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    sbHamilton Nolan
    10/14/13 10:42am

    Blackjack (21) and poker are the only two games where the odds aren't against the bettor, right? In poker, you're going up against other players and not the casino but in 21, it's my understanding the odds are even money?

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      Spuh-latsb
      10/14/13 10:49am

      The odds are against the bettor in blackjack unless he or she is able to count cards. Then they can be slightly in the bettor's favor if played perfectly.

      Poker is the only one where you can truly profit.

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      Airport Whiskeysb
      10/14/13 10:51am

      Roulette has slightly better odds than blackjack, unless there are two green slots (0, 00) in which case they even up. Both still favor the house over the long run though. All games do.

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    GogogadgetanythingHamilton Nolan
    10/14/13 10:44am

    Can't be any worse betting on stocks.

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      cheerful_exgirlfriendGogogadgetanything
      10/14/13 10:48am

      And you don't get "free" drinks with stock trades, just fees.

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      DL Thurstoncheerful_exgirlfriend
      10/14/13 11:03am

      Someone needs to find a new brokerage.

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    cheerful_exgirlfriendHamilton Nolan
    10/14/13 10:39am

    Some of us go to casinos knowing full well that we are paying for watered down drinks, the sweet, sweet chance to smoke indoors and the fun of watching newlyweds play slots right after they got hitched.

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      UKStory135cheerful_exgirlfriend
      10/14/13 12:22pm

      You can't smoke in the Casinos in Southern Ill :( Other than horseracing and my NCAA bracket pool, I don't gamble at all. If it were up to me, I'd ban the lottery.

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      cheerful_exgirlfriendUKStory135
      10/14/13 12:35pm

      I don't want to gamble on horses, not because of any morality about horse racing but because I'd just bet on cool horse names and lose, let me have my lotto I need something between trips to Vegas.

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    GoneIn60MinutesHamilton Nolan
    10/14/13 10:40am

    The way to approach casino gambling is to treat it like going to an old video arcade. You know you are going to walk out of there with less money than you walked in with, but you can have a lot of fun playing games in the meanwhile (especially if you pace yourself playing penny slots or something). Meanwhile, you get free drinks while you play and you can catch a show in the evening.

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      ARP2GoneIn60Minutes
      10/14/13 10:46am

      Agreed. There's a big difference between people who gamble in hopes of generating income because they "have a system" and those who do it purely for entertainment and hey, even better if they win. I play the lottery about once a month. I don't actually think I'll win, but its a form of entertainment, and I can afford to do so.

      It's those that are gambling for income or gambling with money they don't really have that are the real concern.

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      diarrheajonesGoneIn60Minutes
      10/14/13 2:19pm

      Also: prepare yourself to be depressed as fuck. Atlantic City is just soul-crushingly depressing. Elderly people with oxygen tanks spending all day on slots, etc etc. Good grief I wanted to get out of there as soon as I drove in.

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    김치전!Hamilton Nolan
    10/14/13 10:36am


    Shows what you know, Nolan, I got a system. Yes sir, this Martingale is going to make me richer than anything. All I need is a little more seed money to get me back in the black...

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      benjaminalloverHamilton Nolan
      10/14/13 10:45am

      For me, this is an obvious truism. I've gambled before and I hated it. (a, i'm cheap, and b, i'm good at math) but I think there are some people for whom it is a drug, like my Dad. He has a problem with secret online day-trading, and has lost a lot of money on the stock market "playing" with my parents retirement fund. That casino isn't any less random and has no better odds, let's agree.

      The weekly lottery ticket? That's allowable for him, and for me. He plans all week in great detail how and on whom and what he'll spend his never-existent winnings on, and it brings him great joy. It's true that lottery tickets are a tax on the poor and "hope in exchange for money" but for only $2, that's a pretty good deal on hope.

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        tnsofkingsqnzHamilton Nolan
        10/14/13 12:57pm

        When I was a kid, I used to waste tons of money at those casino-themed arcades on the Wildwood boardwalk, had a lot of fun playing the slot machines.

        A few months ago I went to an actual casino for the first time. No more coins, they did some tricky digital "credits" system that makes you forget that you're spending real money (and the minimum dollar limit that their machines accepted was a great touch). The entire place smelled like a mix of cigarettes, hand sanitizer, and freon. The other people playing seemed so.. zoned out. It was depressing.

        Didn't spend much money, ended up sitting at the penny slots and drinking the free Coors Lite. The restaurants were fantastic, though, and very cheap.

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          raincoasterHamilton Nolan
          10/14/13 1:42pm

          Those are better odds than I'd thought, actually.

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            boristhinkyHamilton Nolan
            10/14/13 12:13pm

            I'm the vp of a casino in Las Vegas. I've also worked in Native American casinos and in Macau and Australia. The easiest people to beat in a casino are those with limited bankrolls. If you sit down with $30 and play $5 blackjack, it only takes 6 losses to wipe you out. You might win, but the average $30 player isn't going to be happy walking away with $50 - you want to win hundreds of dollars, and that's just very unlikely to happen. So basically, you play your $30 and end up losing.

            The hardest players to beat are the players with a lot of money, who are not afraid to wager it and somehow still understand the value of a dollar. For some reason, these people are usually Asian. They may buy in for $30k and be very happy to walk out with $35k or $40k. They're making good profits, but the amount is not a statistical anomaly. The challenge for the casino is to either keep them coming back (eventually they will lose it) or be disciplined enough to turn away the big play to begin with. There's no worse feeling than getting whacked by a big player then hearing that he blew it all away at another casino.

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              Moscaboristhinky
              10/14/13 2:04pm

              But are you really "beating" anyone? In exchange for losing a small bank, the player gets drinks, perhaps a buffet, some free play, and the CHANCE to win. Not to mention the thrill of the anticipation before the cards are revealed.

              It's a fair trade. Casino gambling is part of the hospitality industry. Mrs and I continue to go because we feel we get fair value for our entertainment dollar. There are enough casinos in the US that those who don't have it together at the personal level don't get our business. But those that do... those that are fun places to play, where the rooms and halls are clean, where the restaurants and shops are good, where the dealers are pleasant and accurate, and the slots new and in order... those casinos get our business, and happily.

              And regarding the odds... if they weren't in the house's favor, it wouldn't be any fun to try and beat them. Think about it.

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              boristhinkyMosca
              12/27/13 12:26pm

              Sorry for the late reply... just happened to log in to Gawker again.

              For the people I described in the $30 category, you're right, we're not "beating" them. We're trading them entertainment for our theoretical advantage. On the higher end, I can tell you it's very competitive. The players aren't doing this for entertainment - they're doing it to make money. Some are smarter than others. It's very competitive and the fact that the house does lose to these guys sometimes makes it all the more important that we win versus the little guys ALL the time...

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            OverKillHamilton Nolan
            10/14/13 10:37am

            My money is on the Nigerian Prince I met online

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              The Other TheronOverKill
              10/14/13 10:46am

              I juts got word that some random dude with my last name died and if I send my information by fax and don't tell anyone about it, I can have his estate, no questions asked. Sounds legit!

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