There's something about Carla

13 August 2015

By John Grochowski

Carla is a regular reader of this column who likes to tell her stories. A couple of years ago, she told of a nice run with a betting progression at blackjack in which her $100 buy-in became $1,800.

Her most recent e-mail came when I was collecting stories about alternatives for time away from their main games.

“I probably spend 75% of my time at blackjack,” she wrote. “When I do something else, it’s usually another card game, with just a little dabble on the slots. In my parents’ house, we were always playing cards of some kind. Pinochle, spades, hearts, rummy, crazy 8s, Uno – you name it, we played it.

“We didn’t really play poker as a family, though I watched my mom and dad play with their friends sometimes. I learned to rank poker hands just by watching.”

That has come in handy, given that so many casino games are based on poker, even though you’re playing against the house instead of against other players. Carla ticked off some of the games she’s tried.

“I’ve played Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, Mississippi Stud, Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker. The one I really like is Three Card Poker. I like the Pair Plus, because you can get a nice 40-1 on the straight flush.

“It’s easy and relaxed, and I don’t have to concentrate very hard, so I’m ready when I go back to blackjack.”

After the first time I wrote about alternative games a while back, I also heard from Jeremy and Quyn.

“If you play craps at all, you know some days it’s just not happening,” said Jeremy, who spends most of his casino time betting on the dice. “A cold table in craps is like Arctic cold, and I try to get my money someplace warmer.

“One place I go is roulette. I don’t bet a lot of money there, because I know the odds aren’t very good, but it takes time for the wheel to spin and if you stick to the minimums, you don’t really bet much per hour. It was the first game I ever played in a casino.

You know what I really don’t like? Blackjack. It just seems soooooo slow to me. People really aren’t rooting for each other, they’re mostly just looking at their own hands, until somebody makes a mistake. Then there’s always someone who wants to jump all over the poor guy who maybe made a bad play. Who needs that?”

Quyn jumps around a little more than some other players.

“I’ve adopted Three Card Poker as my main game in the last couple of years, but really, I probably only play it a third of the time,” he said. “I play blackjack, and I did learn basic strategy online, so I do OK. I try a little roulette, once in a while I’ll jump on craps, though I don’t like to be the shooter.

“I do play some penny slots, especially when my wife is with me. The game that we like lately is Batman – the 1960s Batman. I guess first impressions do make a difference. The first time I played, on my first spin, I got the bonus wheel, and it landed on Joker. That meant I got eight free spins, with special Joker wild symbols, and I had a spin where it was Jokers all the way across. It was fun, and it’s part of my list of things to do now, though Three Card Poker still comes first.”

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