Many video poker players are aware that pay tables vary based on the type of game. Many video poker players know that the pay table for a specific game can also vary. They also know that most pay tables can be identified based on two lines in the pay table. These two lines are the pays for a full house and a flush. They represent the x-for-1 pay amount. For example, if a full house pays 8-for-1 and a flush pays 5-for-1, the pay table is commonly referred to as 8/5.

At one time – years ago – there were very few different video poker games. Jacks or Better was among the earliest video poker games available. Pay tables in the early video poker era tended to be quite generous. Almost all Jacks or Better games paid nine coins (yes, coins. Early games only took coins or tokens) for each coin bet for a full house and six coins for each coin bet for a flush. 

As video poker (virtually all of it was jacks or better) became more popular, casino management began to tinker with pay tables. The early tinkering only affected the full house and flush pays – and virtually always resulted in a reduction in the pay.

Some of the players who played on a somewhat regular basis noticed the reductions. Since the changes only affected the full house and flush, they were able to refer to the pay table in an abbreviated fashion. Those original Jacks or Better pay tables that paid 9-for-1 for a full house and 6-for-1 for a flush were referred to as 9/6. A 9/6 jacks or better pay table was also referred to as “full-pay” since it was the original pay table the paid 99.54 percent with perfect play. Virtually all other pay tables paid less than that.

Inexperienced players quickly pick up that a 9/6 pay table is the best because, after all, it is full pay. What these inexperienced (and some not so inexperienced) players sometimes do not realize is just because the pay table shows nine credits per credit played for a full house and six credits per credit played for a flush does not mean the return of the game is 99.54 percent. It could be higher, but most likely the return is lower. It all depends. 

This article explores several 9/6 pay tables and the games they belong to. It also shows the game names, returns, and variance for each of them. In each case, the 9 and 6 refer to the pays for a full house and a flush, respectively. Continue reading to make sure that when you play video poker you are, indeed, playing the game you think you are.

Please keep in mind that almost all wild card games such as Deuces Wild require more than just two lines of the pay table to define it. For that reason, wild card video poker is not included in this article.

Contents

1. The complete original Jacks or Better pay table and subsequent variants
2. Double Bonus Poker 9/6 pay table
3. Double-Double Bonus 9/6 pay table
4. Other video poker games having 9/6 pay tables
5. Some potentially great 9/6 pay tables that you will (almost) never find
6. Sometimes even a game labeled Jacks or Better is not Jacks or Better
7. The importance of checking the entire pay table
8. Summary

1 – The Complete original Jacks or Better Pay Table & Subsequent Variants

As stated in the introduction, the original Jacks or Better pay table returned 99.54 percent. This pay table also has a very low variance – among the lowest available. This is another reason why a 9/6 pay table is sought out.

Here is the entire pay table:

9/6 Jacks or Better “Full-Pay” – Payback: 99.54 Percent, Variance 19.5

Notice the highlighted rows. Each column shows the same pay per coin – 9-for-1 for a full house and 6-for-1 for a flush. 

As the years went on and casino management became more influenced by accountants, pay tables were altered to reduce the return (to help the casino’s bottom line). In today’s casinos it is rare to find a pay table as shown above. One of the most common Jacks or Better pay tables on casino floors today is the following:

8/5 Jacks or Better “Short-Pay” – Payback: 97.29 Percent, Variance 19.3

This is the 8/5 Jacks or Better pay table. Notice that the highlighted rows pay 8-for-1 for a full house and 5-for-1 for a flush. Notice that each of the other pay lines are the same as the 9/6 pay table. Also notice the return has dropped by two-and-a-quarter percent. The variance has also dropped a little.

This pay table has been included just to show that the minor changes can make a big different in return. This is why players look for a 9/6 pay table.

Other Jacks or Better pay tables can also be found. They include 9/5, 8/6, and 7/6. None of them match the return of the original 9/6.

2 – Double Bonus Poker 9/6 Pay Table

Double Bonus Poker was introduced a few years after Jacks or Better. It gives players a bit more excitement by bumping the pays for hands containing four of a kind. Here is the “full-pay” version as it was first introduced.

