Casino Pros

Casinos use loss rebates as an incentive to draw high-limit play. The player who wins gets to keep 100% of his winnings. The losing player is given back a certain percentage of his losses as a direct cash rebate. Typical rebates range from 5% up to 20%, depending on the player’s bankroll and average bet.

This post concerns significant errors in the article “Examining a Gambler’s Claims: Probabilistic Fact-Checking and Don Johnson’s Extraordinary Blackjack Winning Streak,” written by W.J. Hurley, Jack Brimberg and Richard Kohar [HBK]. This article appeared in the February, 2014 issue of CHANCE magazine, Vol. 27, No. 1, pages 31-37.

While much of the U.S. market shuns baccarat, it is the number one game internationally. The size of the wagers players make is stunning to watch. In Macau, for example, it is difficult to find a table with a minimum wager less than $100. The casinos are packed full of what we in America would consider to be high-rollers.

As you may recall, Revel Casino had a 100% loss rebate promotion throughout the month of July. I wrote about beating it in this blog post. The question if this promotion was a good idea is still open.

Loss rebate analysis has been a common topic in this blog. There's a good reason: it is one of the top advantage play opportunities worldwide. Exploiting loss rebates is how Don Johnson crushed Atlantic City.

Match play has been around for years as a staple of marketing used to attract table game play. Nevertheless, there are still a number of misunderstandings and misconceptions about its value, its use, and its vulnerabilities. In light of the explosion of free play for slots, there is pressure to issue more match play to keep up.

Card counting has been around since the days of the dinosaurs (in casino years). Edward Thorp published his infamous book on card counting, "Beat the Dealer," in 1962. Since that time, hundreds of books on card counting have been written. Movies such as Rainman, "21" and The Hangover have featured card counting.

In Blackjack, Basic Strategy is the series of decisions that a player adheres to so that they can incur the minimal loss of funds over time.  It tells the player when the appropriate time to stand, hit, double down, split and if applicable when to surrender (this where the player surrenders half of their initial bet to the casino).  These actions are determined by

Blackjack is a lot of fun – and it’s even more fun if you’re winning. In a typical game, you have less than a 50% chance of winning, so it’s no surprise that skilled players employ various strategies to gain an edge.

It’s 1:00 a.m., Las Vegas time, and you’ve been hammering at the casino all day and all night. Blackjacks drop as if you have control over the cards. Instantly seven-ing out at the craps table is something that happens to other people. You’re not controlling the dice but you may as well be.

Every game in a casino is one of probability. While certain bets you make and actions you take are under your control, the outcome is always dictated to some degree by chance.

It’s not everybody who happily bets enormous sums of money in some of the ritziest casinos on earth – and gets asked to stop playing. This happened to Don Johnson and, along the way, he became a gambling-world legend.

Are there good casino players and bad casino players? Or are all the games just dumb luck with no way to distinguish a hierarchy among those who plod the casino playing field and those who run through it? Is Jimbo (who plays loads of money on all the Crazy Crapper bets such as the Any Seven and the Hardways) as smart a player as Joe (who plays small on the Pass Line with maximum odds)?

Ever had a casino question you that you have always wanted answered? At 888casino’s blog, you can ask a real-life top casino pro and receive the best answer there is.  Among the pros you’ll find some top casino writers, including the likes of Henry Tamburin, Frank Scoblete, John Grochewski, to name but a few...