The Integrated Gambler: How to Enjoy the Total Casino Experience - Part 4

The Captain of craps, that legendary Atlantic City craps player about whom I've written many books, tapes and articles, stresses that casino players "must maintain their normal rhythms" to enjoy the casino experience "to its fullest."

"In a casino [town]," states the Captain, "you have the best games, the best food, the best entertainment, the best of everything, and you have much of this around the clock. Yet, many people never leave the tables or machines and never get to savor everything the casino has to offer. What's even worse is that many people so change the normal flow of their lives -- they go to bed extremely late, eat much more than they normally would and at odd times of the day or night, and they drink too much, certainly more than they are used to drinking, and they play too much. They change their normal rhythms and that can be a huge mistake in a gambling town."

The Captain believes that people who act this way "lose the ability to think clearly and act intelligently." They also lose the ability to have fun. In so pursuing the gambling goddesses, they lose sight of all the beautiful things around them in the casino world. In short, many casino vacationers go on overload.

John Grochowski, gaming author and contributor to this site, once interviewed a Las Vegas emergency room physician who said the most common casino-related emergency in the city of Vegas is something called the Las Vegas Flu. The first questions the doctors ask a patient who has been brought in from a casino are: "How long have you been without sleep? And how much have you had to drink?" Again, overload.

So to avoid going "off" and losing your composure (and perhaps more of your money than you can truly afford to), and in the interests of helping you to fully enjoy your vacation in a casino town, I have put together the following prescription plan. Follow it and not only will you have a decent shot at winning money when you gamble, you will have a great shot at enjoying every second of your casino vacation.

MINIMUM PLAY FOR THE CASINO IS MAXIMUM PLAY FOR THE PLAYER

Many vacationing casino players want to get rooms, food and entertainment expenses fully or partially comped. To do so most casinos want you to play a minimum of four hours a day at the games of your choice. The casino would prefer that you play longer, of course. In fact, if you were stupid enough to do it, the casinos would wish that you'd stay up for 24 straight hours and play until you droped. (And, yes, there are people who are foolish enough to catch the Las Vegas Flu -- even in towns such as Atlantic City and Tunica!) Overall the players' best shot at beating the casinos at most of the games offered is over the short haul; the more time a player puts in, the more certain it is that the casino's edge will begin to grind the player down. Readers of this site are fully aware that the casino has built in a small, or medium, or large edge into just about every game and bet. So if four hours is enough to get the comps you want, don't give the casino any more than that! That should be the maximum you play. Four hours is a long, long time -- it's half a work day, after all.

Next time: When my wife and I are on an extended casino trip, we make a point of keeping to a regular schedule.