I was planning on playing Quick Quads at the South Point. The four machines were full. I knew two of the players and one told me she was leaving in fifteen minutes. Continue reading A New Experience
How Not to Do It
I have a friend who works at a casino in another state. He called and asked me if I knew of a player who lives in North Las Vegas named “Sam Hill.” I asked why he wanted to know and he said the player had come to his casino and the casino wanted to know if he was an advantage player. I said I wasn’t interested in giving my opinion of a player’s abilities to casinos. I then asked what made the casino think he was a good player. Continue reading How Not to Do It
I Expect to be IDed at the Door: What Now?
Since Vegas is a resort destination, there are families with kids staying in the hotels. By design, access to the hotels, restaurants, and other amenities requires people—including minors—to pass through casino areas. That’s why Vegas doesn’t ID people for age at the door. Continue reading I Expect to be IDed at the Door: What Now?
“Should I Be a Gambler?”
I was recently teaching a free video poker class at the South Point. One of my students was accompanied by his 28 year-old son who normally lives near Cleveland. The son was considering moving to Las Vegas to be a professional gambler and wanted my opinion/advice as to whether or not he should. Continue reading “Should I Be a Gambler?”
We Make Too Many Wrong Mistakes
A version of this column originally appeared several years ago in Casino Player magazine. Since the title refers to a quote by Yogi Berra who passed away in late September of this year, I thought I’d resurrect the column as a tribute to him. Rest in peace, Yogi. Continue reading We Make Too Many Wrong Mistakes
Bonnie’s Freeroll
As I’ve mentioned previously, Bonnie and I married in May of last year. Bonnie has no interest or ability in gambling, but she accepts that this is what I do.
Continue reading Bonnie’s Freeroll
Tells: Dealer Has a Bad Attitude, #1-3
Obviously you can see when a dealer is grumpy, argumentative, cocky, or lazy, but of course dealers may make a modicum of effort (the key word there: modicum) to suppress such a bad appearance. That’s where we employ tells, subtle clues, some based on dealing procedure, that give away that the dealer has a bad attitude. You should avoid dealers with bad attitudes—they will cost you money sooner or later. In the best case, they’ll toke hustle you to death; in the worst case, they’ll snitch. Continue reading Tells: Dealer Has a Bad Attitude, #1-3
It’s a Matter of Money
Money is an integral part of gambling at video poker. Some people can probably enjoy the game just as much when playing at home on a computer program, but most of us want money involved in the equation. The chance to win or lose is part of the excitement.
Continue reading It’s a Matter of Money
When to Show ID
Another excellent post by James Grosjean in his Las Vegas Advisor blog called “Beyond Numbers” occurred in mid August. Continue reading When to Show ID
A History Lesson: The Plaza Solution
Years ago, new management at the Union Plaza in downtown Las Vegas tried a grand experiment: they liberalized the blackjack rules and raised the limits. The chip design was modernized, and the cage gracefully handled bigger cashouts with no questions asked. As part of the marketing of this new philosophy (as if “bet more, win more” were some clever, new idea), they held a high-stakes poker tournament and even got some TV crews in there. The goal was to bring some big action back to downtown Vegas. Their experiment worked! Heh heh.