Powerful Profits: Winning Strategies For Casino Games

Page

Introduction to the 2014 Edition

The world of casino gambling has changed quite a lot in the past ten years. This applies particularly to electronic games, like Slots, Video Slots, Video Poker, and Video Keno. But even if you prefer Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, other casino games, or Live Poker, the updates in this e-book edition provide all the key differences between the games as they were, and as they are now. This Introduction provides a general overview, while the game-specific updates are at the end of this e-book edition. The reason for doing the updates in this way is to give you the opportunity to first read the entire book as it was originally written, and then read the updates as they apply to those specific games, sections, items, and circumstances.

For the very latest updates to all games, casino information, and great deals, visit me at www.MoreCasinoDeals.com.

My Web-TV series, featuring the newest slots, games, casino information, and also great restaurants, is now live on my channel on YouTube at www.YouTube.com/LasVegasLiveTV.

But not everything in gambling, or gambling games, has changed. The principles are still the same, as are the majority of the strategies, knowledge, and information—particularly that which is global to casino games, and gambling, in general. Blackjack, Craps, Baccarat, and Roulette do not change much, no matter what the age. While some of these games have had various side-bets and other innovations applied to them, this has not changed the game itself. In fact, most table games are still pretty much the same as they have always been—with some exceptions.

For example, in the past ten years—as computer technology has evolved—there has been a flood of electronic table games, which simulate the table game experience but are instead being dealt by computers, usually using a large video display with a virtual dealer. While these may be necessary for many jurisdictions that only permit electronic gaming, and not real or live games such as those with actual human dealers and real cards and dice and chips, whenever you have the alternative of an actual casino table game that is dealt by real human dealers, and not these electronic virtual versions of them, your choice is clear and obvious, or at least it should be: Don’t play those electronic table games!

Electronic table games are nothing more than really bad slot machines with terrible rules and worse paybacks. If you have no choice and you want to play Blackjack that badly, then yes, you can—but you’d be better off burning your money instead. At least that way you get some warmth from wasting it. Electronic table games are one of those technological innovations of casino gambling that are definitely not to your advantage, and something you should never play if you can avoid it.

Otherwise, many of the changes in casino gambling have been quite good. But we should always remember that the basic rules and principles of casino gambling never change: The risk vs. reward equation that we all love—and the games in which we participate—is what provides us with that thrill.

For most traditional table games, the rules that we all know still remain. Blackjack continues to be the most popular casino table game, and it can still be played well, and profitably. The rules are usually the same, even if they are being tweaked in many casinos. The worst among these changes, or tweaks, are when casinos are paying only 6:5 for a Natural 21 (Blackjack), instead of the standard 3:2. This is very deadly to your bankroll, so if you see any Blackjack game with those rules, stay away from it! But as long as you know these rules, and stay away from lousy games like those paying 6:5 for a Blackjack, and realize what the differences in such rules are—and how this impacts you and your play and your profit—then you can safely play Blackjack using the same strategies you have read and learned ten years ago, or forty years ago. This has not changed.

For other casino games, this is also largely the same. Craps, for example, is still being played the same way today as it was when it first came to the casino. Although many casinos now pay odds for-1 instead of to-1, if you know this, and realize what this means to you, then you can still play Craps the same way today as you did ten years ago, or fifty years ago.

And Roulette? Well, that has been around even longer, and that basic game is the same now as it was a hundred years ago. If you know what the 0 and 00 Roulette games are, as opposed to the single 0 game, then you already know how the game is configured and why. The fact that Roulette has become even more popular as an electronic game really makes no difference. Since this is already a house-game, with a 5.3 percent house edge on the 0 and 00 game, and 2.7 percent house edge on the single 0 game, it really doesn’t matter if the ball is spun by a live dealer, or by a machine. This is one of those games where the dealer really isn’t necessary, because the game itself has always been more a slot machine than a table game.

There are, of course, many other table games now in the casino, some of which have become standard staples, such as Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud, and 3-Card Poker. These are the same now as they were ten years ago, with the possible exception of some rule variations and paybacks. And then there is a slew of other casino house-banked games that are new, but don’t necessarily stay on the casino floor for very long. Many of these are based on the poker game of Texas Hold ’em. These games have varying degrees of success. Some of them aren’t that bad, while others boggle the mind. As a general suggestion, try them for fun if you must, but if you want to play Texas Hold ’em, the poker game, then head to the Poker Room and stay away from these really bad house-banked games in the main Pit. These kinds of games aren’t there for your benefit—they are there because they make huge profits for the casino, and by and large can’t be beat. Like I said, nice to try for fun, but if you’re going to play for serious money, or seriously, and want to win, and keep more of your money, then these innovations in Pit games are not something where you should be spending a lot of your time or money.