10/7 Double Bonus “Full-Pay” – Payback: 100.17 Percent, Variance 28.3

This original version actually came with a player advantage. Of course, the casinos did not realize it at the time. The paying public was also unskilled at properly playing the game to get the advantage. Casinos still made money off this game – for a while.

Here is what most of the 9/6 Double Bonus pay tables look like now: 

9/6 Double Bonus “Short-Pay” – Payback: 97.8 Percent, Variance 30.8

Notice that this 9/6 pay table returns approximately the same as the 8/5 Jacks or Better pay table – about one and three fourth’s percent less than 9/6 Jack or Better. The variance also increases to about one and a half times that of Jacks or Better. Truly, this 9/6 pay table is not a good one. 

3 – Double Bonus Poker 9/6 Pay Table

Double Bonus Poker was introduced a few years after Jacks or Better. It gives players a bit more excitement by bumping the pays for hands containing four of a kind. Here is the “full-pay” version as it was first introduced.

9/6 Double-Double Bonus – Payback: 98.98 Percent, Variance 42

The return of this 9/6 pay table is better than the previous one. It returns almost 99 percent of the players money with perfect play. It is not as high a return as 9/6 Jacks or Better, however, and the variance is more than double.

In the past there were some 10/6 versions of the pay table. It returns 100.07 percent with nearly the same variance as the 9/6 pay table. It is virtually nonexistent in today’s casinos.

4 – Other Video Poker Games Having 9/6  Pay Tables

The previous examples were for games that are generally available on today's casino floors (or online). There are several other video poker games that also have pays of 9-for-1 for a full house and 6-for-1 for a flush. I will not post the pay tables as these casino games are not all that common. I you happen to find one and want to know the entire pay table, return and variance, the information can be found by Google the game. Here is a brief look at some of them.

Bonus Poker Deluxe

This game differs from Bonus Poker in that it pays the same for all four of a kind hands – normally 400-for 5 (80-for-1). The 9/6 version of the pay table returns 99.64 percent and the variance is 32.1. Bonus Poker Deluxe with a 9/6 pay table has a very good return – even better than 9/6 Jacks or Better, but it is very hard to find.

Triple Double Bonus

This game is like Double-Double Bonus. To add excitement for the player, it pays the same as a royal flush – 4000-for-5 (800-for-1) for four aces with a 2, 3, or 4 and 2000-for-5 (400-for-1) for four 2s, 3s, or 4s with an ace, 2, 3, or 4. It returns 98.15 percent and has a huge variance of 100.1

Double Aces and Faces

This game is like Bonus Poker but pays double the amount for four aces or faces (kings, queens or jacks). The return is only 97.97 percent and the variance is 30.3.

Triple-Triple Bonus

This game is like Triple-Double Bonus but four aces with a 2, 3, or 4 -or- four 2s, 3s, or 4s, with an ace pays the same as a royal flush – 4000-for-5 (800-for-1). It returns 99.74 percent. Not a bad return if you can find it and afford the astronomical variance of 133.

5 – Some Potentially Great 9/6 Pay Tables That You Will (Almost) Never Find

Not all 9/6 pay tables are bad. Some can be very good. There are certain video poker games where a 9/6 pay table would produce a player advantage. Should you ever find one in a casino, you may want to consider playing it. Here is a list of the games. In each case, a 9/6 pay table is a great play (assuming all the other pay lines are normal).

• Bonus Poker – 9/6 returns 101.4 percent with a variance of 22.1
• Super Aces Bonus – 9/6 returns 102.1 percent with a variance of 62.9
• Super Double Bonus – 9/6 returns 100.8 percent with a variance of 37.6
• Super Double-Double Bonus – 9/6 returns 101.9 percent with a variance of 50.6
• Triple Bonus Plus – 9/6 returns 100.9 percent with a variance of 43.9
• White Hot Aces – 9/6 returns 100.7 percent with a variance of 43.4
• Aces and Faces – 9/6 returns 101.5 percent with a variance of 21.1

Do not expect to find any of these, but if you do, consider giving them a try.

