Join The Craps Club
Members Only
1 | 866 | Set | Dice
The Golden Touch™™
about Frank Scoblete
about Dominator
precision shooting
craps classes
craps instructors
instructor certification program
what our students say
craps class packages
photo galleries
non-disclosure agreement
Free GTC newsletter
The Gambler's Outpost
NEW Full Sized Regulation Casino Craps tables
books and tapes
practice rigs
regulation dice
Casino Apparel
casino chips
computer software
GTC catalogue
Craps Club Forum
Articles
Frank Scoblete's Wisdom
Dominator's Domain
Craps from Billy the Kid
Stickman's Stance
Guest Columns
Geek Corner with Dan
Burton About Poker
NEW   Street Dog's Bone Yard
Low Roller
NEW   Greg "G-Scobe" Scoblete
World Records
World Records and Achievements
The Captain Rolls 147 Numbers
The Captain Holds World Record
Tamburin Sets World Record
Frank Scoblete's World Craps Championship Results
All About Craps
The Words of Craps
Craps Glossary
Odds and Edges
Members Only Pages
message boards
chat room
archives
get-togethers
join
NEW Post of the Month
Articles
Taking Advantage of Non-Random "Random" Craps - Part 2
Is Random Craps Really Random? - Part 1
Dealers Shouldn't Play a Private Game
There's No Such Thing as Responsible Gaming
To Bet or Not to Bet—With or Against the Trend, That Is
Frank Scoblete's Las Vegas Diary
Why Dealers Can't Be Human
Interview with the Captain
Cut the Hedges from Your Game
home
contact us
privacy policy
additional craps info
useful links
site map





Toll-Free
866 Set Dice
1 | 866 | 738 | 3423

   FRANK SCOBLETE'S WISDOM - WEEKLY ARTICLES BY FRANK SCOBLETE
Craps Training

Twenty Assumptions You Should Never Make in a Casino! Part Two, 7- by Frank Scoblete

Assumption #7: New games are introduced to give the players more choices.

That’s certainly how the casinos advertise it. In reality, new games are introduced to give the casinos more of an opportunity for increased revenues. New games are an attempt to lure veteran players who might be bored with the old games, or introduce new players to the tables. You’ll notice that all new table games come in with higher house edges or faster speeds than more traditional games. Even a relatively good new game such as Spanish 21 needs the player to memorize a whole new basic strategy (called the Armada Strategy) in order to reduce the house edge to around 0.8 percent. This still isn’t as good as the approximately 0.5 percent edge a normal six-deck blackjack game has for a basic strategy player. And if you don’t play the correct strategy at Spanish 21, which most people do not, you are facing edges of well over two and three percent.

Assumption #8: When you get to the bonus round on Wheel of Fortune, each stop is equally likely.

Visually, the beautiful spinning wheel looks as if every stop is as equally likely as every other stop. It isn’t. They aren’t. That wheel is not a mechanical device but a computer controlled "entertainment feature" that selects the winning stop based on a Random Number Generator (that pesky RNG again), so something that might look like a one in 22 chance could really be a one in 20,000 chance!

Assumption #9: Counting cards is illegal.

A lot of people believe that this is true but it isn’t. Despite the fact that casinos have been known to "ask" card counters to leave their environs, or at the very least desist from playing blackjack, card counters are not violating any laws. How could they be? It is not a criminal offense to think. Your eyes have to look at the cards. Your brain has to make decisions on what to do with your hand. So why have the courts (thus far) upheld the right of a casino to refuse someone’s action because he or she is counting cards (or was thought to be counting cards)? Casinos are under an ancient law/custom called the "Innkeeper Law" that states a man’s home and, by extension, his "Inn" is his castle and he can serve or not serve whomever he pleases. In the United States, certain "protected" groups, such as minorities and the handicapped, cannot be asked to leave a business establishment because of these particulars, but if they were counting cards in a casino, they could be booted out as well. Thus far, no court has really established that we have a right to think.

Assumption #10: Casinos are not interested in low rollers. To get comps, you have to bet big money.

If you play the machines, even for quarters, you aren’t as low a roller as you think you are. Put three quarters in a machine every five seconds and you are putting through $540 per hour. Play four hours and you just gambled $2,160 -- wow! The casinos will be more than happy to recognize such action with free or discounted rooms, meals and other special promotions. Even such high-end places as Mirage and Treasure Island are now rating quarter players. If you play table games, you might not want to be a five-dollar bettor looking for comps at the Mirage where they only rate $25 action. But there are plenty of casinos in Vegas and around the country that will gladly comp five-dollar players if they play long enough. The bottom line is this: Most casinos want just about all players. Find the places that give your action the most in perks as possible...and then patronize them.

Assumption #11: The pit boss always ignores me when I want to get his attention.

On occasion a pit boss might purposely ignore a player, if that player is obnoxious, loud, drunk, or otherwise a ploppy. But most of the time when you think you are being ignored, you aren’t. If that pit boss, or floorperson, is at the computers, it probably means he or she is checking on a comp or a rating. One pit boss, one floorperson, is in charge of many tables and they do have many responsibilities. Chances are they don’t see you waving. When they do, they’ll usually say: "I’ll be right with you." In such cases, patience is a virtue. One caveat to the above. If you are trying to get the attention of the pit boss in order to ask for a comp -- stay seated but stop playing! Don’t risk any more money as you wait for your comp.

Assumption #12: Dealers make a lot of money, that’s why they all wear so much gold on their arms.

Some dealers do make a lot of money. Some dealers don’t. It all depends on which casinos they deal in and, sometimes, what games they deal. It also depends on what you consider a lot of money. But most dealers’ salaries are marginal at best, sometimes not more than minimum wage. They need tips to make ends meet. Dealers are in the "service" part of the casino industry, very much like waiters, waitresses, bartenders, valet parkers and bellhops. As to the gold that festoons many a wrist, finger and forearm, those are there for decorative purposes. Many dealers realize that their hands/arms are watched carefully and they actually take pride in adorning these. I’ve noticed female dealers will often polish their nails in truly creative ways. Male dealers will have interesting rings. Often these displays are sources for conversation. Since I can’t tell legitimate from faux, I have no idea if all that gold I see is real gold or fool’s gold.

© copyright 2003-2008 | Golden Touch™ Craps International, LLC | all rights reserved | Dice Control Home |
Precision Shooting | Craps Classes | Craps Tables | Books & Tapes on Craps |