Live Poker is the best casino game, because it’s really not a casino game at all. This is because Live Poker is not banked by the casino, and therefore you are playing against other players and not against the house. Naturally, there is a cost to this, and that cost is in the rake, or a time charge, or a tournament entry fee, but those are minimal compared to the huge house edge you are facing in many of the novelty Pit games, no matter what they are called.

For casino table games, stick to the traditional Pit games: Blackjack, Craps, Baccarat, and—if you must—maybe Roulette. But stay away from anything else in the Pit. Those other novelty games are not something you should play seriously. Incidentally, by novelty games I mean any Pit game besides Blackjack, Craps, Baccarat, or Roulette. So that makes it easy to identify which games are truly casino games, and which are innovations, or new games, all of which have huge house advantages to them. Why? Because no new table game will ever make it onto the casino floor unless it can guarantee a huge house hold! And I mean huge! Many of these games—in order to make it even to a trial—must guarantee the casino upward of 20 percent house edge. Even if theoretically some of these games may have a house edge that is mathematically lower, the fact remains that many of these games can only achieve that theoretical percentage if they are played absolutely perfectly, and on these new games this can only be achieved by a computer in a simulation. No human being can do it, because of the inherent complexities in most of these games. So, no matter which way you slice it, such Pit game innovations, including standard games with side bets, are nothing more than a drain on your money and a cash-making machine for the casino. Don’t play them seriously—as I said, for fun, yes. For profit, no.

Slots, on the other hand, and Video Poker and Video Keno, are different. These have changed dramatically in the past ten years. Although the principle is the same—put in credits (cash), select your lines, your bet per line, plus your bonus bets or extra features, push the button, and see if you win. Well, one of the most notable changes you will see immediately is that almost no slot machines have handles anymore. Just buttons. Many of which light up, or actually become part of the game itself, or the bonusing features. But the principle of slots is still the same as it has always been. Put in your money, play the game, and see if you win. And how much. This doesn’t change.

What does change are the games themselves, how they play, and how much they will cost you. And, of course, all those bells, whistles, whiz-bang, and other dressing with which they have been endowed by their creators. No longer relegated to just pick ’ems, or party balloons that you pop, or whatnot, modern slots are often complicated machines where you have to pay careful attention to just exactly what the game is, and what-does-what on it. Many of these new slots can require additional wagers in order to unlock all the wins and bonuses, so be careful and look, learn, and understand before you invest your money. This isn’t always easy to do, but it isn’t rocket science, either. Basically, it takes observation, understanding, the willingness to look and learn, and the ability to read the on-screen Help and Pay menus.

In my book New Casino Slots, you can see many of these new machines and games, and read all about the terminology and how this affects new slots. In my Web-TV show, Great Casino Slots, you can see for yourself the latest slot machines, how they work, and how to play them. This show is available on YouTube at www.YouTube.com/LasVegasLiveTV.

For a long time slot machines, and slot players, were looked down upon by the other casino gamblers, particularly those who played the good casino games—by which they meant the Pit games: Blackjack and Craps. Even Roulette was considered a better game than those lowly slots. Not so anymore! For more than forty years now slots have accounted for between 60 and 80 percent of the casino’s profits, and not always because of bad odds, as those snotty table-game players always thought. This is even truer today. While at this time slots account for only about 65 percent of a casino’s total revenue, this isn’t due to the decline in the popularity of slots. On the contrary—the fact that casinos make less from the modern slot machines is due to two factors: One, the current trend for gaming resorts to enhance and promote their non-gaming attractions, like roller coasters, Ferris wheels, water parks, amusement arcades, food courts, hotels, nightclubs, and swimming pools. Nothing wrong with this, unless, of course, you came to a gambling resort and expected a casino, not Disneyland. Personally, I think the casino corporations that now own everything—and there are only about eight of them worldwide that now own it all—are crazy to spend billions of dollars on such garbage that any tourist can find in any city, even dull ones with no casinos. Of course that’s only my opinion, but—personally—if I was a casino owner I would like to invest more in a business where I can make a steady 20 to 40 percent profit every day, regardless of the economy. I wouldn’t be investing all those billions in infrastructures and attractions that do everything possible to take players away from the casino, then direct them to entertainment options that can be found anywhere, and where the operational profitability is—at best—1 to 6 percent, on a good day. Anyway, enough of my rant . . .

