An Overview of the Games

13 July 2023

By Royal Flushes

CINDY: I think for new readers and maybe our regular readers, it might be a good idea to give our overview of the games we play the most and how we play them.

ABBY: Yes, that might be a good column. Lay out clearly what we think and where we’re coming from. I’m for it.

CINDY: My two favorite games are blackjack and craps, with roulette coming in third and, believe it or not, Pai Gow Poker in fourth place. Over time I have found that game to be relaxing and fun. [Author] Frank Scoblete is a big fan of that game and I don’t blame him.

ABBY: I would add to your list, which I basically agree with; I’d add mini-baccarat for lower stakes like no more than $25. I will sit out some decisions because it is an extremely fast game. I do a lot of people-watching at that game because many of the players are amazingly eccentric and superstitious. That alone makes playing the game for a short time a lot of fun. You have to be careful with the speed of the game; that is my warning to players. I never bet the tie bet.

CINDY: I play the basic strategy at blackjack. I memorized it when we first started coming to the casinos. I try to play at full or almost full tables to cut down the decisions that I have to play – that alone saves me money.

ABBY: You’re only playing against about a half-percent house edge – that’s an expectation of losing 50 cents per $100 that you bet. I use the basic strategy too. Perhaps the only annoying thing about blackjack that happens sometimes is you’ll get players who think they are the expert at the game and they keep telling other players what to do with their hands.

CINDY: And they are almost always wrong!

ABBY: Thankfully, this doesn’t happen a lot but when it does, it is so irritating.

CINDY: I’ve come down to telling these people that I will play the cards the way I want to play them because it is my money that I am wagering. That’s my polite way of telling them to shut up.
ABBY: Craps, my favorite game of all; totally exciting.

CINDY: Agreed!

ABBY: I am a totally conservative player. No more than three bets, pass line with odds and two come bets with odds. The base bet I keep low and try to maximize my odds bets. All the other bets you can forget about. They are a waste of your money.

CINDY: I agree but I would add place-betting the six or eight. The house edge on those bets is a small 1.52 percent. Play conservatively and you can have many winning sessions.

ABBY: I do not know why players make all those bad craps bets. Maybe they want to win a lot of money with a single hit. I don’t know.

CINDY: Oh, yeah, and I have no interest in betting the darkside (don’t) bets. You could get everyone at the table to hate you.

ABBY: I like roulette. I prefer betting the proposition bets on the outside, usually the even-money bets (red/black, high/low, odd/even).

CINDY: I can go with the straight-up roulette bets directly on the numbers. Yes, this is where I will want a big payout for a single bet. Of course, the house edges on all the bets at roulette are the same. The pattern of wins and losses is what’s different on the different bets. You can have big losing streaks on the straight-up bets but when they hit, bam!

ABBY: We don’t really get much in the way of European roulette. Maybe in the big casinos.

CINDY: The single-zero [0] wheel is the best. You don’t find them much and when you do, they are usually more expensive because it is a better game.

ABBY: And what about the new games?

CINDY: So-so only. Usually, they come in with multiple bets and/or higher edges and faster speeds. I’ll give them a try but they aren’t the main meal, that’s for sure.

ABBY: What about side bets?

CINDY: Never make them.

ABBY: Me neither. How much do you like going to the casinos?

CINDY: Casino-hotels are great places.

ABBY: Agreed!