Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

25 December 2018

By Frank Scoblete

FROM ROBINSON: I need a Christmas gift. Do all bets and all games have a house edge? If so, that means no game can be beaten. So why are casinos so serious as games are being played? Are they that worried players or dealers will cheat if given the chance? I have seen so many floor people frowning as the games are being played that at times it makes me uncomfortable. These people should change their attitude or get another job.

But if games, or some games, can be beaten, I can understand why floor people and pit bosses get worried. They don’t want to lose the casino’s money. So do you have a Christmas present for me?

FRANK RESPONDS: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! Hard though this is to believe, many games can be beaten either with the proper strategy or knowing when to enter the game. In slots, there are machines called banking machines that can, at times, become positive. That means from a certain point the game will favor the player. These machines are disappearing. You can find them in my book "Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines!" As I said these machines are vanishing.

In blackjack astute players can count the cards and play perfect basic strategy along with some strategy changes depending on where the count of the cards is. There are other methods too. I have them in my book "I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack."

If you can learn to control the dice at craps, making proper low house-edge bets and not wagering on many other shooters (meaning random shooters) who will ultimately lose you money, the game can be beaten. This is a very hard skill to develop. It takes a tremendous amount of practice. You can find out the technique in my book "I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps!"

Some video poker machines can be beaten with the proper strategy. These can be found in the book "Everything Casino Poker." The section on video poker, written by Casino City Times columnist Jerry Stickman is excellent and will set you on your way. Even the game Pai Gow Poker can be beaten, although the effort might not be worth it.

Many criminals and some criminal dealers do try to cheat the house. I guess wherever people gather there will always be crooks and con men. The casinos have to be alert to these people. I once saw a video of a dealer who was able to steal chips right off the table as she was dealing! When the camera went to slow motion you saw how she did it. It was an amazing thing to watch.


Visit Frank’s website at www.frankscoblete.com. Frank Scoblete’s latest 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. Available from Amazon.com, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, and at bookstores.