Readers write

10 January 2017

By Frank Scoblete

FROM CLIFF: I totally agree with your article Don't Throw It Away. I have been a constant reader of the various games. I decided to read the articles about the casinos and the books about the games. Because of these decisions I will lose a small amount $300 or less instead of throwing money away. Now understand $300 is a lot but within my budget.

After reading about video poker I started to play games with a little better pay table than another game. Last Sunday I lost a $100 playing video poker not hitting four-of-a-kind or full houses. I decided to go play blackjack. I played for three hours at the table. It was a $10 table. I played mostly the $10 once in a while would push it up a little. Short time was playing $30 but when I busted went back down to 10. I had bought in with $100. When I left the table, I had my $100. I lost $100 for the evening.

Now comes the good news: My wife was winning at the tables. She played blackjack, three card poker and Mississippi stud. She had won a little on each table with her highest winnings at Mississippi Stud. She had a flush and a straight plus many two pairs. She ended up the evening just over $300 won. She had a good night and had enjoyed herself.

If we don't throw it away we tend to go home feeling good about the trip. Before I started to read your column I was playing not smart. So I want to say thank you for the great stories and the wonderful advice.


FROM “THE GRAVE”:

Like reading your advice and think it's great.

But I'm one of those players that like doing something goofy at blackjack just for the fun of it every now and then.

My favorite was the time we had one player at a full $25 table giving advice to the rest of us on every hand.

I finally got tired of it, and doubled on a 13 against a dealer 6 just to tick him off. I expected to bust, and did.

He jumped up, announced he couldn't play at a table with idiots, and stormed off. Best $50 I ever spent in a casino.

What could be better than playing at a table with great rules and average players, and hopefully winning without the casino even caring?

My question is, why don't the supposed experts realize that the more people who do play poorly in a casino, the more the casino makes and the less they need to try wringing every nickel out of us with nonsense like 6/5 tables?


FROM NEIL: Hi Frank, always enjoy your column and great advice, great stories from regular people!

I just hit my first Royal ever.

The back story to this is that I always rent a car. I don't want to be captive to the casino all day since there's so much more to see and do. Well, on this occasion I decided to take my wife, Anne, to Frye's Dept store, south Strip. I took the Freeway from downtown and due to the speed of the locals, was unable to cross 4 lanes of traffic so missed the exit I needed.

This caused Anne to comment on my driving skills and it deteriorated from there. Needless to say, the mood was not in vacation mode for the ride back. However, we don't stay "upset" with each other very long because it's wasted energy.

So we found ourselves at the Triple Seven — the restaurant/bar in the hotel — then went to play DDB $5/hand. I looked over at Anne after doing fairly well at that point and said "I am going to hit a royal someday, I don't know when, but I am going to get one."

Twenty minutes later, I was dealt four royal clubs, missing the jack. My experience with being dealt this combo is the kiss of death, usually a pair, or nothing. I discarded and the jack came up. I was in shock, couldn't fathom it, no bells, the machine acted like it always does. In what seemed an eternity (probably 5-10 seconds) Anne says "You did it!" Hand pay of 40 $100 bills! And a tax form, of course.

I know this is long, no need to print it, but thought you'd appreciate another "regular guy came out on top" story.


Frank Scoblete’s new books are Confessions of a Wayward Catholic, I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps! and I am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack. Available on Amazon.com, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, and at bookstores.