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A Different Sort of Shopping Trip

Most of my articles have more to do with gambling than this one does. This one is primarily about an adventure that Bonnie and I had in which we accidentally ended up in a red light district–of sorts.

We were aboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines Epic sailing from Miami to the eastern Caribbean. After two days at sea, our first port of call was Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, the Dutch capital city of a small island which is 2/3 French (and considered part of Europe) and 1/3 Dutch (and is considered part of the Netherlands Antilles.) We decided we needed to go shopping. Continue reading A Different Sort of Shopping Trip

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Sharing a Bankroll

It’s been more than a year since Shirley and I parted ways, and this past April I began seeing a lady named Bonnie. That relationship is going very well and we plan to marry this coming May. Prior to our wedding, Bonnie and I have had to arrive at a financial understanding regarding my gambling profession. I’m certain that other couples have had to deal with similar situations.

In financial terms, both Bonnie and I are reasonably comfortable. Although her relatives like me well enough, it scares them to death that she could actually be sharing her estate with a professional gambler who might need her to bail him out from bankruptcy. Although I feel that I’m at the top of my craft and believe that there is essentially a zero chance of me ever losing all of my assets, her relatives don’t understand that. In their mind ‘gambler’ means ‘loser in the long run.’ Continue reading Sharing a Bankroll

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The Denominator—Where “Due” Happens

After a weekend of listening to football broadcasters, I need to detox. I still feel this zinger from a few weeks ago during the Sunday Night Football broadcast:  the commentator noted that Adam Vinatieri, the kicker for the Indianapolis Colts, had a career record of 18 of 36 when attempting field goals over 50 yards, and a season record of 2 of 4 at that distance.  No matter how you look at it, he said, it’s a 50-50 proposition.  Then Vinatieri kicked the field goal, upping his record on the season to 3 out of 5 from long range.  Then the commentator quipped, “So I bet he misses the next one.”

Continue reading The Denominator—Where “Due” Happens

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Moral Failings

A few weeks ago, I wrote that Bonnie and I had gone on a road trip where we had a choice of registering on-line for the room only ($60) or the room with an included continental breakfast ($70). We chose the room only but indulged in the breakfast anyway.

I predicted in the article that some people would get very self-righteous about this. The most over-the-top comment on vpFREE about this was by someone calling himself Bob Joseph (possibly his real name — I don’t know), who wrote: Continue reading Moral Failings

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A Look at Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas

Las Vegas has a colorful history, to say the least. I’ve read several books about it and I knew that Jay Sarno was the name of the man who created Caesars Palace (which opened in 1966) at the tail-end of the mob era in Las Vegas. That was the limit of my knowledge about Jay Sarno.

David G. Schwartz, Director of Gaming Research at UNLV, has written a biography about Sarno called Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas. Richard Munchkin and I decided to schedule him to appear on our Gambling with an Edge radio show partly because it was a good excuse for both of us to read the book and learn more about a prominent figure in Las Vegas history. And since I read the book well enough to ask questions about it on the radio interview, it gives me enough information to share with you. Continue reading A Look at Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas

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Pushback and Bayes’ Rule

I’m only one post into this blogging adventure and I’m getting pushback from the cognoscenti. In my intro post, I advised APs to avoid using the word “stuck.” A player then tells me, “Using that word doesn’t make you a pro—it just makes you old school.” Sigh. I’m not sure where to start. First of all, you don’t want to be old school! You want to be an idiot tourist, one of the millions of new gamblers who only recently discovered the wonders of the Pairs Plus when gambling (er, “gaming”) was finally legalized in their state last year. You want to be the guy who boasts to his friends that he now has been to Vegas 6 times, oblivious to the fact that knowing the exact number undermines the spirit of his boast.  On top of that, guess who defended “stuck” as an acceptable word in a casino? None other than a longtime professional player who is a member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame! QED! Continue reading Pushback and Bayes’ Rule

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Bankroll Misgivings

The two best video poker bankroll calculators I’m aware of are found in Video Poker for Winners and Dunbar’s Risk Analyzer for Video Poker. They use different techniques and each has some features the other does not. When analyzing the same problems, the bankroll numbers they come up with are extremely close to each other.

I conclude that both products give us excellent mathematical calculations — assuming the players play accurately and consistently. I’ve used both of them to estimate “Can I afford this?” before embarking on a play. I feel fortunate to be associated with the VPW version. Continue reading Bankroll Misgivings

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Sometimes I Prefer Unfair Games

A recent thread on the vpFREE bulletin board began with a complaint that the kiosk games at an unnamed casino were unfair. Seems that when the poster was prompted to choose among five or so different icons, he always received something like 3,000 points valued at $3. After he made his choice, the prizes behind the other icons were displayed, showing that prizes up to 500,000 points were available.

He played enough to correctly come to the conclusion that the game was rigged and he had no chance for the bigger prizes. He was questioning the legality and fairness of having kiosk games like this. Continue reading Sometimes I Prefer Unfair Games

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Analyzing 3-Card Royal Flush Draws

There are 10 different 3-card royal flush draws: AKQ, AKJ, AKT, AQJ, AQT, AJT, KQJ, KQT, KJT, and QJT. For today’s discussion, we are looking at these combinations in games without wild cards where you get your money back for a pair of jacks, queens, kings, or aces.

These 3-card royals are not all equal in value. There are some combinations that are always superior to other combinations regardless of the pay schedule. There are others where “it depends.” Continue reading Analyzing 3-Card Royal Flush Draws