APs (I think, anyway) during one of the worst recessions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"In Case of Recession by Bob Dancer","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[208,428,60,196],"yoast_head":"\nIn Case of Recession - Gambling With An Edge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/in-case-of-recession\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Case of Recession - Gambling With An Edge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Richard Munchkin and I received the following question for our mailbag show on Gambling with an Edge. 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