Enough people are critical of casino gambling that I don’t feel I need to discourage you from playing blackjack, craps, or slot machines.
If you enjoy casino games, you should play them. The trick is to become a better casino gambler over time.
Feb 19, 2007 Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling: Winning Ways Andrew Brisman on Amazon.com.FREE. shipping on qualifying offers. “The runaway winner as the best overall gambling encyclopedia written in the past 20 years.”— Detroit Free Press Walk away.
I’ve read dozens (if not hundreds) of books about casino games and gambling. And the best thing you can do with any endeavor is become an expert at it as soon as possible.
Why? You enjoy what you’re good at, and you’re good at what you enjoy.
With casino gambling, it’s easier to become educated about how the games work by not putting any money into action. For most people, this means reading about the games or playing the free versions of the games.
That’s the starting point. In this post, I list the four stages of being a casino gambler along with advice about how to progress to a higher level.
1 – The Complete Newbie to Gambling
First of all, don’t make the mistake of thinking that by labeling casino gamblers I’m somehow judging the content of their character. What makes someone a complete newbie to gambling is simply inexperience.
In fact, everyone starts as a complete newbie to casino gambling. To progress beyond that, you should start by reading a couple of books about casino games and gambling. I can recommend any of the following books on the subject:
- Casino Gambling for Dummies by Kevin Blackwood
- The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Gambling Like a Pro by Stanford Wong
- Winning Ways: The American Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling by Andrew Brisman
Any of these are good enough to get you started. My suggestion is to pick one game that sounds fun, read the chapter on that game, then try it in its free version at an online casino.
If you’re like me, you’ll lean toward the games with the lowest house edge. I play a lot of blackjack and video poker, and I avoid games with a high house edge. You’ll rarely see me playing keno or sic bo, for example.
Once you’ve decided which games you enjoy, it’s time to move on to the next level.
2 – The Well-Informed Casino Gambler
A well-informed casino gambler has read a book or two about casino gambling in general and knows which games she likes to play. She also has a ballpark understanding of which games offer better odds than others.
A well-informed casino gambler can sit down at most casino games and play without having to ask a lot of questions. They might not make the correct strategy decisions all the time, but they don’t have to ask what insurance is in blackjack either.
A well-informed gambler also has a separate bankroll set aside for gambling, and that consists only of money she can afford to lose. She doesn’t have to worry about losing the rent money playing craps, for example.
Most well-informed gamblers are members of the players club at the casino, but they don’t pay too much attention to the details of the players club. They just enjoy the perks when they happen.
A casino gambler at this level is also smart enough to know that the house has an edge at all these games, and the probability of beating that edge is small. They also know that beating the house edge is mostly a matter of luck.
But with skill, some games can be beaten. The next level of gambler, the intermediate, is one who starts to get the hang of beating the casinos.
3 – The Intermediate Casino Gambler
Casino Gambling Free Game
An intermediate casino gambler has specific goals for gambling activities. She probably doesn’t make a living as a gambler, but she might make enough profit from the comps of the players’ club to afford a lot of free vacations.
When she combines that with the rewards from her slots club membership, she’s at least break-even. She might even be profitable, although not profitable enough to make a living playing video poker.
Another example is the so-called “comp wizard.” This is a gambler who uses perfect basic strategy in blackjack combined with some special techniques to maximize the amount of comps she gets from her play.
You can find blackjack games in Vegas with a house edge of 0.3%. The casino, though, awards comps based on the idea that you’re an average gambler. The average gambler doesn’t use basic strategy and faces a house edge of closer to 2.5%.
Since your casino comps are based on the casino’s estimate of your expected loss, it’s easy to see how you might come out ahead on such a deal.
You can also give the casino the impression that you’re playing more hands than you’re actually playing by taking frequent breaks or by sitting out some hands because of some pretend superstition.
You can give the casino the impression that you’re betting more than you actually are by betting big at first and scaling back over time.
They’ll estimate your comp rate based on an average number of hands per hour at an average bet per hand. Your job is to maximize what the casino thinks those numbers are while minimizing what those numbers are in actuality.
Intermediate gamblers usually avoid sucker bets and carnival games. A carnival game is any casino game with a huge house edge that would be better avoided.
4 – The Professional Casino Gambler
A professional casino gambler is the top tier of casino gambling expertise, and the vast majority of casino gamblers won’t achieve this. Even if you’re good enough to get an edge in the casino, the chances of making a living at it are slim to none.
A professional casino gambler makes his living playing casino games. This usually limits the casino games available to blackjack, which has the most opportunity for advantage play.
Some casino gamblers move on to sports betting or poker, both of which are different types of betting from casino games. They’re easier to get a long-term edge at, though.
American Mensa Guide To Casino Gambling Winning Ways Free
Most professional casino gamblers use advantage play techniques in blackjack like card counting, shuffle tracking, and edge sorting. They also often work on a team which provides them with a bigger bankroll.
Some people might think that video poker is also an option for professional gambling, but you’d need higher stakes machines with a bigger edge to make a living playing such games. Sure, if you’re able to live on less than minimum wage, you might be able to become a professional video poker player.
