Big Weekend of Fun ...

Tomorrow Lynne and I are off for some big weekend fun.  We fly to Nashville (see earlier post on Pond Cleaning 2006) to visit with Anne and Mike and sometime during the weekend we are all car-pooling to Evansville IN to visit and gamble at Casino Aztar.

I also get a chance to see more of Nashville than the airport that didn’t happen last visit as I was picking scum from the side of the pond. I look forward in seeing some of the sites and winning a few bucks (I hope) in the casino.

Part of the reason of this trip it to introduce Anne and Mike to the gambling lifestyle and to prepare them for (I hope) the big “Vegas 2006 September for Lynne’s 40th Birthday (and Jim’s B-day Too) Bash-O-Rama in 3-D.”  

Lynne created a document for them to prepare them for the trip this weekend that I think is good for anyone who might want a bit of information about casino gambling.  So here is:
Lynne’s Things to Remember…

General Gambling Comments

• In terms of either a per-game or per-day basis, define your personal potential losses.  Decide before you play how much you are willing to lose.  Try as often as possible to stick with that decision.


• Related to the previous point, don’t chase your losses.  Some people think that they’re due for a lucky streak after losing a wad of cash so they’ll pull out another wad of cash.  This is how people lose they’re houses.  The reason is …


• … All games in a casino are meant, in the long run, to gain the money for the casino.  


• In spite of the above, there is a possibility that one can win money.  To guard against losing the winnings, I recommend defining winning “limits”, as well.  For example, some people will walk away from a game if they double their money.  Some people put money in their pockets or off to the side.  If you don’t have a system of retaining the winnings, then, in the long run, you will give it all back to the casino.


• All gamblers (including myself) are full of advice.  Take it with a grain of salt and reflect upon it.  As you become familiar with the games, you will begin to have an understanding as to whether or not the advice is relevant to your way of betting.


• Gamble in any way that you comfortable.  If everyone at the table is gambling more money and in riskier ways than you, then you should feel no compulsion to match them if you don’t want to do so.  If you ever do feel uncomfortable, then walk away.  


• Tipping your dealers:  Just as in any service profession, tips mean a lot to the service providers.  If you are winning, a good tip should be given.  If you are losing, dealers don’t expect a big tip, but I do like to give them a little something just to be courteous.  There are different ways to give them tips.  You can give them a chip or two, or you can make a bet for them (and, if it wins, they get the bet that you placed for them plus the winnings).  If you don’t know which to do, you can ask the dealer which one they prefer.  (Some dealers don’t like to gamble; they’d rather just take the chip.)  In any case, if you’ve had a dealer who has been extremely helpful to you in some way, give them a tip.

General Table Comments

• All the tables that are open for play will have a plaque on them.  This plaque will state the game and the minimum-maximum bets that one can make at that table.


• When you do decide to sit at a table and play, place you money on the table in a non-betting area (these are usually very clearly defined on the top of the table).  It’s also a good idea to say the words “change only”.  This makes it very clear that you’re not placing a bet before you are ready to do so.  Note that you place the money on the table.  No cash is exchanged from your hand into the dealer’s hand.


• Once the dealer has your cash, s/he will spread it out on the table to count it.  This is all done for the sake of the cameras above the table.  They want to count the money, too.  After counting your money, chips will be counted and pushed to you.  These chips are now yours with which to play.


• Games such as Blackjack will consist of one or more decks of cards which are played out to a certain degree and not shuffled between hands.  For etiquette’s sake, ask the other players whether or not you can join the game when they are playing mid-deck.  Once there is a shuffle and all cards are back in play, you need not ask.


• If you have any questions about a game, ask the dealer.  They’re there to explain it all to you.  From the dealer’s point of view, they might get tipped if they are helpful.  From the casino’s point of view, you might play if you understand the game, and that’s another opportunity for them to get your cash.  So, if you ever have questions, don’t be embarrassed to ask.


• When you play a particular game for the first time and feel that you will have a lot of questions, look for an empty table that has a dealer who looks bored.  Just as any employee doing any job, working makes the day go quicker.  If a dealer isn’t doing anything, s/he will be more than willing to explain things in the hope that you’ll play and make their day go quicker (and probably get a tip).