The second reason why slots now account for less than their traditionally high percentage for the house is because the newest slots often have pay tables that make them 99.99 percent payback games. Yes, you read correctly—99.99 percent payback on many of the newest and most modern slot machines! How is that possible? Well, it actually would have been better had it not been for many gaming jurisdictions whose politicians—afraid of losing the enormous amounts of tax dollars they get for licensing casinos—demanded that no slot machine can pay back more than 100 percent. In a word—they made it a law that slots can only pay back less than 100 percent. But modern computer technology, and especially AI—Artificial Intelligence—has already made it possible for slots to be vested with skill-based gaming elements. This means that slots could effectively be programmed to pay back more than 100 percent, based on the player’s skill level and ability. This, however, is a very dangerous development in the world of slots and casinos. There are very many inherent dangers, the greatest among them being the possibility that a very few highly skilled players would learn to play those games so well that they would take the casinos for too much money. Same argument as that which originally caused the near-extinction of Blackjack after the publication of Edward O. Thorp’s Beat the Dealer in 1962. Shortly thereafter, and after other card-counting techniques were published, casinos were so afraid of losing money that they began to severely cut down on the rules of Blackjack, making the game all but unplayable. In the process, the casinos nearly killed the one table game that made the most money for them. The problem was a misperception of what exactly can be accomplished by card-counters. And to be a really accomplished card-counter wasn’t easy, and still isn’t. Of all people who learn to count cards, less than 1 percent can actually do it well enough in the casinos to be considered true professionals. Once the casinos realized this, they let loose of the fear—up to a point—and so Blackjack survived.

Today, the same fears permeate the casino business regarding skill-based slot machines. Imagine yourself as a champion Pac-Man player, or Warcraft player, or any video game player, and then having a chance to play that well on a slot machine where you could win thousands. Or millions. Well, not so fast. You see, on those machines that do have skill-based elements—and they are already out there on the casino floor—all of them have this skill-based element only as a bonus feature. This is to avoid the regulatory problems of a fair game for everyone, even those who are not skilled at all. The randomness of the slot machine must be preserved, and so the skill-based elements of the game are offered only on the bonusing events. And, in order to access this extra bonus, the players have to make a voluntary extra bet, which is a side-bet that then activates those aspects of the bonus features that include your choice of the skill-based elements. And, on top of that, once you do get to this bonus round, you then have the choice of selecting the bonus round to be played automatically at random, or manually, meaning with skill. So, this satisfies all of the regulatory conditions, and the game can now exist on the casino floor alongside all the other dumb games.

These are among the many reasons why modern slot machines can often be found with such incredible paybacks. Today’s slots are intricate marvels of computer science, design, and gaming integration. It’s really a fascinating world. But what about you, the player? What exactly does all of this mean to you?

• The Good News is that it means more choices, greater entertainment, better paybacks overall, bigger jackpots more often, more time at play, and lots more fun.

• The Bad News is that all of this will now cost you a whole lot more to play.

In the old days—about twenty-five years ago or so—when you put $3 into a three-coin $1 machine, you were considered a high-roller, and prized by the casinos as a really good customer. Today when you play like that you don’t get so much as a sneeze from the casino, or its host. And, if you are among the millions of penny-game players who stick a $20-bill into the machine, well, all I can say is you’d better stick several thousand of those 20s into that machine before you rake up enough player points on your rewards card to warrant something free, or notice from the casino or its host. But it’s not all that bad. Even a small player like this, who is a member of the Player’s Club, usually gets a free buffet coupon, and $5 in free-play money on your account. So, always consider joining the casino’s Player’s Club, which has the ability to track your play and offer rewards.

However, if you want to get the maximum payback out of any modern slot machine, then you must not only look at all the available information—or at least visit my Web-TV show at www.YouTube.com/LasVegasLiveTV, but you must be prepared to spend a lot of money. And I mean a lot! Gone are the days of three nickels in the slot. A play of 15 cents today will get you nothing. Even the penny slots aren’t penny slots at all. Most of them have at least 40 lines, and require a minimum bet of 40 cents to play. But that doesn’t get you diddly if you want to play properly and win something meaningful. So, you must go for those machines where the lines are more like 100, where the winning combinations are 256 or better, and where the reel configurations, scatters, and bonuses are such that they combine to get you the biggest bang for your buck. And this costs big bucks, too! On most of these so-called penny slots, you will actually have to bet $2.50, $3.00, $4.00, $5.00, or more. One of my favorites is an older video slot machine called Stinkin’ Rich, from IGT. The reason why I like it is because on this penny slot you can bet as much as $15.00 per spin! And that gives you the really big bucks when you win, and on this machine you win big and often at these wagers. And that is the secret to finding the best machines, the best-paying machines, and the best payback machines. Well, at least one of the secrets. For the rest you’ll have to read my books on Slots, Video Slots, New Casino Slots, Video Poker, and Keno.

Now, let’s move on with this book—the one you are reading now. Enjoy, read carefully, and then—at the end—I have prepared the updates to those sections and information that are essential and timely.

