What's more American than Mom, apple pie, and baseball? Would you believeMom, apple pie, and casinos? It's true. Americans are visiting casinosmore than they visit Major League baseball parks!
With all this participation, are Americans becoming expert at gambling? Dothey know their odds and the ways to improve their odds the way they usedto know baseball stats? If we are to judge by the billions of dollarsdropped in casinos each year, the answer is a resounding "NO."
If winning at the casino is the new American dream, it seems to be a dreamthat comes true for very few - except the owners of the establishments.We'll assume you are not an owner. Then what can you do to improve yourchances of winning a piece of the American casino pie? How can you changeyour luck?
Would you believe that your "luck" is really only one factor in the game,that there is a lot more going on here than just plain old-fashioned applepie luck?
First, let me ask you a couple more questions. Do you spend more than youintended to on most of your visits to the casino, stay longer than you hadplanned, win far less money than you would like to win? Are you frustratedby your inability to really get ahead but find yourself going back againand again?
If you answered "yes" to these questions, you are solidly in with the vastmajority of people who visit casinos. But, let's look at what "yes"answers imply. Notice that what you are really saying is that you don'tseem to have as much control over your "luck" AND YOUR BEHAVIOR at casinosas you would like to have. Why?
Would you believe good old-fashioned American psychology? It's true -psychology is planned into the casino business!
First of all, there is the general psychology of society's changingattitude. Gambling has increased in popularity in good part because it isno longer perceived as terribly immoral - even the government has given itsapproval. Since you're, in effect, looking through society's view ofgambling as an acceptable form of entertainment, it's easy to let yourguard down. It's just an acceptable, harmless way to have some fun. Thisis fine, as long as you either have inexhaustible funds to throw away oryou can keep enough control to spend no more than you can afford. But ifyou want to make your casino visits PAY, then you must change the way youlook at gambling. To make it pay you must look at the casino as youradversary. Now, that's not to say it can't be fun - after all, wouldn't itbe more fun to walk away from your casino-adversary with bucks in yourpocket and a smile on your face than it is to walk away from yourcasino-friend with empty pockets?
But the psychology part is more involved and complicated than justanalyzing your attitude and society's attitude. Casinos consciously anddeliberately exploit known psychological responses to control your gamblingbehavior. Knowing some of their methods will help put you back in control.
We all know that casinos are set up to give the casino a mathematical edge.They are in the business to make money, after all. What you may not knowis that your mathematical odds of winning are affected by the length ofyour visit. The longer you stay, the poorer your odds of winning are.That's mathematical. The casinos, then, use psychological methods topersuade you to stay longer - the longer you stay, the greater the oddsthat they win.
The design of the casinos - the colors, the lighting, the space, thechairs, the smells in the air, everything - is analyzed for maximum comfortand appeal. The operators figure that anything that can keep you playingjust another five minutes each visit can add millions to their take.
Let's take a critical look at some common casino practices.
Special promotions, for instance. Some are designed to get you into theplace, others to keep you there just a little longer.
The free or cheap meals - an all around winner for the casino - will bringsome people in for a bargain meal. How many will leave without dropping atleast some money in the games? Most will end up paying dearly for that"cheap" meal, but will forget that the next time they want to go out for anice, "cheap" meal. But there's another aspect to it. If you are alreadyat the games, a cheap meal conveniently available in the casino will keepyou in the building at mealtime. You'll be away from the games for aminimum length of time.
The fairly new bill acceptors on slot machines keep you at your play. Whenyou are out of change, you don't have to wait around or walk to the changebooth for more coin. This adds to your playing time - your playing time ismoney - for the casinos.
Casinos operators carefully plan their lighting. You may have noticed thatwhen you are in a casino it is difficult to determine whether it is day ornight. This is deliberate. Remember, they like you (or your money) somuch they want you to extend your visit. If they can get you to drop youusual time consciousness, you'll stay longer.
Colors are chosen to trigger automatic responses. Slot machines areoutfitted in colors that will attract and hold gamblers. Sophisticatedcolor combinations are used to minimize the time you will spend slothopping.
Many casino operators add a scent to the air. Think that's silly? In anexperimental test the scent was shown to increase substantially the numberof coins customers dropped into the slots - very substantially, about 45percent.
Most of these techniques add greatly to your comfort as well as sometimestriggering an automatic psychological response. If your visit is pleasant,you will stay longer, play looser with your bankroll, and come back again.
Other techniques have little or nothing to do with your comfort and aresimply exploitive. You are simply the "white rat" - the unsuspectingvictim of psychological games.
For instance, the payout system of the slots. In the last thirty years,psychology has even been applied to that. The system of paying tinywinnings often is that new. How was it done before? Well if you won, youwon a reasonable amount, but the payoffs were infrequent. What is theadvantage of frequent small payoffs? It is the psychological "promise" ofa big win. You will be enticed into staying longer and risking more money.
