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Hi Gamemaster
Dear Steve,
Yours for winning, Dear Gamemaster,
Dear Richard,
The advice Ellison gives in the book you mentioned is useless. Trends in
roulette and baccarat can only be observed AFTER they happen, not before,
so that's why the casinos are happy to provide scoreboards and other such
devices for the player.
It's not easy making $$$ in the casino, but it can be done. You might want
to read the stories I've done on my friend who is spending a couple of
months trying to be a professional gambler. They're in the "GameMaster's
Secrets" column called "Guerilla Gambling".
Yours for winning,
Gamemaster,
Hi!
All American is a tough game in the short term, despite its great payback;
TomSki (he of Video Poker Strategy Master) calculated that there's a 50-50
chance of losing a bankroll of $1500 at a quarter version of this game, and
a 14%% chance of losing $4200, not counting any slot club cash back. His
recommendation of bankroll size for a 1% risk of 'ruin' is $9756, if one
wishes to play 'forever'. With a 0.5% slot club, that requirement drops to
$5408, so you can see the effect cash back has.
Monday, the 27th, is my birthday, so I don't know where I'll end up. I'm
sure not going to sit around and feel old, though.
Yours for winning,
Dear Gamemaster
Dear Stephen (you were Steve when I thought you were from the U.S. Now that I know you're from Great Britain, you're Stephen),
Yours for winning,
Hi Gamemaster,
And lastly, I am just curious what sort of spread the high rollers use when counting on a $100 minimum table?, As you say you are watched more when playing big, and what can they earn annually?
Hello, Stephen.
To increase your advantage to 1% at the game you described in your previous e-mails, you'll need to play with a 1-12 spread and have the L24 bet out at a true count of 6. But, if you can find a game where 5 of 6 decks are dealt, the same advantage, plus a bit more can be attained with a 1-8 spread. The important consideration here is that you not fool yourself: it really has to be 5 of 6 dealt.
By increasing your bankroll to L1500 (750 'betting units'), you'll decrease your risk of ruin to about 18%. For a 1-12 betting spread at the game you've described, a 10% risk of ruin requires a bankroll of about L2000 and I recommend that as a minimum bankroll, but it shouldn't stop you from playing. Just earmark a portion of your future income to building your playing bankroll and add to it as you go along. As for a 'session' bankroll, it depends upon how long you'll be playing. With a 1-12 spread, 200 units or L400 will suffice for 8 hours' play.
The spread used by a $100 player can vary widely, but as you said, those players are under scrutiny virtually the whole time they're in a casino, BUT there are a lot of places where such action is fairly common. Believe me, I've had bets of $200 out at the Empress Casino in Joliet, IL. and was looked at by the other players as an intruder in the high-roller's game; mine was the smallest bet by far. But to answer your question, generally 'black chip' card counters will sit only at superior games (single- or double-deck), use a 1-4 or 1-6 spread, a lot of 'camouflage', play short (less than an hour) sessions and earn $200+ an hour. But that's a very simplistic view of things. A lot of counters in that category of play 'wong' where possible and use only flat bets of $200-300, or they hire counters to 'call' them into an advantageous game, or finance teams where $25 play is used.
But you need to begin at the beginning and the selection of the game you play is probably more important than anything else, followed by your own discipline at the table. The biggest mistake I see new counters make is that they fail to get the big bets out when the count is high. A big enough spread can ultimately beat any game, and that may take a long time and a lot of $$$, but it's the key to winning. With what you have to risk, just use this as a chance to learn the wonderful skill of counting cards. Who knows, maybe it'll be an Olympic sport someday and we'll meet on the field of green felt.
Yours for winning,
Dude, Hi!
Yours for winning, Some comments from a reader...
Dear GameMaster -
Since reading your initial article concerning online gambling, I have been
musing on the subject myself, and have come up with a few things that may be
of interest/benefit to other readers. (Since VP is my chosen game, several
of my comments deal specifically with that game.)
