QuietLion

Most places will give you a room discount plus $1/hour toward food.

QL

dhuey

I doubt any casino would object to your use of a strategy card. Using a basic strategy still leaves their edge intact. Now a card counting system is a whole 'nuther story.

Sweetpea 2005

On the Strip - next to Circus Circus is a place called Slots A Fun they have $1 and $3 Blackjack tables!!! Not the ritziest place, but I loved it!!!!

korea71

This was a system that I had tried out at the riverboats in Chicago before I went to Vegas. It wasn't strictly to get comps, it was to last as long as possible because I was going to be in Vegas for 7 days. It was my first time in Vegas and I was quite nervous about how long my bankroll would last. I also was with the future Mrs. Korea71 on the trip so I was only going to gamble about 4 hours a day. This system attracted more attention from other players than from the pit. Seems like they already knew about it. One shooter with a huge cowboy hat looked at me and said it was like kissing your sister. I was about to say something but didn't...

After awhile, the pit crew knew how to do all my bets. Other people at the table sure were curious and some actually tried it. When the table is hot, you will make money and when the table is cold, it will minimize your losses. Even this system cannot sustain a cold table for a long period of time. Then you move to the next table. It must have been 2002 when I was there. I have not had a chance to return so I don't know what it is like there anymore. I went there with $5K and came back with $5K but in reality, I think I must have won about $2-$3K. We ate like kings, watched alot of shows, cruised around Vegas and had a good time.

opus17

I'm not a craps player, so some one enlighten me -- how can a table be "hot" or "cold". Isn't every roll of the dice a new probabilistic event? The table can't "remember" what has happened on the previous points?

baccarat_king

Yes, BUT
gambling is all about the trends.... If you are around tables long enough, you will see some amazing things.

How can someone have 19 banks in a row at baccarat.....
Or, the number 26 comes up 4 times in a row at roulette....
Or, someone rolls a yo [eleven] 5 times in a row....
Or, 20 Blacks in a row at roulette...
and I am certain folks could come up with many other scenarios.

remember... the trend is your friend....

so, the math answer is that everything is independent... but, gambling would be no fun if you were just concerned with the math...

opus17

I think that line of thinking makes casinos very profitable.

korea71

Or in the short run, you!

dhuey

I once saw a sign at a roulette table in Reno: "System players welcome". The "trend is your friend" notion is why roulette tables have a display of recent numbers.

"Spot that trend, dear friend," the casinos suggest.

Note: system players are most unwelcome at the blackjack tables.

mbstone

No, the dice have no memory and systems based on the "maturity of chances" fallacy do not work.

Yes, hot and cold streaks do happen, and for the same reason. Probability theory can only predict the Long Run. In the short run anything can and does happen.

baccarat_king

Yes, but what really makes the casinos profitable is the fact that all of the games they offer are NEGATIVE EXPECTATION GAMES.

Other than the few who can control the dice, and expert card counters; the casinos ALWAYS WINS in the long term.

This being said, I still think that some level of gambling sense will help in the short term. Though, better to be a lucky gambler than a knowledgeable one...as LUCK is the greatest things one can have while gaming.
and, as mbstone said "In the short run anything can and does happen."

This being the case [in the short term] I often find it is best to seize the moment. I am always amazed at flat bet players sometimes. In baccarat, it is NOT uncommon to have rather lengthy streaks... and a 20 in a row [while NOT very common] will happen.... though, this might be a once in a lifetime event. The person flat betting $25 might walk away with a win $500 --- one who is incrementally increasing his bets [NOT doubling... just increasing] could easily walk away with $15,000 to $20,000. So, if we looked at the situation and observed that each hand is "basically" independent; at first glance the flat betting would be the more "logical" "math based" approach to a 50/50 game ---- BUT, we play in the short term [I don't know anyone who has really approached the LONG TERM, which I guess would be like 100,000 hands....] --- so, I think you must employ some type of sense regarding trends and reading the situation around you.

This also works in the opposite direction.... if you have been playing for and hour and consistently losing... maybe it is time to take a break... as there is NO guarantee that things will change...

opus17

Great marketing -- but nonsense, of course, for roulette.

dhuey

Although you can't beat the house, you can bet with it. My shares of Harrah's have more than doubled in the past two years.

QuietLion

Of course you can beat the house.

QL

MIKESILV

I agree it does takes patience and knowledge.
Perhaps i am very lucky but I have returned from LAS with winnings ( sometimes not a lot) 12 times out of my last 15 trips and 4 out of 5 trips in 2005 so far.
But then I only play craps and the horses and absolutely nothing else. ( I bet I havent put $100 in slots in total, over the last two years )

mike