6 – Sometimes Even a Game Labeled Jacks or Better is Not Jacks or Better

Sometimes even seasoned video poker players have an off night. I have seen video poker players I know well sit down at a video poker game labelled “Jacks or Better” on the lower front glass, check the pay table and see the desired 9/6 pay lines, and begin to play. However, it was a multi-game machine and the game that was on the screen was not Jacks or Better – it was Double-Double Bonus. 

It may not always be bad, however. A friend of mine did the same thing and ended up hitting a royal within the first few hands. Do not expect that to happen to you. Make sure the game on the screen is 9/6 Jacks or Better if that is the game you want to play.

7 – The Importance of Checking the Entire Pay Table

Not only is it important to check the screen to make sure it is the correct game, checking the entire pay table is also important. Even though the full house and flush pay lines are normally the only ones changed, that is not always the case.

Any of the pay lines can be changed. Sometimes the royal flush or straight flush pays are reduced. Sometimes the four-of-a-kind. Sometimes the straight. Any of the pay lines can change. The only way to be sure you are playing the game (and pay table) you want is by checking the entire pay table.

8 – Summary

At one time Jacks or Better was the only video poker game on live casino floors and the 9/6 pay table had a great return and many video poker players knew that.

• With the introduction of multiple variants of video poker, 9/6 pay tables were no longer necessarily good.
• A 9/6 pay table on other games can be good, but more often it is not so good.
• Make sure the game you are playing is the one you want to play by checking the name of the game on the screen, and check the entire pay table to make sure it is the one you want.

It is important to be observant to get the return that is expected. Make sure that you are
 

Video poker players draw more four-of-a-kind hands with Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces than with 10s or lowers. That works to player advantage in Aces and Faces, a new game growing in popularity in online casinos.

The game is a close cousin to Bonus Poker and sometimes is called Bonus Aces and Faces. It's not one of the more common games in live casinos, but is finding a niche among online players.

Like Bonus Poker and Jacks or Better, it pays 2-for-1 on two pairs compared with the 1-for-1 on most other non-wild card video poker games such Bonus Poker Deluxe or Double Double Bonus Poker. If you bet five coins in Aces and Faces and get two pairs, you get 10 coins. In Double Double Bonus, you just get your five coins back.

Also like Bonus Poker, most four of a kinds pay 25-for-1, or 125 for a five-coin bet, but there are four sets of premium quads. In both Aces and Faces, you get 80-for-1, or 400-for-5, when you have four Aces.

But in Bonus Poker, the other premium hands are four 2s, 3s and 4s. Draw any of those quads, and you're paid 40-for-1, or 200 coins for a five-coin bet. In Aces and Faces, that 40-for-1 payback comes on four Jacks, Queens or Kings instead.

That makes a difference in the overall payback percentage of the game. In 8-5 versions, in which full houses pay 8-for-1 and flushes 5-for-1, Bonus Poker pays 99.17 percent with optimal strategy. In Aces and Faces, the return steps up to 99.26 percent.

The Pay Table

Three pay tables have been spotted in play for Aces and Faces. They vary only in their return on full houses. The highest-paying version pays 8-for-1 on full houses, while others pay 7-for-1 or 6-for-1.

Let's look at the 8-5 pay table in detail.

8-5 Aces & Faces

With that pay table, Aces and Faces pays 99.26 percent with optimal video poker strategy. If full house pays are reduced to 7-for-1, the return is reduced to 98.10 percent, while with 6-for-1 payoffs, the return is 96.96 percent.

As in most video poker games, there is an incentive to bet five coins built into the pay table. Royal flushes pay 250 coins for a one-coin bet, and nudge up another 250 for each coin wagered up to four. But when you bet the fifth coin, the royal takes a giant leap by an extra 3,000 coins, from a four-coin wager return of 1,000 to a 4,000-coin jackpot.

Because of that, your average return is highest when you bet five coins.

Frequency of Winning Hands

The most common paying hands in Aces and Faces are pairs of Jacks or better,  just as in all video poker games that start the pay table at a pair of Jacks.

But the biggest share of the return comes from two pairs. That 2-1 payoff makes a huge difference in Aces and Faces, Bonus Poker and Jacks or Better, and makes those games less volatile than other video poker games.