While it's true that most online casinos don't offer comps per se, most do
offer sign-up bonuses. These vary considerably (some are a straight 10% of
your initial deposit; some offer $50 on your first $200, or percentages on
higher deposits), and only apply to your initial deposit. You also need to
wager an amount equal to your initial deposit plus the bonus before you can
withdraw the bonus. Additional offers may include a referral bonus. Your deposit can be made in a variety of ways: credit card, bank wire
transfer, Western Union. Check the banking area to see what all is
available. Credit cards are virtually universal, but some casinos offer
higher bonuses if you don't use a credit card. You should also be aware that
while many casinos have virtually instant verification of your credit card
deposit, some may take an hour or two (or even more). Other forms of payment
have their own limitations and advantages. As for getting your money back out, read the banking information for each
casino. The usual practice is to pay via whatever conduit you used for your
deposit. For a credit card, they'll credit up to whatever amount you've
charged, then use one of the other payment methods for anything over that.
Also, some casinos charge a fee for any withdrawals. Others allow one free
withdrawal per week or per month, then charge a fee for more than that. One advantage of online casinos is in switching games. If you've been
playing Jacks or Better and want to switch to Deuces Wild, you don't need to
cash out then start pumping coins into the new machine: just exit that part
of the program, launch the new game, and start playing. Switching casinos, though, isn't quite so easy. Certainly it's simple enough
to connect to a different one, but you can't take your money with you as you
can when playing at a live casino. That means that you need to deposit money
in each casino where you want to play. But with the sign-up bonus, and a bit
of luck, this may not always be a disadvantage. How many casinos you'll want to play at "for real" will depend on how much
money you have available, and what games are available at each. So far I've
not found any online casino that has both 9/6 Jacks or Better *and* full-pay
Deuces Wild. So if I want to play both, I need to join two casinos to do
that.
But since you don't get comps for actual play (usually), even a 9/6 Jacks or
Better game isn't as attractive as it is at a live casino, where each hand
counts toward free meals and/or rooms. Basically you probably want to stick
to games that have a 100+% payback to compensate for that lack of comps (the
sign-up bonus helps, but that's a one-shot deal).
Even at those casinos that do have comps (Golden Palace is one that I know
of), you won't accumulate comp points quite as fast as you will playing in
Las Vegas. You may be able to play 800 hands/hour on a real VP machine, but
when playing on the Internet, your speed is determined by server response
time, so you may only be able to play 300 hands/hour...and that's when the
'Net is working well. At times you may only be playing at the rate of 1 hand
per minute!
Which brings up the issue of being disconnected from the casino's server, or
if your ISP drops your Internet connection. This has happened to me a couple
of times, but it's not been a problem. If your wager hasn't made it through
to the casino when the connection drops, on return to the game your balance
will be what it was before you made the bet. If it has gotten through, on
return to the game you should be dealt the hand you were waiting for, and
you can resume play. This only applies when you return to the original game;
if you first go to a different game, the wager on your former game may still
be debited, but it won't carry over to the new game.
If I come up with any more considerations, I'll be sure to send them along.
Hello,
Dear Steve,
No, this isn't the end for counting and you haven't practiced for nothing. I'll tell you why.
The program you're referring to is, I believe, the one used by a few ( the key word here is 'few') casinos to help them determine whether or not a particular player is a counter. As I understand it, the program allows for data input by a surveillance employee in the "eye-in-the-sky" via voice to determine the count of the decks as played and the betting level of the targeted player. It then produces a printout which shows the betting level rising and falling as the count rises and falls. I find it amazing that a casino would spend thousands of $$$ to buy a program that does what any counter can do in his or her mind in merely minutes. I can always tell when I'm at the table with another counter and I usually (but not always) move on when I discover that fact. But I'm getting away from your question here. That program can follow only one player at a time, so the first mistake a counter has to make is to be suspected of counting; only then will s/he be put under surveillance. Secondly, the casino has to have this program (maybe 5% of them do.) And third, the casino has to be observing shoes with some fluctuation in the count; I mean if the count stays negative through the whole shoe, a smart counter is going to bet the minimum, or get up and leave. If it takes 75 hands for this program to determine if a player is counting, that's 5 shoes of play at a six-deck game with a full table and over an hour of observation.
Our counter-measure (no pun intended) is to play a session of less than an hour in casinos which are suspected of having these programs. We know pretty much which ones use it, because they have confronted players with the printouts and those counters have let everyone know. I don't want to publish the list of suspected casinos, since casino employees read this as well, but if you have a favorite spot or two that you'd like the scoop on, e-mail me and I'll share with you what I know. Also, Stanford Wong's monthly newsletter "Current Blackjack News" lists casinos which are believed to use this program. More details on that are available at www.bj21.com/
Go ahead and continue your counting, Steve, as it's highly unlikely that you'll ever come under observation by this program, unless you intend to bet $100 or more per hand.