Best of luck!

Victor H. Royer

Vegas Vic

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 2013

Preface

This is not a book for the beginner, nor is it a book that lists all the various strategies for casino games. Here, I will presume that you already know everything that there is to know about each of these casino games and that you also know all of the traditional strategies and how to play them. It is not my purpose to rehash what has already been written about the various basic strategies or other forms of systems or strategies for casino games. I have written a series of books about many games in which I explain the basics and the strategies that are used most often to combat house advantages. In these books I also list various methods that will help you play better, last longer with your gaming dollar, have more fun, and profit by exploring and exploiting some of the better principles of play. I have often referred, in those books, to Advanced Strategies—those that require much more game acumen, a whole lot more discipline, and a great deal more dedication. These are the strategies and methods that I will show in this book.

Make no mistake about it—these methods and strategies are not for the fainthearted. You will need the proper bankroll, and you will need all your wits about you. If you plan to play casino games with any of these methods and strategies, you’d better be prepared to work at it, not only in the casino, but before you ever get there. Your knowledge of the casino games must be absolute; you should already know all the traditional methods, systems, and strategies, why some work to a margin, and why others don’t work. Before you read this book you should never have to second-guess yourself about anything to do with casinos, casino games, protocol, strategies, methods, systems, ways of playing, the theory versus the reality, the truths of the games and how they are really played, the means by which casinos combat professional players, the means by which they change the rules on some games to add to their house advantage, and so on. All this you should know before you turn another page. I will not be teaching you any of this here. If you’re not sure about something, go back to my other books, wherein you will find the comprehensive coverage of all you need to know before you can take full advantage of what is being offered here.

This book will not teach anything that you should already know. In this book I will talk about professional strategies as I have developed them, for those casino games I have chosen to use as examples. This book contains my own personal investigations into methods and means of playing casino games professionally and purely for profit.

Most people go to casinos primarily for entertainment and only secondarily to win money. Although these same people will say that they want to win, the actual winning of money is really not their main priority—having a good time is. This is often exhibited by sighing statements after losses, such as: Ahh, well . . . maybe next time. There is nothing wrong with that, because these players had a great time and were willing to pay for it. It is wrong to suggest that these players are somehow guilty of a gambling transgression of some kind. Being a gambler does not mean you can’t have fun gambling. However, making gambling a form of livelihood is another thing. Even people who claim to be professional gamblers often are not. Many times they actually have a lot of money, and gambling has simply become their way of life. This doesn’t mean they are losers; most of the time these people are very good at the games they play. However, they do not always make a living at it.

There’s a big difference between making a living at gambling, as a job, and playing gambling games as a means of lifestyle and life choice. Those who play gambling games as a lifestyle choice usually have a source of income well beyond that which they make gambling. Although these players are very often quite good at the games they play, any serious loss—or a protracted series of losses—may not have as devastating an impact on them as these may actually have on someone who relies on the act of winning for their meal money. These well-heeled players, as I like to call them, are semiprofessional players, rather than pure pros. I classify myself as one of these players; I make my living from writing, and from my public appearances and other business interests, and that’s where the vast majority of my life’s income is generated. I play casino games for profit, except perhaps on occasions when I like to play small-limit live Poker primarily for relaxation and the camaraderie of people whom I know and like. When I play other games—those I play for money—I do this alone, and none of the people who know me are aware of this to any great degree. I have successes and failures, but I do make money. This has become supplementary income to me and not the primary income it once was a decade or so ago. Back then the money I made from gambling was my only source of income. With that I either paid my bills or didn’t. And that’s where the biggest difference truly lies.

Players who rely solely on income from their gambling profits and have no other source of income—and do not have a vast fortune in stocks, bonds, or investments—are the true professional gamblers. These people’s ability to live, pay bills, and support themselves and their families directly depends on whether or not they win. If they lose, they don’t get paid. When you go to your job and you happen to have a bad week—or two—you still get your paycheck. Not so with a true professional gambler—when he has a bad week, or two, or longer, he not only does not get paid—it costs him money.

It is important that you understand this before you read the rest of this book. What you are about to read is designed specifically for the true professional gambler and for the semiprofessional gambler. Mostly for the semiprofessional player, because even the best of the true professionals will, in the twenty-first-century casino environment, need a vast bankroll behind them for security purposes. There are many reasons for this, and some of them we will discuss later. The chief two are, however, the preservation of your security as a professional player and the preservation of your bankroll.

The security issue has a lot to do with casino surveillance and the use of modern computerized face-recognition technology. This makes it very hard for a professional gambler, and certainly one who is regularly successful, to hide his or her identity. Casinos aren’t in the business of losing money and, therefore, they will try to keep out those players who they think know too much, or win too