But if you’re smart enough to pull that off, you’re also smart enough to realize you could do much better playing other games and making more money.
Conclusion
Casino gambling is more fun when you know what type of player you are. You can set goals for becoming a better player that way.
Even if you don’t want to climb the ranks, it’s a good idea to get past the complete newbie stage as soon as possible.
What level of casino gambler are you? Leave me a message in the comments and let me know.
Donald 'Don' Schlesinger is a gaming mathematician, author, lecturer, player, and member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame who specializes in the casino game of blackjack. His work in the field has spanned almost four decades. He is the author of the book Blackjack Attack - Playing the Pros' Way, currently in its third edition, which is considered one of the most sophisticated theoretical and practical studies of the game to date.[1]
Schlesinger was born in New York City and graduated from the City College of New York (CCNY) with a B.S. degree in mathematics. In addition, he holds M.A. and M.Phil. degrees in French from the City University of New York. Don began his professional life teaching mathematics and French in the New York City school system. In 1984, he changed professions and, until 1998, was a principal (executive director) at a Wall Street investment bank.[2] Since his retirement from the finance industry, he has devoted even more time to blackjack, in a researching, writing, teaching, and playing capacity.
His contributions to the game include research into optimal betting, risk analysis, optimal back counting, Floating Advantage, camouflage and team play,[3] and card counting systems comparison.
He is most well known for:
- Creating the Illustrious 18, an abridged set of the most efficient card counting indices mentioned in most card counting books published in the last 30 years.[4][5]
- Creating DI (Desirability Index) and SCORE (Standard Comparison of Risk and Expectation), to optimally compare games under various scenarios.[6]
- Publication of the optimal Blackjack composition-dependent basic strategy.[7]
Schlesinger has edited, consulted and/or collaborated with many of the leading Blackjack analysts, programmers, and authors, including Stanford Wong, Edward O. Thorp, Peter Griffin, Arnold Snyder, Karel Janeček, John Auston, Katarina Walker, and Norm Wattenberger. In addition, he has contributed to many different issues of the aficionado magazine Blackjack Forum. .
Books that mention Schlesinger include:
- Repeat Until Rich by Josh Axelrad
- Blackjack: A Professional Reference, the Encyclopedia of Casino Twenty-One by Michael Dalton
- The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic by Dr. Richard Arnold Epstein
- The Doctrine of Chances: Probabilistic Aspects of Gambling By Dr. Stewart N. Ethier
- Finding the edge: mathematical analysis of casino games By Dr. Olaf Vancura, Dr. Judy A. Cornelius, Dr. William R. Eadington
- Burning the Tables in Las Vegas by Ian Andersen
- Professional Blackjack by Dr. Stanford Wong
- Risk and Reward: The Science of Casino Blackjack by Dr. N. Richard Werthamer
- Knock-Out Blackjack by Dr. Olaf Vancura, Ken Fuchs
- Basic Blackjack by Dr. Stanford Wong
- The Blackjack Zone by Dr. Eliot Jacobsen
- Legends of Blackjack by Kevin Blackwood and Larry Barker
- Play Blackjack Like the Pros by Kevin Blackwood
- Blackjack autumn: a true tale of life, death, and splitting tens by Barry Meadow
- Blackjack: Play Like the Pros by John Bukofsky
- Frugal Video Poker by Jean Scott
- Dynamic Blackjack by Dr. Richard Reid
- Blackjack Blueprint by Rick Blaine
- Blackbelt in Blackjack by Arnold Snyder
- Blackjack Diary by Stuart Perry
- Beyond Counting by Dr. James Grosjean
- Hollywood Blackjack by Dave Stann
- The Pro's Guide to Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon by Katarina Walker
- Modern Blackjack by Norm Wattenberger
- Bootlegger's 200 proof blackjack by Mike Turner
- You've Got Heat by Barfarkel
- Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling: Winning Ways by Andrew Brisman
- Silver Fox Blackjack System by Ralph Stricker
- Get the Edge at Blackjack by John May
Books that briefly acknowledge Schlesinger:
- Gambling 102: The Best Stratgies for All Casino Games by Michael Shackleford
- Gambling Theory and Other Topics by Mason Malmuth
- Blackjack for Blood by Bryce Carlson
- Extra Stuff by Dr. Peter Griffin
- Blackjack Essays by Mason Malmuth
- Gambling for Winners: Your Hard-Headed, No B.S. Guide to Gaming by Richard Stooker
- Fundamentals of '21' by Mason Malmuth, Lynne Loomis
References[edit]
- ^Knappster: Is what's good for Macau good for Vegas?
- ^http://www.volx.us/bio4.htm
- ^Blackwood, Kevin 'Play Blackjack Like the Pros', 2005, Harper Collins, pages 107, 122, 147, 227
- ^'Encyclopedia of Casino Twenty-One'. Spur of the Moment Publishing. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
- ^Blackwood, Kevin 'Play Blackjack Like the Pros', 2005, Harper Collins, pages 18, 68-70, 85
- ^Epstein, Richard A. 'The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic' 2nd edition, 2009, Academic Press, page 273
- ^Epstein, Richard A. 'The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic' 2nd edition, 2009, Academic Press, page 267-268
