Lights, camera, action!

19 April 2016

By Frank Scoblete

Let’s go back in time for a brief moment. Recall how the old film crews would have their director shout out, “Lights, camera, action!” and the actors would scurry about their scene and the lighting director would make sure they could be seen and the scene and the seen played themselves out.

Jump to our modern-day casinos. The same thing happens in their environs, except the patrons and players are usually not aware of (or not too aware of) it. But look around — the tables are well lit; the slot machines too. Casinos would not want their patrons to miss the games.

In the olden times, even before I spent my time in the temples of chance, casinos tended to be dark — but enough complaints were made over the years (decades!) about the Sumerian darkness that casino bosses woke up and saw the light.

Now look up at the ceiling. See those dark glass globes? Those are the cameras, and those cameras are filming the actors; those actors being you and the dealers and everyone who is scurrying about the casino. These are the security cameras attempting to keep track of everything that goes on in the palace of playing pleasure.

And what is the “action” part of the modern casino? Action on a certain level is everything that happens at the tables and machines and aisles and hallways. However, to refine it somewhat, there are some players who are often referred to as “action players” by casino honchos because these players’ bets are outrageously big and (often) outrageously stupid. Some “action players” delight in attempting to dethrone the Goddess of Luck by making bets that will cause them to ultimately sink in the mire.

Casinos love “action players,” and why not? These are the players that help make casinos truly profitable businesses. These are the players casino bosses hunger for. Why should an “action player” play in a disciplined fashion, making low house-edge bets, when they can “let ‘er rip” and throw caution and coin to the winds?

While “action player” might sound fancy and positive, casino personnel know that action players are usually not the brightest gamblers, regardless of whatever success these people have had in their real lives. They are, as one casino manager told me long ago, the “cement that helps build the casinos large.” (The guy was kind of poetic.)

So when the lights are on the game; when the cameras are filming you; what kind of action will you give? Will you chew up the scenery, overacting while losing a mint over time or will you give a subtle performance that allows you to give the casino a run for its money?

I think you know what I think. I prefer the good bets with low house edges, slow games, and the proper strategies for card games where such strategies have merit. If anyone calls you an “action player,” then it is time to analyze just how you’re playing and make the necessary corrections.

Keep in mind that being called an “action player” is criticism indeed. Think of it as the director going “lights, camera, and get that actor off the set!”


Frank Scoblete’s new books are “I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps”; “Confessions of a Wayward Catholic” and “I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack.” All available from Amazon.com, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, and at bookstores.