It\u2019s been a long time since I addressed this subject. The opportunity to actually do it hasn\u2019t happened recently, so you should know that the situation I\u2019m about to describe is fictitious, not factual. Still, the situation does happen periodically and knowing how to handle it when it does happen is worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m playing $2 NSU at the South Point and a lady next to me is playing $1 9\/6 Double Double Bonus. She\u2019s dealt A\u2666 J\u2666 3\u2666 Q\u2666 K\u2666<\/span>. She doesn\u2019t know me, but since I\u2019m playing my game rapidly (by her standards) she assumes I\u2019m knowledgeable and she asks me whether she should hold four or five cards?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n The answer is easy. The flush is worth $30, and I know that four-to-the royal is worth a bit more than $92. The only reason I have that number memorized is because I teach classes and we discuss this situation in every class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I tell her, \u201cDrop the 3, say a prayer, and go for it! I can\u2019t guarantee it will work this time, but it\u2019s the best play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She mutters something like she\u2019s been losing. Throwing away a guaranteed $30 really hurts because she never connects on these four-to-the-royal chances anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I consider whether I should offer her $75 and I will assume her risk. If she gets the royal, I get $4,000, and if she gets a high pair, a straight, or another flush that money is offset from the $75. She\u2019s worried about losing a guaranteed $30. Surely a guaranteed $75 in her hand must be better than that! I don\u2019t tell her I\u2019m making $17+ in expected value on the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are the things I should consider before I actually say this out loud to her:<\/p>\n\n\n\n With all that considered, I\u2019m going to keep my mouth shut and pass. I either lose money or potentially open up a hornet\u2019s nest. I can\u2019t win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the situation were changed so that I was negotiating with somebody I knew and trusted, and there was an independent witness both of us also knew and trusted, then maybe. But still, probably not. If it\u2019s remembered by the other person as me costing them $4,000, it\u2019s easy to see hard feelings erupt that could kill whatever friendship we had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So again, even with the situation modified, I still probably wouldn\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s been a long time since I addressed this subject. The opportunity to actually do it hasn\u2019t happened recently, so you should know that the situation I\u2019m about to describe is fictitious, not factual. Still, the situation does happen periodically and knowing how to handle it when it does happen is worthwhile. I\u2019m playing $2 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15763,"featured_media":6498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"An Opportunity or a Predicament? by Bob Dancer","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[601,558,643,557],"tags":[1002,561,810,585],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121943"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15763"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Complaining to the casino would be awkward, at best. While I\u2019m known at the South Point and am considered believable, on a he-says-she-says matter I doubt if they\u2019d pay me. I\u2019d be putting the South Point in an awkward situation that probably won\u2019t work, and may hurt me in the long run. I can just see a manager thinking, \u201cRemember that time Dancer tried to take that lady\u2019s jackpot?\u201d\u00a0 I want no part of that.
Taking her to small claims court is both tedious and, without anything in writing, what\u2019s the judge going to do? My guess is that the judge would keep the status quo, meaning she keeps the money. Even if the judge splits it down the middle and gives me $2000, that means the $75 I offered up front was too much.\u00a0<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
It takes no genius to imagine that she\u2019ll feel she got ripped off by me. Even though I gave her a reasonable price given my tax situation, it was not a reasonable price given hers. Voices could be raised. Potentially a crowd could gather with me being considered the bad guy. A \u201crich\u201d man taking advantage of a \u201cpoor\u201d woman.\u00a0<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n