By Melissa Kaplan

At Golden Touch™ and Frank Scoblete Enterprises we are dedicated to helping you get the edge at games where getting an edge is possible – we have Speed Count and the Optimum Basic Strategy for blackjack – the easiest to learn advantage-play method ever developed for blackjack; we have dice control for craps; we have expert poker instruction and also video poker instruction and Pai Gow Poker instruction (all these are coming in 2007). All of these courses are geared to making you have an edge over the casino.

Now, are these edges gigantic in all the above games? Usually not. But a one-half percent to one percent edge for you is better than a one-half to who-knows-how-high an edge against you. In craps, and perhaps poker, you can actually achieve much stronger edges than one-half to one percent – but these games do take much more in the way of a learning curve and skill level.

Nevertheless, you can beat the casinos at their own games.

Now, there are many other games in the casinos, some of which are not capable of being beaten or that need such high-level techniques that they are virtually unbeatable except by the truly gifted.

These "other" games can come with edges that are low (for instance baccarat’s bets of the Bank and Player are in the low one-percent range) or edges that are monumentally high, such as progressive slot machines like Megabucks, which can have edges as high as 17 percent.

Most readers of these pages know that Frank Scoblete has sold a couple of million copies of his books, tapes and DVDs. That is truly impressive but it is a drop in the gambling bucket when you consider that 54 million Americans go to casinos every year – and that is 54 million different Americans! Considering that many of Frank’s readers (and watchers!) buy two or more of his products, let us say that one million different people have made Frank’s acquaintance. That means one of every 54 American gamblers has some concept of either getting the edge or lowing the house edge to manageable terms because of Frank’s help.

Yes, there are other books and tapes and DVDs out there. Let us speculate that another million people have come into contact with these other products, which range from excellent to awful. So one of every 26 American casino gamblers has some idea of how to play the games of their choosing in such a way as to get an edge or reduce the house edge to the lowest it can be given the game being played.

The other 25 players are…lost in ignorance. That’s the truly sad part. And they don’t have to be. They choose ignorance. But it is also ridiculous and stupid that players don’t get some knowledge before they play the games. Why do so many casino players want to throw away their money without giving the casinos the fight of their lives?

Even at the slot machines there are better and worse machines to play. There are even slot machines that sometimes have a positive edge for the players. But most slot players have no idea of what is what and which is which.

Next week I’ll cover some upcoming seminars that Frank Scoblete is planning for 2007 – seminars that can make you an advantage player.

If you wish to contact me, write to Melissa Kaplan at contactus@goldentouchcraps.com.