Craps Comments

• Table plaques on a Craps table will list min/max (as above) but will also state the maximum odds bet that can be made.  Standard references are “2X” or maybe even “3, 4, 5X”.

--  “2X” = Given the amount of money one puts down on a Pass Line bet or Come bet, the maximum amount one can put down as Odds is two times that initial bet.
--  “3, 4, 5X” = This can be slightly more confusing at the beginning.  The 4 & 10 have a 3X Odds maximum.  The 5 & 9 have a 4X Odds maximum.  The 6 & 8 have a 5X Odds maximum.  Although this scenario seems somewhat odd at first, it’s actual very convenient for the dealers;  given the same minimum bet with maximum odds, all the winning bets get paid the same amount of money.  Once you become familiar with the payouts, this will make sense.

• When changing cash into chips, the words “change only” become a little more important.  Almost every place one can place their cash is a betting area.  Make sure that the dealers know that you are not placing a bet.


• Before reaching beyond the chip racks and onto the table, note where the dice are located.  If they are in front of the stickman, feel free to reach onto the table to change money or to gather chips.  If the dice have moved to the shooter (“dice are out”), then wait until after the dice have been thrown.


• When another shooter has the dice, keep your hands from reaching and/or dangling onto the table.  


• When you are the shooter, you will be given a choice of two among six dice.  Pick up your two dice with one hand and one hand only.  If you want to change throwing hands, place the dice on the table and then pick them up with the other hand.  Never move the dice from one hand directly into the other hand.


• Throw the dice from your end of the table down to the other end of the table.  They are supposed to hit the wall at the other end.  Some leeway is given if the dice don’t hit the other wall.  However, if you are given a warning that you need to hit the wall, you need to hit the wall.  Otherwise, the house might move the dice to the next shooter.


• If you throw the dice off the table, don’t worry too much about it.  It is embarrassing at first, but everyone does it at times.  You won’t get into trouble for that.


• If someone else throws the dice off the table, and you are near the dice, think quickly before leaving the table to get them.  It was always my first compulsion to be polite and retrieve the dice.  However, if the dice aren’t really near you, and you don’t have friends around you at the table to watch your chips, then you’re taking a risk by leaving your money unattended.  Try to remember that it is not your duty to retrieve those dice; the house will pick them up.  What’s important to you is that you don’t lose your chips needlessly to a potential thief.


• Bets you place directly in the appropriate betting area:  Pass (Don’t Pass) Line and Odds, Come Bet, Field Bet, Big 6, Big 8 (the last two are definite Do Not Play bets).


• Bets you tell the dealer at your end of the table to make:  Odds on your Come Bet, Place Bets.  Just toss your chips in the general vicinity of the Come Bet area and state your betting wishes.  Watch your chips just to make sure they are put where you want them to be put.


• Bets the stickman makes for you:  All proposition bets in the middle of the table.  These include the Hard Ways and things like that.  Throw your dice into the middle of the table and yell out what you want.  Again, watch your chips to make sure that they go where you want them to go.


• Craps can be confusing due to all this “throwing chips” and “yelling out” business.  However, your bets will always be placed in the same general area for any given betting area.  Once you realize where your placement is within all the other bets, you’ll be able to keep track of your bet(s).  Focus on that aspect first before you notice how other people are betting.


• Gambling comfortably becomes an imperative at the Craps table.  There are so many bets one can make and so many ways to play (“systems”) that there may be times when one feels they are not correct in the way they play.  To reiterate a point noted above, don’t bet a different way if you are not comfortable doing it.


• Craps dealers are some of the most helpful dealers in the whole casino.  They are used to explaining things to new players.  If the table is extremely busy, then they might not have time to go into detail, but, at a slower table, they’ll take as much time as they can.  Additionally, if you’re nice, courteous, and a tipper (regardless of how busy the table is), they’ll make sure that your bets are right; they’ll care of you.  They’ll remind you immediately that you need one more dollar on that Odds bet to get the best payout.  They’ll become familiar with the way you bet and then remind you or ask you if you want to maintain that.  

A lot to read but excellent advise for any beginner.  But keep in mind that these are Lynne’s ideas with my support not a bible to gambling….