Richard Munchkin received a note from a Gambling with an Edge listener about a subject to talk about. The note referred to a casino where the formerly 8/5 Bonus machines were recently downgraded to 7/5. Part of the note said: Continue reading Picking Up Free Play
Category: Casino Games
Being Good at Everything
I have two good friends, “Thelma” and “Louise,” who are married to each other. I’ve been friends with Thelma for more than a decade, Louise about half that long, and Bonnie and I happily attended their wedding last year.
Thelma is very bright and has been successful at a number of things. She’s also very well-off financially. She’s a pretty strong video poker player, but doesn’t concentrate on learning all of the smallest details. “Why spend hours memorizing rare hands that will save me a tenth of a penny once every two years?” she asks. “I don’t need the money and life’s too short to spend my time on shit like that.” (If you don’t like that language, take it up with Thelma — not me.) Continue reading Being Good at Everything
My Wife Thinks This is Cheating
Dear Mr. Dancer:
My wife Doris and I regularly play at a Mid-West casino. I’d rather not tell you which one. Near the end of last year, they had a “Twelve Days of Christmas” promotion which was pretty good.
On each of twelve days, if you had an Elite card and played $500 through on decent video poker machines, you could come in and pick up a scratcher. Scratchers awarded at least $10 in free play once you scratched the silvery cover off, often much more, and were supposed to range up to $1,000 — but I never saw one that high. Continue reading My Wife Thinks This is Cheating
Tells: Dealer Toke Hustling
After a session playing with rookies, I like to ask, “What did you think of those dealers?” or “Who was your favorite employee?” Heat management is one of the most important aspects of the game, and sizing up the personnel is the key to heat management. “Bullet” and I tend to have identical assessments of the personnel, but the rookies often reach different conclusions. Rookies don’t realize that some of the apparently friendly interaction is nothing more than incessant toke hustling, and that grates on veterans, even those who are generous tokers (which Bullet certainly is, and I’m far from the cheapest myself). Continue reading Tells: Dealer Toke Hustling
Churchill was Right
Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minister during much of World War II. Unlike modern politicians and their political correctness, he smoked a big cigar and enjoyed drinking alcohol in public — sometimes too much so. Continue reading Churchill was Right
Breakeven Point Analysis Leads to Some Strange Conclusions
A version of this article first appeared in 1999, but I haven’t written about it for a long time and many of my readers are newer to the game than that and didn’t see it the first time.
Continue reading Breakeven Point Analysis Leads to Some Strange Conclusions
Knowing When to Quit
I read an article in a poker publication some time ago. It was about a live poker player who recently spent a half-hour run “in the zone.” Apparently there were six major pots, and that writer won five. Then the writer was beaten two hands in a row, determined his streak was over, and left the game up $900. Continue reading Knowing When to Quit
Local Casinos: Economic Revival, or Black Hole?
When the Horseshoe opened in Cleveland a couple years ago, I happened to be in the area for a wedding, and I couldn’t believe how excited these people were to get a casino! They were saying how they’d finally be a real city, and the TV news showed the people lining up on the street to be the first ones in. Everyone was talking about it, and the reporters were even explaining on TV how you had to always put your card into the machine to get your points, and then showed the chart of what the points were worth! Continue reading Local Casinos: Economic Revival, or Black Hole?
Opportunity versus Circumstance
I recently was reminded of a quote by George Bernard Shaw. “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, make them.” Continue reading Opportunity versus Circumstance
How Do I Answer?
I was playing 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe at the South Point on a double point day. A lady I’ve known for years, “Sandy,” sat down to play at the machine next to me. She’s a fairly recent widow and I knew her husband as well. We’re friendly, but not close friends. Continue reading How Do I Answer?