Ask the Slot Expert: Sky-high minimums at table games

Question: Yes, bubble craps can reroll the same number. I've rolled 6,6 or 8,8, or even 7,7,7.

Until recently it was my fav cuz I use a few systems that work most of the time. One time I made 3,500 starting with a bank roll of 200. But lately when I walk in a girl gets on a computer in the cash cage and I start losing.

It seems to me the games are fair unless they manipulate it manually.If they find a gambler who tries to Martingale bets and wins big. They are going to avoid it next time.

I truly believe they can manipulate the game to a desired outcome if they choose and sometimes they will. Depending on the player. If they didn't do that I would make money everytime.

I've found a system with craps that although it takes a long time say about 3 hours to make 1,000 with a bank of 100. If you work it long enough and the game is fair you'll win 90% of the time.

Of course no system is perfect and I didn't make this system up I modefyed it alittle .it's the martingale/field but I start with 2$ bets and only martingale 5 times max then I start over .

Answer: Nevada has a regulation that says an electronic game that mimics a live game must have the same odds as the live game. So, video poker machines must deal from fair decks, the math on electronic blackjack must be the same as that on the game dealt at a table, and the odds on electronic craps must be the same as at the craps table.

Other jurisdictions may not be as strict. You can visit the site for your local gaming commission to see if it has regulations governing electronic versions of table games.

It's certainly possible to throw the same number multiples times in a row at the table. It would be funny -- and suspicious -- if we didn't see streaks at the electronic version.

Have you ever noticed how every system only works some of the time?

I was playing video poker next to Henry Tamburin. He held a 4-card royal and was about to draw a replacement card.

"When I'm drawing to a 4-card royal," I said, "I close my eyes and hit the Draw button."

"Does that work?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, about once every 47 hands."

Ah, the Matingale. I remember when one of my friends in college thought he had found a sure-fire way to beat the casino: Double your bet when you lose. I remember the professor telling him that he wasn't the first person to think of this system and that it doesn't work. You can end up risking a lot of money just to show a net profit of your initial bet. If you don't have unlimited funds, you might find yourself with not enough money to double your bet.

In the years following college, I learned another reason the Martingale does not work. The table maximum may prevent you from making the next bet in the series.

If you truly believe a girl at the cash cage is manipulating the machines to keep you from winning, then don't play them.

I'm always puzzled by players who write to tell me that they know the machines are rigged and manipulated against them. They know it's true, they write, because they play the machines regularly.

If they think they're being cheated, why do they keep going back?

I never argue with success. If you're making money with your system, I wish you continued good results.

Stopping the escalation after five iterations limits your losses, at least. But it must be tough to break even after a losing streak winning only $2 at a time.

Question: A quick comment on your September 21 column about the person who wrote about the price of those table games.

We just returned from Vegas this past week and stayed at the resorts across the street from each other. Being a dedicated craps player, I was really cut off from playing my fav games in almost all cases. The minimums were $50 and $100 even during the day in both casinos.

I guess that’s how they get to that billion dollar amount.

It appears to me that the $15 tables are a thing of the past and if you're lucky enough to catch $25 tables, you need to squeeze in sideways to play. Guess I’ll have to lose 30 pounds by my next trip so I can play at those tables.

Anyway, always enjoy your writings and points of view on the casino industry. Keep up the great job.

Answer: Thanks for the kind words.

Hmm. Resorts across the street from each other. I guess that narrows it down to somewhere on the Strip, unless you were at Palms-Gold Coast-Rio.

Must be the Strip. You wouldn't find minima that high off the Strip.

One day I'll be able to tell my grandchildren -- which would be quite an achievement considering that I don't have any children -- that once upon a time not only did I use coins to play slot machines, I could also get a good gamble in a casino on the Strip. Yes, there once was a time when The Venetian, Treasure Island, and Caesars Palace had 9/6 Jacks machines in dollars.

I've written in past columns that the only way a casino can raise its prices is by lowering paybacks. I have to include another method.

A casino can raise its prices by raising its minimum bet.

Sure, it'll still offer a decent game, but now a 9/6 Jacks machine is going to be a $5 machine. And it had to order more black minimum-bet signs for the table games.

Has putting more emphasis on fine dining, shopping, and big name entertainment made offering a good gamble on the casino floor less important -- maybe even irrelevant -- on the Strip? What do you think?

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