With optimal strategy, players average a pair of Jacks or better once every 4.6 hands, compared to once per 7.7 for two pairs, 13.4 for three of a kind, 89.2 for straights, 92.1 for flushes, 86.6 for full houses, 632.8 for four 2s through 10s,  1,703.7 for four Jacks, Queens or Kings, 5,106.1 for four Aces, 9,433.2 for straight flushes and 40,249.3 for royals.

Two pairs account for 25.9 percent of total payback, with 22.3 from three of a kind, 21.5 from Jacks or better, 9.21 from full houses, 5.4 from flushes, 4.5 from straights, 3.95 from four 2s through 10s, 2.4 from face-card quads, 1.99 from royal flushes, 1.6 from four Aces and 0.5 from straight flushes.

Bonus Poker Comparison

In Bonus Poker, where the 40-for-1 payback is on four 2s, 3s or 4s instead of Jacks, Queens or Kings,  those quads pop up an average of once per 1,896.2 hands. That's less often than the once per 1,703.7 for four Jacks, Queens or Kings in Aces and Faces.

There's nothing in programming that would make face cards come up more often than low cards. The difference in quad frequency is entirely because of player strategy.

Dealt a hand such as 4 of hearts, 5 of diamonds, 8 of clubs, 10 of spades and Jack of diamonds? The best strategy would be to hold the Jack of spades and discard the other four.  There are many possible winners, but key is that you could easily pair up the Jack for a high-pair win. With 178,365 possible draws, 44 result in four Jacks as well as one each with four Queens or four Kings.

Dealt the same hand with a 2 of diamonds instead of the Jack, there would be nothing to pair up for an instant win, so optimal strategy is to discard all five cards. With a full redraw, the number of possible draws soars to 1,533,939, with only 43 of them being four 2s, 3s or 4s. 

You get the 40-for-1 bonus pay on these hands once per 3,877.5 draws with the Jack, but only once per 34,862.2 complete redraws,

Other scenarios contribute, but strategies on such hands lead to drawing the bonus quads more often in Aces and Faces than in Bonus Poker.

Strategy Tips

Compared to the basic game of Jacks or Better, with its 25-for-1 payoffs on all four of a kinds, Aces and Faces pays more on quads. However, the difference isn't large enough to drive strategy changes as it does in games such as Double Double Bonus Poker.

Nothing in the Aces and Faces pay table requires extreme strategies. Optimal strategy for 8-5 or 7-5 Aces and Faces is the same as that for 8-5 or 7-5 Jacks or Better or Bonus Poker.

Here are some basic video poker tips on Aces and Faces strategy:

• We don’t do anything special to chase the bonus four of a kinds in Aces and Faces. The bonus payoffs aren’t large enough to start holding Aces in preference to other high cards or to break up two pairs or full houses.
• Flushes pay 5-for-1 on all versions of Aces and Faces. That means we don’t chase straight flushes or flushes as often as we do on 9-6 Jacks or Better, or on any video poker game where flushes pay 6-for-1 or higher.
• Low pairs are more valuable than four-card straights, but not as valuable as four-card flushes. They are more valuable than individual high cards or multiple high cards of different suits. So dealt a hand such as 6 of diamonds, 6 of hearts, 8 of spades, 10 of clubs, King of hearts, the best play would be to hold the two 6s. 

Keep in mind that even with a 99.26 percent return on the 8-5 pay table, Aces and Faces gives an edge to the house.  When the big-paying hands come, you can have winning sessions either in live play or at an online casino, but sometimes the big winners don't happen.

Still, Aces and Faces is a low-volatility game that can give you a good run for your money. Good luck, and have fun!

Among blackjack variations that are rising in popularity in online casinos, Super Fun 21 Extreme has intrigue written in its very name.

What's Super Fun about it? What's extreme?

Super Fun 21 Extreme is a variation on Super Fun 21, a blackjack-based game that has been available since the beginning of the 2000s. The "super fun" part comes in offering players extra chances to double down and incorporating the late surrender rule.

In standard blackjack, you may double only on the first two cards. In Super Fun, you may double after any number of cards. Surrender isn't common in standard 21, but when offered, you may surrender half your bet after the first two cards instead of playing the hand and risking it all. In Super Fun, you may surrender after any number of cards.

