Pressing bets

11 August 2015

By Frank Scoblete

I get several e-mails a month asking me what the best pressing method is. These usually refer to the table games, mostly craps, blackjack, mini-baccarat and roulette. I usually write back the following:

“Do not bother to press because the extra money you put out there is subject to the exact same house edge as the original money. So now you are giving the house more.”

I might get a “thanks” in a return e-mail or no response whatsoever (that response would probably have been “That idiot, what does he know?”). Pressing bets -- meaning doubling the wager or increasing the wager somewhat after a good run -- seems to be a grand desire of many casino gamblers. Get more money out there to get a bigger win!

I certainly do understand the feeling of wanting to get more money out there in good times. The fact that there is no real “good” trend branching out into the future often does not enter our minds because we now see an opportunity to win a bundle. There is also no real “bad” trend that can be predicted, either. The future is unclear. Yet it feels as if it is clear and if we get more money on the layout, we will coast home in our new Rolls Royce.

I think a casino gambler should bet the minimum that gives him or her reasonable thrill but no more than that. Five dollars might not ring your bells, but $25 will freeze your breath. So bet $10.

Except for the rare lightning strike from the gods (“Oh, by the way honey, I just won Megabucks for 20 million; what’s for breakfast?”), casino gambling is really not the way to accumulate money, unless you own the casino. The more you play casino games, the better the chance you will be behind, due to the grinding effects of the house edge. That edge is almost inescapable.

In craps, I see some players press immediately, without having actually won anything of worth. These players are just saying to the casino, “Take my money, please.”

With the exception of some advantage players, we must realize that the prospects for the players are dim at best. Our emotions tend to get in the way of our intellects in casino matters. The desire to win and to win loads just overcomes our realization that we are walking a tightrope on a fiercely windy day. When we get back to our homes or hotel rooms, we might finally wake up and think, “Gee, I forgot the casino has the edge over me,” but in the casino we tend to go into an altered state of consciousness.

So even though you may not have written me an e-mail asking about “pressing,” I will tell you the same thing I tell everyone: Don’t press. It is a waste of your hard-won money. I also know that some of you, right this moment, will think, “That guy is an idiot. He knows nothing about gambling.”

Frank Scoblete's new book is "I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps."