Hot, cold and virtual games

28 July 2015

By Frank Scoblete

FROM SNAZZIE: I love your column. I agree with you that charting dice is a losing system. I have seen times when a dice table is "cold." That is when I am betting the pass line with odds and those seven-outs will happen all too frequently.

There may be eight or nine players at a table and no player will make a point. Makes you wonder when the numbers will occur to even out the random percentage. What are your thoughts on streaks like this?

FRANK RESPONDS: Gambling is all about streaks, good, bad and everything in between. I’ve seen them all. Sadly, past streaks tell you nothing about what is to come. Random games just can’t be predicted. Too many players think they can beat the house by betting past streaks. They can’t. The casinos thrive on these players.


FROM DIEGO: I have been reading your articles for years and you have taught me a lot on gambling.

My question is on video baccarat.

The casino that I frequent in northwest Indiana has a video baccarat machine. It has a virtual dealer and multiple people can play on the same dealer. I have watched the game and I noticed that the “cards” never get shuffled.

I am wondering if the machine is shuffling between hands or is the game a glorified slot machine using a RNG?

The same question is on a video blackjack with a virtual dealer.

Thank you for answering my question.

FRANK RESPONDS: Your virtual baccarat machine is indeed using an RNG in order for you to play. However, the game is the same as the table game except for one little thing.

The cards are consistently “shuffled” in the RNG and your odds are the same from hand-to-hand which is slightly different than the regular table game where the cards that have been played are no longer in the deck for the next round.

The same is true for blackjack if the casino is using more than one deck. The cards are “shuffled,” played and when the decisions are made there is a whole new “shuffle.”

Unless the machine is telling you different the above is how things will probably be. These games are pretty good to play as long as you avoid that Tie bet in baccarat.

For the above letters I am sending the writers a copy of my book “The Virgin Kiss.”

Frank Scoblete's new book is “I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps.” Available from Amazon.com, Kindle and at bookstores.