The tradeoff is that most blackjacks pay only even money instead of the standard 3-2. The exception comes if both blackjack cards are diamonds. Then it pays 2-1. 

Super Fun 21 has made its mark mostly in live casinos. The game, distributed by slot machine giant Light & Wonder, is finding its niche as an online blackjack option. 

SUPER FUN 21 EXTREME RULES

Blackjack is at the base of Super Fun 21 Extreme, with players starting with two cards and the dealer with one face up and one face down.

After the initial deal, you may hit, stand, split pairs or double down. Late surrender is offered, which means that after a check to see if the dealer has blackjack, you may give up half your bet instead of playing out a weak hand.

Beyond that is a set of special rules that make up the "extreme" part of the game.

• Blackjacks pay 5-2. That's more generous than the 3-2 on standard blackjack or the 6-5 on that gives the house an extra edge on some games. It's far more generous than the even-money payoffs on most blackjacks in Super Fun 21, and even better than the 2-1 on Super Fun diamond blackjacks. If you bet $10 and are dealt a blackjack, you win $25. With 3-2 pays, you'd win $15.
• You may split any pair up to three times to make a total of four hands – and that includes Aces. Including Aces makes this extreme. In standard blackjack, you may split Aces only once, and you receive only one more card to go with each Ace. Super Fun 21 allows you to split again if you're dealt another Ace to make a new pair, and split a third time if yet another Ace gives you another pair.

Not only that. After splitting Aces, you may continue to hit the hands. In standard blackjack, if you draw a 4 to go with a split Ace, you're stuck with a soft 15.  In Extreme, you can hit again to try to improve the hand. You can even double down after splitting Aces when the situation favors it.

• You may double down on any number of cards, even if you've already doubled. That means you're allowed to double multiple times on the same hand. If you bet $10 and are dealt 5-4 against a dealer 6, you might double down by making a second bet equal to the first. Now you have $20 on the line.

In standard blackjack, you'd receive just one more card on your double, so if you were dealt a 2, you'd have an 11 that could win only if the dealer busted. In Extreme, you could double again by betting an additional $20, so you'd have $40 at risk but a favorable situation with 11 vs. 6.

You can double up to three times, so your $10 wager could grow to a total of $80 if the situation and your bankroll can handle it.

• Late surrender is offered after any number of cards. If you're in a tough situation such as holding hard 16 when the dealer has a 10 face up, you may surrender half your bet instead of playing out the hand. Bet $10 and surrender, and you lose only $5.

The "late" part refers to the dealer checking for blackjack. With an Ace or 10 up, the dealer must check for blackjack before players take action. A dealer blackjack stops play, and you may not surrender. 

However, the Extreme version allows you to surrender with any number of cards. At standard tables that offer surrender, you may surrender only after your first two cards. You may surrender a hard 16 consisting of 9-7, but not one consisting of 8-5-3. At Extreme, you may surrender that 8-5-3,  or even a four-card hand such as 6-2-4-4.

INSTANT WINNERS

There are three types of hands in which you win instantly, before the dealer plays out the hand, unless the dealer has blackjack.

• You win the 5-2 payoff on blackjacks unless the dealer also has a blackjack in the first two cards. Then you push, although promotional material from Light & Wonder says each individual casino has the option of paying those hands.
• You win even money on any non-doubled hand with six cards totaling 20 or less.
• You win a 2-1 payoff on non-doubled hands totaling 21 with five or more cards.

The latter two rules, sometimes called "Charlies," are not standard in blackjack and make this game even more extreme.

THE TRADEOFF: HOW THE HOUSE GETS AN EDGE

All the above rules are so favorable to players the house would lose money without an adjustment. In Super Fun 21 Extreme, that adjustment is that if the dealer busts with 22, all player hands still in action push instead of winning.

Imagine you stand on hard 18 and the dealer must hit 15. If the dealer draws a 7 for a total of 22, you'd win when playing standard blackjack, but just push and get your bet back in Extreme. 

