Bill Zender is the ultimate gambling expert and insider. A former professional dealer, card counter, and casino floor manager, he shares his secrets and explains why ATMs are always the best-paying machines.
1. Identify the most clumsy dealers.
Zender estimates that there are less than 100 professional card counters around the world. You could gain a 1.5 per cent edge if you are one of these card counters. Zender suggests that you save your energy and instead watch for the blackjack dealer who is sloppy enough to flash the card face down accidentally. Zender made his living by keeping a list of weak dealers in 16 casinos. This strategy, called “card-holing,” can give you an edge of 6 to 9 per cent over the casino. It’s the same as standing in front of an ATM and getting twenty dollars. What’s the best part? Zender says, “It is totally legal.” They may kick me out, but they won’t arrest me.
2. Keep your eye on the prize.
Recently, casinos have added bikini-clad table game dealers and pole dancers to their tables. Party Pits are these places, and they appear to be Vegas as Vegas: booze, sins, skin. Look closer. You’ll likely miss the fact that these tables have had their payouts reduced from 3/2 down to 6/5. This means that $100 is only worth $120 instead of the usual $150. The house edge is effectively doubled.
3. When to use your words.
At roulette, the house has a constant 5 per cent advantage. The odds of you winning the first spin are decent. The second. The second. If you played roulette forever, then the casino would take all of your chips. The magic number for every casino is 30,000 hands. This is why casinos lure us back by offering lobster and luxurious suites. So if you’re winning, stop.
4. Exploite the laws of Nature
The roulette wheel can be described as a mechanical device. Over time, the wheel can become unbalanced, or the frets that separate the numbers could wear out. The more you use a wheel, the more worn it becomes. This can lead to it favouring certain numbers. Joseph Jagger, in 1873, found a wheel with a bent spoke at Monte Carlo. He bet on the biased numbers. He won $400,000, which is $7.8 million in today’s money.
5. You can either go big or break.
Zender says that the average slot machine costs players two to three times as much as table games. Avoid them. If you insist upon turning a handle, choose slots that cost at least $5 and place the maximum bet. The odds of winning are 15 to 20% higher on penny slots. It’s as if you were tossing those coins into a fountain. Make a wish!
6. Keno is not for you.
Just don’t. You have terrible odds. In some casinos, the casino has a 35% edge. A 20-spot lottery ticket has never been purchased by a gambler who correctly matched 20 numbers. The odds of it ever happening are 1 in 3,535,316,142,212,174,336. (That’s 3.5 quintillion!)
7. Practice makes perfect.
Video poker is the one exception to the rule that the house wins every time. The home typically has a 0.46 percentage advantage, but some versions are more in favour of the player. The paytable is displayed on the machine, and the payout is high. What’s the catch? You need to be an expert player in order to cash out. Video poker is a profitable game for casinos because the majority of players are not skilled enough. Study up.
8. Avoid the light.
Zender says that 90% of people entering a casino don’t know the odds against them. If you know where to look, you can easily find the games with the worst odds. Casinos make games with bad odds more attractive with bright colours and flashing lights. The most colourful bets at craps are “The Field” and “Any 7”. As a rule, the drab side of the casino will give you better odds.
9. Invest in an attractive watch.
You won’t find any clocks on the casino floor. Casinos want to make you lose track of the time so that you can play as long as you like. For this reason, some casinos ban dealers from wearing watches. You might want to treat yourself to a new watch once you’ve won a few games.
10. Purchase your beverages
Truthfully, there is no such thing as free alcohol. Every casino has a player reinvestment fund. The system predicts how much money you will lose and returns a portion of it in the form of comps. For the casual visitor to the casino floor, this means watery cocktails. You’re more likely to get a free drink if your odds are worse. Cheers!