Putting in a few "hot" machines is also an application of psychology. Yoursearch for the "hot" machine is motivated by the psychological "promise" ofa lucky streak. Again, you'll stay longer and risk more.
Some casinos will give you small denominations as change for large billsor, at the tables, small denominations of chips. The reason? Because, aswe all know, it is easier to spend a dollar than it is to spend a twenty.Psychological? Of course.
Ever notice how wins are played up? The real coin that's dropped intometal slot pan when someone wins is deliberate. The noise excites you.The bells and whistles that attend a really big win are also deliberateattention-getters and exciting. The casinos make a big deal over wins -but losing is pretty quiet. The excitement of the noise stirs you to tryto win. But there is more. All the attention given to winning makes itseem like there is more winning going on than there really is.
OK. Now you know that in the eyes of the casino you're merely a "whiterat" from whom they are trying to extract the most they can. What can youdo about it? Although occasionally casinos go too far and a practice isoutlawed, you really can't do much about changing their use of tricks. Butwhen you are aware of them, you can guard yourself against reactingautomatically. You can put yourself back in control.
So, is being in control going to change your "luck"? Well, it will help.But you have to know how to use that control to your advantage.
First, you know that your odds of winning decrease in ratio to the lengthof your visit at the casino. So with your new control you will make yourvisits shorter. You will be aware of your surroundings and try to note thetricks the casino is using to influence you. Conscious awareness will makethem less effective. Pick you games according to your own system - notaccording to the casino's planned influence.
But you must also be aware of the things you can do to increase your oddsin a given game. We will discuss a couple of the most popular games.
Slot machines - Most slot machines have three reels. The number ofcombinations for lining them up depends on the number of symbols on eachreel. Most machines have between 20 and 28 symbols per reel. To figureout how many combinations there are, you multiply the number of symbols oneach reel times itself as many times as there are reels. For instance, thefewest combinations that there probably are on a three reel slot are: 20symbols per reel with 3 reels - so we take 20 times 20 times 20 - or 8000combinations. So theoretically a certain winning combination would, on theaverage, appear once in every 8000 spins of the reels.
Each machine can be set for a rate of payback. Let's say a quarter machinehas a payback of 90 percent (the usual rate on quarter machines is 86 to 90percent). That would mean that for every 100 quarters dropped into themachine it would pay back 90 quarters. The dollar machines often pay backbetween 97 and 99 percent.
The progressive slots are linked together so that a coin played in any ofthe link-up will increase the size of the jackpot. You don't have a chanceat the jackpot unless you play the maximum number of coins. Since thelarge jackpot games must reduce the amount paid in smaller winnings, youwould be better off playing other machines unless you are willing to put inthe maximum and go for the jackpot.
The best odds are on the dollar slots. They usually have the greatestpayback - as we said, payback is between 97 and 99 coins for each coinplayed.
Some slot methods to increase your odds-
Start out with only an amount of money you can afford to loose. Keep thesecoins separate from any other money, including your winnings. Play allyour start-up coins. Now tally up your winnings. If you have less coinsthan you started with, go to a different machine, and using these coinsstart over. If you have more than you started with, put your start-upamount in your pocket. Then put an additional percentage in your pocket -10 percent would be good, but whatever percentage you decide on, make thedecision before you begin playing and stick with it. Now whatever you haveleft after pocketing those amount you use for your start-up coins and beginagain. Then in each additional round you will pocket half the winnings.As you can see, if you come out ahead in the first round and stick to themethod, you will go home a winner. After the first round you will beplaying strictly on winnings. If you don't come out a winner on the firstround, you still have a chance to win and you will loose no more than theamount you originally decided you could afford to loose. But you need tobe in control - this method will be of no help if you decide to change yourrules in the middle of the game.
Another way to play the slots for better winning odds is to form a slotclub with other players. Each person puts up a predetermined amount - makesure it is an amount each of you can afford to contribute regularly. Theamounts put up should be the same for each player. Then you track theprogressive games - you should track them for a while BEFORE you makeattempts to win them. Keep records so you learn the characteristics ofeach progressive game. From these records, your team decides at what pointeach game is pregnant for a payoff. When the jackpot of a givenprogressive reaches that predetermined point, a team made up of some or allof the members takes the club bankroll and plays until they win or gobroke. The key to winning here is to gauge the payoff point.
Slots are not easy to beat and the odds are NEVER in your favor but byputting yourself in control and using these techniques you will have abetter chance of beating the odds than you had before.
Video poker -Video poker is a popular variation of the slot machine. But it is not aslot machine. The odds on a video poker game are greatly dependent on youskill as a player.
First, choose only those machines that pay full scale winnings. Eachcategory of payoff is important, but a rule of thumb is 250 coins for aroyal flush or 4000 coins for a royal flush under a 5 coin play. If theother payoffs are in line with the royal flush payoff, and you are a veryskilled player, theoretically you could have odds VERY slightly in yourfavor. But you must know what you are doing.
