The Caffeine Games

9 February 2023

By Royal Flushes

CINDY: There are two basic types of casino games, caffeine games and meditative games. As the names suggest one type, caffeine games, is heady and energy producing in order to play properly, and the other type is more internal in terms of a player’s reverie.

ABBY: Today we will look at caffeine games.

CINDY: Let’s look at the ultimate caffeine games of craps, blackjack and roulette.

ABBY: In every way craps requires energy. First you have to stand at the table. On some occasions some players might drag over a chair to sit but you won’t see this too often. At a crowded table players are shoulder to shoulder. There can be some interaction among the players as well.

CINDY: The number of bets a player can make is immense. These are bets that can be excellent in the scheme of things or horrible in the worst scheme of things.

ABBY: Once a player has made his or her bets, that player must know where these bets are located and what these bets pay. The dealers will be usually right in calling and paying winning bets but you never know. They can, and some do, get tired standing and functioning in the game even though they do get breaks. A bad call can cause some problems. Players have to be alert.

CINDY: Craps is a game where most players do make several or more than several ……

ABBY: Or far, far more than several bets.

CINDY: And they better remember these bets. The player who loses awareness of the bets can start asking stupid questions (“Excuse me what bets do I have? I thought I had that other bet?”). The game slows and some of the other players start to grouse.

ABBY: Fatigue is a real factor in this game as are fast wins and faster losses. Awareness of everything going on is important! You must stay awake and be aware especially early in a shooter’s roll when everyone is making various bets.

CINDY: Players have to follow the number of rules and traditions of the game. They violate these and other players will get very annoyed and quite antsy of that player screwing up. They have to also know the order of the dealers’ pay off of the bets.

ABBY: Blackjack can be frustrating as every hand has a discreet way to play it. (By the way, you should play “basic strategy” which is the computer-derived strategy for every player hand against every dealer’s face-up card.) You have to know this strategy or bring a card with the strategy written on it. Some other players, who fancy themselves as experts, do not agree with basic strategy. These players are wrong but their loud voices will never admit that.

CINDY: The game can be somewhat fast paced and other players will not like you slowing everything down. So, sadly, you may feel the urge to speed up – a mistake if you start losing what to do with your hands. Too many blackjack players are intimidated by other blackjack players.

ABBY: Not all hands are easy to play, especially the soft hands of A:2. A:3, A:4, A:5, A:6, A:7, and A:8. You may need a card just for these hands.

CINDY: Blackjack requires constant mental work. Just watch a game and you’ll see that.

ABBY: Roulette has a great number of separate bets players can make and since most players place their own bets it can get kind of chaotic when the dealer says, “Make your bets!” Then when the dealer says “No more bets” some players try to get bets in that they aren’t supposed to make. Aggressive players might (and will!) knock over other players’ bets. Arguments can follow this.

CINDY: All bets directly on a number will pay 35-to-one but some players can’t multiply how that translates into the total payoff of their winning bets. You must know your payouts on the bets you make or bring a card that explains the payouts.

ABBY: Okay, those are three of the caffeine games. You can see from each that that concentration on these is high-level.