Yours for winning,
Hello,
Hi, Perry.
Yours for winning, GameMaster,
Hi! I was also there yesterday (triple point day on the slot club card)
and saw where the Royal was. Congratulations on nailing it. For future
reference, that is a 9/6/4 Double Bonus game with a base payout of 96.4% so
the Royal needs to be about $2500 (10,000 coins) to get a 'positive'
expectation. But, hey...you're well ahead of the game now and I'm
delighted to help. We are currently doing a complete revision of our St.
Louis section to include a list of all the good games here, so check back
in a week or so for more ideas.
Yours for winning,
Hello! Currently, I'm in search of a counting system I'll be comfortable with. It doesn't have to give me the very best advantage possible. I'd rather trade a little advantage for some simplicity as long as I do maintain some advantage. I see reference in several of your responses to systems such as 'red 7', 'Ace-5', 'K-O' and 'Hi-Lo'. Is there some reference (online or in print) that will give an explanation of all (or at least most) of these systems? A good analysis of the corresponding advantage would also be nice. I have found in your site info on the Ace-5 and also the Hi-Lo but not on the others.
Thanks, Dear Chad,
Yours for winning, Dear GMO,
Geoff Mangum
Dear Geoff, My site accepts money from casinos only for advertising space and, since I have only a few spots, I'm not afraid of criticizing an advertiser's operation and my evaluations are far more in-depth than any I've seen. You may not be a Video Poker player, for example, but the pay schedule of a game is of paramount interest to those who are and I offer a specific analysis of each game. Also, by playing extensively at a casino, I am able to run certain mathematical tests on my results to at least give me a comfort level on the 'honesty' of a game; I am not aware of any other site that does this. Can I be cheated and not know it? Sure. But it seems to me that the 'cheaters' just close up shop and run with the $$$, rather than use the games to cheat. Internet gambling is, to me, like the 'Old West'; it can be dangerous, but it holds a lot of promise for the future at the same time. The key, to me, is to educate the consumer; something I think I do at my site and something it appears you want to do as well. So, we both want the same thing and I hope you'll feel free to call on me at anytime. As for some places to go, there are very few web sites I can recommend that deal only with on-line gaming, but here's a list of links I think are essential for any 'serious' gambler. Please understand that the emphasis here is on Blackjack and Video Poker, the only two casino games where a skilled player can gain an advantage in a 'real' casino. There are a lot of sites selling systems for roulette, slots, craps, etc. and all of them are worthless, or nearly so, consequently I have nothing to recommend there. Home of the Blackjack Strategy Engine http://www.blackjackinfo.com/ Grinder's Blackjack Simulations http://members.aol.com/bjgrinder2/warehouse.htm Jazbo's Home Page (Video Poker info) http://www.jazbo.com/ Jeff Lotspiech's Video Poker page http://members.aol.com/lotsie/poker.html Blackjack Forum Home Page http://www.rge21.com/main/index4.htm Stanford Wong's Blackjack Page (The best for the game) http://www.bj21.com Conjelco - Gambling gear http://www.conjelco.com/ The Gambler's Archive (relevant articles, studies, musings, etc.) http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/greenbaize21/ The Wizard of Odds (accurate analysis of all casino games) http://www.thewizardofodds.com/ As I said earlier, let me know if I can help.
Yours for winning, GameMaster, Many Blackjack players think that having another player at the table who doesn't play 'properly' messes up the game and makes it difficult, if not impossible, to win. Yes, if a player at 'third base' hits a 16 against a dealer's 3 and gets a 10 and it turns out that a 10 would have busted the dealer (who now, invariably, draws an 8), that did hurt everyone. BUT, in the long run, the play of others will not affect your play; such mistakes will help you as much as they hurt you. Believe me, none of us could win at the game if 'bad' play affected us. It's just that most people like to blame their losses on other players rather than blame their own lack of skill. So, if something like that happens, don't walk away. Just remember when they do something to help you, also. Have a good time and bet with your head, not over it.
Yours for winning, Gamemaster,
Dear Rob,
Yours for winning, |