For instance, when you are playing Video Jacks or Better - Keep any fullhouse or better. Hold a flush or straight except when drawing to a fourcard royal flush. With a four card flush, three card royal flush, fourcard straight, three card straight flush, three of a kind, two pair,single pair empty your hand to these holds and draw to fill. Draw three totwo high cards and draw four to one high card. Always play the maximumcoins to take advantage of the bonus for a royal flush.
Black Jack -Black Jack is another very popular casino game in which it is possible totip the odds VERY slightly in your favor, if you know what you are doing.It takes a serious and determined player to master the strategies toaccomplish this, however. NEVER think that because you can tip the odds inyour favor that you will win all of the time. EVERYONE looses some of thetime so NEVER play with money you can't afford to loose.
Blackjack, as played in the world's casinos, has a number of variations -certain rules that apply in one casino may not apply in another. You willhave to learn to adjust your game, if you travel from one casino toanother. Some of the variations highly favor the casino, so to keep theodds favorable, you must avoid those variations and options that cut yourodds.
OK. Most of the Black Jack games you will find are multiple-deck games. Asingle deck does give you slightly better odds. We will assume you areplaying in a single deck game. With your new control, we will also assumeyou are playing with a bankroll that you have determined you can afford toloose. Now, you will need some real strategy to lower the odds againstyou.
First since the ace is countable as either one or 11, any hand you holdthat contains an ace is a special hand - it can be counted low, with theace as one, or it can be counted high, with the ace as 11. This two-wayhand follows needs some special strategy rules.
First, start out counting it as a high hand. Then if the dealer's showingcard is an eight, nine, ten, or ace, you should stand on a count of 19 ormore and draw to a count of 18 or less. But if the dealer's showing cardis a two, three, four, five, or six, stand on a count of 18 or more anddraw to a count of 17 or less.
Using this strategy for a two-way hand, you will never stand until yourcount is 18 or more. When you draw to a two-way hand, if your high countgoes over 21, you then begin a low count. At this point you will, ineffect, no longer have an optional two-way hand so you will begin using thestrategy for a regular hand.
The strategy for a regular hand is a bit more involved. Whether you standor draw is always determined by the dealer's showing card.
If the dealer is showing a two, three, or four, you stand on 13 or more.
If the dealer is showing a five or six, you stand on 12 or more.
If the dealer is showing a seven, eight, or nine, you stand on 17 or more.
If the dealer is showing a ten or ace, you stand on 16 or more.
Notice that in using this strategy, you will always draw to a count of twoto 11 and always stand on a count of 17 or more as long as you are notholding a two-way hand.
When you are offered the option of doubling down use it in this manner:
When you are holding nine, double down when the dealer is showing a two,three, four, five, or six. When you are holding ten, double down unlessthe dealer is showing a 10-count or an ace. When you are holding aneleven, always double down. When you are holding a two-way hand with acount of 12, 13, 14, 15,16, or 17, double down when the dealer is showing asix.
When you are offered the option of splitting pairs:
Split twos and threes when the dealer is showing an eight, nine, ten, orace. Never split fours, fives, sixes, or tens. Split sevens when thedealer is showing two, three, four, five, six, seven, or eight. Spliteights unless the dealer is showing a nine or ten. Split nines unless thedealer is showing a seven, ten, or ace. Never split tens. Always splitaces when it is an option.
When you are offered the option of doubling down:
When you are holding a count of ten double down unless the dealer isshowing a 10-count or an ace. When you are holding a count of elevenalways double down. If you are holding a two-way hand with a count of 12,13, 14, 15, 16, or 17, double down when the dealer is showing a six. Don'tdouble down on other counts.
If you are offered the option of early surrender:
When the dealer is showing an ace, surrender 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17unless you have a two-way hand. When the dealer is showing a 10-count,surrender 14, 15, 16 unless you have a two way hand. When the dealer isshowing 9, surrender 6, 7, 9, 10.
If you are offered the option of insurance bets:
Don't use it unless you are a skilled card counter.
There have been some new options offered recently in some casinos. Be verywary of these, especially the ones with attractive pay-offs. Most of themhave very poor odds for you.
It is a good idea to find a table where the casino is not doing too well.When you find a winning table, play it. There is, of course, no guaranteethat the house loosing streak will continue.
You must exercise control. When you are having a day when the cards justaren't working, leave the table and go home. Under no circumstancesincrease your bets in hope of recovering losses. When you are having agood day and your cards are running strong, go ahead, increase your bets.When things begin to sour, leave the table and go home. Using this method,you will always cut your losses and always retain a portion of yourwinnings.
No strategy will work well if you don't know every rule. You must studyand practice your strategy so that you can make the right decisions at thetable. And remember, your bankroll should never exceed what you can affordto loose.
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