A PLAYER'S RESOLUTION: QUIT WHEN I'M AHEAD

I first wrote this in late December, 2009, just a few days before New Year's, and it is still valid now.  While the time before New Year's is the traditional time to make resolutions, you can make this resolution anytime you play in a casino.  And one resolution I make every year is to quit while I'm ahead at casino gambling.  Yes, I like to gamble and I don't hide it.  I play craps and I play video poker.  I tend to have more luck at video poker than I do at craps.  I also play live poker -- low limit cash games and low limit tournaments in casinos -- but I have limited luck in live poker (mostly No Limit Hold 'Em) and perhaps it's because I'm not aggressive enough.  I hate playing against people but I love to play against machines as in video poker, and I enjoy craps which is playing against the house.

Well, back to my yearly resolution to quit while I'm ahead.  Frankly, this is the toughest resolution to keep.  I have no trouble quitting when I'm behind because when I reach my "loss limit" I'm outta there or headed for dinner or home or up to the hotel room to watch a movie, or to walk around the mall in the casino complex.  I love playing at local casinos because when I reach my loss limit I just head for my car and leave; in Vegas I might be stuck for another 24 hours.

It's quitting when I'm ahead that's a problem-- because when you're ahead you think -- at least I think -- that I'm now playing with the casino's money and if I lose my profit I'm really losing the casino's money and not my money.  Of course the truth is, once I win it-- it's my money and not the casino's anymore.  So every single time I keep making a bet after I'm ahead -- after I have a profit -- I am risking my money and not the casino's money.

What keeps me playing when I'm ahead is the possibility that I'm going to win more.  Is this the start of the big streak?  What about the advice to let your profits run? 

Well, let me remind myself of something here:  every casino game whether it be craps or blackjack or video poker or roulette or Let It Ride has a house advantage and over the long term the house advantage always comes out ahead and the player always loses in the long run.  So, I might have another winning bet at craps, or I might hit another straight at video poker-- but in the long run, the more I keep betting the more the house is going to win.

So that's why I want to quit when I'm ahead -- because the more I keep playing, the more the house is likely to win.

But gosh, maybe that next throw of the dice will be that win on the passline?  And maybe that next push of the button will give me that royal flush?

The truth is, it's awfully tough to quit while you're ahead.  So that's why I like to pause when I'm ahead and count my profit.  And when I finish counting, I ask myself what can I do with this money?  And if an outstanding bill comes to mind, or an upcoming bill comes to mind, or a purchase I'd like to make in the mall comes to mind, it becomes a lot easier to quit while I'm ahead.

TABLE GAME MINIMUMS STAY LOW IN VEGAS BECAUSE OF RECESSION

It's been about two years now that table game minimums at major "Strip Casinos" in Las Vegas have had reduced table minimums.  In the case of Caesars Palace, for example, the "standard" $25 minimum bet craps and blackjack tables are gone now, and now (updated July 2010) you are likely to find even $10 minimum bet tables in the Palace Casino at Caesars Palace.  The Palace Casino is the premier casino inside Caesars.  Caesars also has its "Forum Casino" which typically had lower minimum games.

It's not just the table minimums that are getting reduced because of the recession, but insiders at Caesars Palace tell me that the casino is tightening up on "rewards" for players.  There was a recent "shopping promotion" at Caesars where players are given "shopping sprees," and at the latest shopping promotion, fewer players were given shopping sprees at the level of $5,000 and were downgraded to the $2,500 level or even to $2,250.

"There were two reasons for this," a member of the marketing team at Caesars Palace told me.  "First, player betting is down, and secondly the casino is tightening up."

With the cut in table game minimums, the clientele at Caesars Palace is also changing.  It's definitely younger.  More young players are at the craps tables.  When the craps games had a $25 minimum (or higher) the craps tables were financially out of reach for younger players.  Now, with $10 minimum bet tables -- even on Friday and Saturday nights -- the games are packed with players in their early 20's.  That means casino personnel are busier checking ID cards and driver licenses for their new clientele.

And the drop in table game minimums, and the rush of new, younger players, actually complements some of the other big changes at Caesars Palace including the draw of Pure Nightclub.  The elegant poker room at Caesars and the frequent and popular poker tournaments at Caesars have also drawn more of the younger players.  Could the demographics of Caesars be changing from an older, wealthier clientele to a younger and "less rich" clientele?  If that is what is happening, what else might change at Caesars?