Pushing on dealer 22s adds 6.9 percent to the house edge. In blackjack, where the entire edge against a basic strategy player is measured in tenths of a percent, that's enormous. It's enough for a standoff against all the positive Extremes.

With all that taken into account, a basic strategy player faces an edge of 0.95 percent in a six-deck game, compared to 0.62 percent in a standard six-deck game in which the dealer hits soft 17.

STRATEGY ADJUSTMENTS

The main rules blackjack basic strategy players must consider when adapting to Extreme are doubling multiple times and the six cards of 20 or less and five-card 21 rules.

Never make bets you can't afford, but when doubling down, let basic strategy be your guide. If doubling down would be the best play after two cards, it's also the best play after three cards. Should you have a rare 11 after five cards, though, such as 2-3-2-2-2, don't double. Take the sixth card and you're guaranteed even money with 20 or less and get 9 or lower, or you'd win 2-1 on the six-card 21 if you draw a 10.

Taking advantage of the Charlie rules sometimes means taking hits when you'd normally stand.

Here are some situations for extra hits when six cards totaling 20 or less brings an automatic payback:

For hands not listed, stick with basic blackjack strategy. 

PRECIOUS DIAMONDS SIDE BET

When you make your initial wager, you also have the opportunity to make a Precious Diamonds side bet. It's a wager that your first two cards will be a blackjack with the Ace and a 10-value card both in diamonds.

It pays 250-1, but there are no other payoffs. The house edge in a six-deck game is 25.5 percent, making this a wager strictly for jackpot hunters. 

You get a far better deal on the basic game of Super Fun 21 Extreme, with its house edge of less than 1 percent for those who play an adapted basic strategy. You can find standard blackjack games with lower edges, but whether you find super fun in the special rules is your call

QUESTION: Okay, I have been reading you for several decades but I want to know what I can do to become a better player than just the idea that I have to play the right strategies. I play blackjack, craps, and roulette in that order. They are my favorite games. I don’t want to count cards or control the dice or look all over the world for biased wheels and the like. So, what do I do? I love casino playing, so educate me, Frank, can you do that? I wouldn’t mind winning is all I am saying. Educate me.

Frank:  No, I can’t. The three methods of getting a real jump on casino games, card counting at blackjack, dice control at craps, and finding biased wheels (or “off” wheels) are the only real ways to get an edge over the casinos. 

How many players can do that? Mostly an infinitesimal few or none at all. 

The technique of card counting has been around since the mid-1960s thanks to Edward O. Thorp who developed it and wrote a now classic book about the subject (Beat the Dealer). 

Players flocked to the game of blackjack during that time period because they thought it was a beatable game. It really wasn’t. If you don’t play basic strategy and don’t count cards correctly in a real casino, you can’t win in the long run. 

Oh, yes players are still flocking to the game. It is now the number one table game in the casinos, having surpassed craps long, long ago. 

How many of those original players and all the players since those original players have successfully navigated the card counting terrain? Think of a million and more players year after year playing blackjack? Very, very few of them can ever beat the house. 

Card counting is not an easy skill to master and the casinos are not in love with the players who demonstrate such skill. One expert blackjack player I knew once told me that you play blackjack against the dealer but poker against the pit people and the “eye-in-the-sky.” There is a lot of truth to that.

While card counting is not illegal, private businesses have the right to refuse service to customers if they so choose and card counters are merely just such customers. 

Some casinos tell the card-counting customers to play other games but not blackjack or they instruct them to leave the premises immediately. Some states do not allow the casino to ban card counters but the casinos can tell such players they can only bet “X” amount of dollars. Card counters can’t win if their betting choices are limited.

Can you learn card counting? Probably with hard work and dedication. Will you if you do not commit to it fully and unequivocally? Not at all. Most card counters are somewhat obsessed to playing in such a way. Could anyone become so obsessed? I don’t know.

So, what should you do? Learn basic strategy and don’t vary from it. If you can’t memorize it then bring a basic strategy card to the table and refer to it. 

And play the best blackjack games you can find with the best rules – but, sadly, it is harder to find the best blackjack rules today in most casinos. Search for such games and good luck to you. You might find such excellent games on the Internet casinos.

