Back to book contents Deciding What Games To Play

Perhaps you're looking at the title of this chapter and asking, "Why does this matter?" If you overlook this, you're overlooking one of the most important factors in determining comp levels. When a casino decides how many comps to give players, they base their decision on an estimation of how much money they'll be winning. Therefore, games that give the house a small edge earn players less comps while games that have a big house edge get the player more comps. Now I'm not suggesting that you play a game that has a big house advantage just so you can earn more comps. Do this and you'll blow through your money so quickly that your vacation will end sooner than you had hoped! But if you find yourself doing well in a game with a high house advantage, you can mention that when you ask for a comp. Here's an idea of which games have a big house advantage and which ones are smaller. (Keep in mind that all games give the house an edge. If a game were to give the player an edge, that game would be pulled within the blink of an eye!)

Higher House Advantage:
Keno - Casinos love it when you play this game! We've all seen the come-on that says, "Pick 15 out of 20 numbers and win One Million Dollars!" For this game to be a good deal for the player, the odds of doing this would have to be better than 1 in 1,000,000. But to actually pick 15 out of 20, the odds are 1 in 428,010,179,098. (Yes, that is one in Four Hundred Twenty Eight BILLION!) The house has a huge advantage.

Let It Ride - An exciting game that has been quite popular since it was introduced back in the 90's. You can't help but be tempted when you see that if you hit the Royal Flush, they'll pay you $1,000 for every $1 you bet. And if you make the bonus $1 bet, they'll give you an extra $20,000! But to make the Royal, the odds are 1 in 649,740! Again, this is a game with a big house advantage. But be warned - Even though you can place 3 bets per hand, you have the option of pulling back 2 of them. Since you're only guaranteed to be betting one bet, that is the amount they'll be tracking. In other words, if you have three $10 bets on the table, they track as if you are betting $10 - not $30.

Craps - This one depends on how good a craps player you are. If you're good, then you know better than to bet on the Big 6, Big 8, Field, Hardways and other "sucker" bets that are all over the table. Instead, as a good player, you bet the Pass / Don't Pass, Come / Don't Come, and you take odds. Therefore, a good player is less likely to be generously rewarded than a bad one. But if you like to take the "sucker" bets, you'll probably be rewarded with greater comps.

Roulette - Another game that has a big advantage for the house. This is because all roulette wheels have a "0" which means the house doesn't pay out on any bet on the table other than on those who actually said a "0" would be spun. All other bets on the felt are losers. To make things worse, 95% of the roulette tables in the United States have both a single 0 ("0") and a double 0 ("00") which gives the house two chances to collect all bets but the 0 ones! Not only do the zeros give the house an edge, but also this is a game where the actual payouts are less than what they should be if you were to calculate them out. It is a popular game that the casinos love to offer.

Big Six / Wheel Of Fortune - This has to be one of the most boring games the casino offers! You've seen it - it's the game with the large wheel, the spinner / dealer standing in front of it looking bored and a table which lets you place a bet as to what number the wheel will stop on. Bet on the $1 space and if a $1 stops, you win $1 for every buck you bet. Bet on the $5 and you win $5 for every buck you bet, and so on. Of course there are more $1 spaces than there are the higher denominations. So let's say you bet a buck on the $1. To be fair, you would hope the odds of the $1 being spun were 50/50. Nope. Out of the 54 spaces on the wheel, there are only twenty-four $1 ones. So the house advantage on this bet is over 11%. And the house advantage on the higher paying bets can go as high as 24%! This is such a good game for the house that you'll rarely see anyone place more than 1 or 2 bets before they walk away. But if you find yourself hooked, make sure you gave your card to the spinner and let the host know that you realize how big the house advantage is!

Lower House Advantage:
Blackjack - Blackjack has been the most popular table game in history. There are many reasons for this. People love it, it has a small house advantage when it is played correctly, you don't play against other players but instead play against the house so everyone at the table can be a winner and, if studied carefully, anyone can learn to count cards that can actually give the player the advantage! (Note: Card counting is NOT illegal. Perhaps you've heard it is but let me say again, it is NOT. If it were illegal, that would mean that you were being arrested for thinking which, last time I checked, was OK but not done by a majority of the people. But if you count, you take away the house's edge. And since they don't like it when you do it, you can be legally removed from the casino and barred from ever returning. Plus casinos share information with each other so if you get banned in one, you can expect that the others in the neighborhood won't allow you to play there either. My advice is to enjoy the game, but don't take up counting!) Casinos will watch how you play this game to determine your comps. If you know when to hit, stand, split and double, and if you constantly do it "by the book", your comp value will be quite low. If you have no idea what you are doing and are hitting at the wrong time and splitting 10's, you'll probably be rewarded with higher comps. After all, casinos love people that don't know what they're doing! Because this game gives the house a very small edge, casinos are trying to figure out how they can improve their profits. And they've come up with a very simple way to do this that a majority of players fall for. It's called the side-bet. Usually the offer is something like, "Bet a buck next to your regular bet and if you get a same suited blackjack, we'll let you push a button. That button will activate a wheel next to the table which will stop on a bonus payout." Sounds like fun doesn't it? Well adding this "sucker" bet bumps the house edge up by several percentage points! And once you calculate how small the odds are that you'll get a same-suit blackjack and once you notice how rarely the wheel stops on any decent prizes, you'll think twice about making the bet. Still not convinced? OK. Let's say a dealer is dealing 80 hands per hour. And let's say you bet the $1 every time. That means you're laying out an additional $80 every hour! Multiply that by the number of hours you're going to be playing and it can easily add up to several hundred dollars! Perhaps you'll get the occasional same-suit blackjack and you'll get the thrill of spinning the wheel. Unfortunately, the thrill of spinning is usually all you'll get since you probably won't land on a big enough payout to win back all of your dollar side bets. If a table has a side bet option, my advice would be to NOT take it. Simply play regular blackjack "by the book" and your odds of coming out ahead will be better. (If you are interested in purchasing a Blackjack strategy card which can be used at the tables and tells you when to hit, stand, split or double down, send an E-mail to EbooksOnEbay@Gmail.com and I'll send you instructions on how to order.)

Pai Gow - One of the most popular casino games for Asian gamblers. It's a simple game that has a very low house advantage. So low that it is quite difficult to get comps unless you are making very large bets. Even if this is the case, you can expect your comps to roll in much slower on this game than almost any other.

Poker - With the popularity of Poker growing tremendously in the United States, casinos are rushing to build poker rooms and expand on the ones they already have. And players are lining up to play! But since poker is a game where all of the players compete against each other, how does the casino make any money? They make it off of the "rake" which is a small percentage of the pot that they keep for themselves. You can think of it as a fee to cover the expense of offering a table, dealer, cards, room, drinks, etc. The rake is a low percentage so comps are nearly impossible to get when playing Poker. Most casinos won't even take your tracking card as you'd have to play for days just to get a bite to eat! There are casinos that offer these players various comps but they're not easy to find.

Of course there are plenty of other games that could be labeled as a higher or lower house advantage game. And keep in mind that none of these games are labeled "No House Advantage". But if you stick to the games that have a lower house advantage, you'll improve your odds.

Some casinos offer games that are currently being evaluated by the Gaming Commission of that state for possible widespread release into other casinos. All games are tested first not only to verify that the odds are what the game makers claim they are but also so casinos can see if players are interested in them. If you are playing one of the newer games or one of the trial-period games, mention when you request your comps that you were playing these and that you are hoping that will be taken into consideration when issuing your comps.