FOR YOU POKER PLAYERS...

Overheard at a Las Vegas poker tournament: 

How do you get a professional poker player to leave your front door?  Pay for the pizza.  (Okay, I didn't get it at first either.  But the idea is that "everyone" is calling themselves a professional poker player these days, including those who earn a living delivering pizza.  Hmm.)

Also overheard at a Las Vegas poker tournament:

What's the difference between a poker player and a 5-year old?  The 5-year old eventually grows out of whining.

TEN GAMING RESOLUTIONS

Here are ten gaming resolutions that will help you hold on to your money, and might help you put some money into your pockets as you play in casinos.

1.  I will always be a member of the casino's player's club and I will always play with the player's club card so that I can make use of the benefits including comps and cash back and promotions.

2.  I will have a budget for my play and I will stick to it.  I will resist the temptation to play "another twenty dollars" once my budget has been reached.

3.  I will play games that I know how to play.  In the case of video poker, I will know the correct strategy for the type of video poker game, or in the case of table games such as blackjack I will also know the correct strategy before I play.

4.  I will read the "junk mail" that casinos send me and keep track of the offers.  And, I will adjust my scheduled visits if there is a promotion or deal that will save me money.

5.  I will play games that fit my budget.

6.  I will stick to my budget and resist playing another "spin" on a slot machine because the "counter" on the machine says "another spin" would earn me extra credits or comp dollars on my player's card account.

7.  I will walk away when I have a big win, and not put it back into the machine or back onto the table.  Big wins happen rarely, and I will enjoy the next "big win" that comes along.

8.  I will make use of the casino comps and freebies that I have earned.  If free show tickets are available -- I will see the show, even if I don't like it.  If there is a free gift I will pick it up, even if I don't need another blender or toaster or blanket with the casino's name on it.

9.  If I am not having any fun gambling, I will stop gambling, and come back later.  What's the sense of playing if it's no fun?

10.  I will smile at the dealers, smile at the desk clerk, smile at the housekeeping staff, smile at the cashier, smile at other players, and smile at myself.  It will create good karma and while that might not help me win, it will help me enjoy myself.

I CAN'T BELIEVE HARRAH'S ALLOWED THIS BLUNDER

Harrah's Entertainment, perhaps the largest casino operator on the planet, and the operator of Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Bally's, Harrah's and other prominent casinos, recently mailed out to thousands of players its Total Rewards Magazine for Winter 2008.  The magazine includes articles about entertainment at various resorts, also about shows, and clubs.  And from time to time, the Total Rewards Magazine includes a primer about a particular casino game.

In the Winter 2008 edition (page 30) there is an article titled Craps 101 with "just the basics" of the game.  I read the "basics," and they are flat out wrong.  I can't believe that such a blunder made it into print and got sent to the homes and businesses of thousands of players.

The article correctly points out that if a 7 or 11 is thrown on the first roll it is an instant winner for those who bet "pass."  

But what about the second roll of the dice?  The article says, and this is a direct quote, "now you can bet and roll again.  If instead you roll a 2, 3 or 12, you 'crap out.'  The bet goes to the house, and the next shooter steps up."

Well, the article is correct about the pass line bet going to the house (it's lost) if a roll on another come out bet is 2, 3 or 12.  But the dice do not pass to the next shooter.  The original shooter still has the option to throw the dice again.  

By the way, if you are betting "pass," and a point has already been established, then throwing a 2, 3 or 12 does not affect your passline bet.  It is, in effect, a "neutral number" that does not cause you to lose anything or win anything unless you made those particular side bets called "horn bets."

To "crap out" really means that you threw a 7 after a point is established.  In the game of craps, when a 7 comes before the point is rolled again, the shooter loses his passline bet and loses his turn with the dice.

I am amazed that this mistake about losing your turn from throwing a "craps" made it into print.  By the way, the article also refers to a craps crew member as "croupier" but I have never heard of a craps dealer being called a "croupier."  I've only heard them called "dealer."

The article also gives misleading and confusing information about what a "come bet" is.  The article calls the come bet "wagers on numbers other than the point."  And that's not true.  The come bet has nothing to do with the "point," it is just another "come out" bet.