Control your betting amounts. Play at full or nearly full tables so you play a reduced number of decisions. The fewer hands you play, the better it is for you. That is, by the way, the opposite of a card counter who is looking to play as many hands as he or she can. When you have an edge you want to exploit that edge!

That’s about all I can say for someone who does not want to take the card-counting step.

Now craps. A great game and maybe the most exciting game in the casino. Anyway, I think it is the most exciting game and so do many players. 

For many years it was the number one game in the house but blackjack surpassed it because of Thorp’s book.

Craps cannot be beaten except if a player can influence (sometimes called control) the dice. Influence and control are merely synonyms. The main idea is that a player can change the odds of the game because of his or her method of throwing the dice.

With proper craps betting strategies, meaning making the lowest house edge bets, the player certainly has a chance to beat the casinos. Too many would-be dice controllers make the stupidest bets and think they can overcome the odds on those bets. They can’t.

Too many dice controllers are just gamblers pretending to be dice controllers – these folks are legion and they are long-term (and short- and medium-term) losers. 

Even today’s dice control classes celebrate their students who win outrageous bets as if they won those bets not because of blind luck but because of skill. Dice control cannot be learned in a day, a weekend, a week or less than a month – in fact, it is more like many, many months of hard work. 

Think in terms of practicing for six months or more and making only the lowest house-edge bets. Craps players, who are overwhelmingly gamblers, would find that difficult indeed.

Dice control was created by the late Atlantic City legend, the Captain, and he and "the Arm" and Jimmy P. were the only three players I met pre-2000 who could control the dice. Since then? A small few … a very small few. And plenty who think they can do it but can’t. 

Best betting at craps: So, you are not going to become a dice controller, you’ve stated that. Good. Honesty is a great policy when you risk your hard-earned money at gambling. Now what should you do? How should you bet? What is your philosophy of playing craps?

First off, and let me get this out of the way right away, do not, I repeat do not make any bets with edges over 2 percent. Correct, almost all bets at craps are bad bets, worse even than some slot machines grinding away at slot players’ bankrolls.

It is nutty that so many craps players make so many awful bets. How can they have any chance to beat the game when they just throw their money away? 

Make a list of all the craps bets that players can make and you will see that an amazing number of them just plain stink. You even have some that are coming in at 20 percent or more mark and many more scratching that 15 to 20 percent mark. Yes, these are slot machine edges and they cost the players making them to go down the drain.

Okay, two things: make pass-line bets and take the odds when the bet is on a number. Come bets are good too. Make them and also take the odds when they are on a number. You can also place either the 6 or 8. 

What have you got here now? The pass-line and come bets come in at 1.41 percent against you. That means over some time (little, medium, or long) you will lose $1.41 per $100 wagered – that’s about 14 cents per $10 wagered. The odds are just toppers to those bets and they have no house edge. You can make them if you want as long as you can afford them. You are better off with higher odds and lower pass-line and come bets.

The place bets of the 6 or 8 come in with house edges of 1.52 percent or $1.52 per $100 wagered or 15 cents per $10 wagered. These are good bets in the casino scheme of things.

And what about the darkside bets, those bets called “don’t bets” where you are rooting for the 7 to appear during the point-cycle of the game, in which case that will end a shooter’s roll? Do you want to be a darksider? The house edge is about 1.36 percent or a loss of $1.36 per $100 wagered. That’s quite good.

A drawback here. The other players might hate you and show their disdain for your method of darksider play. (Some can get obnoxious too.) If that doesn’t bother you then feel free to go with the darksider wagers and to heck with the other players – who, by the way, are called rightsiders. Darksiders are also called “don’t” players.

And that, my friend, is almost that when it comes to betting craps. Making the other bets is a waste of time and a serious waste of your money.

Now, do you want the ultimate radical way to play craps? Here goes: only make one bet! Do not go on multiple numbers as almost all other craps players do. This will cut your losses tremendously.

Your third game, roulette has been number two or three for centuries – actually number one for more centuries than not. 

The game means “little wheel” and was created by scientist, philosopher, and theologian Blaise Pascal who was looking to discover a perpetual motion machine. He failed in that (as have all other researchers) but he did hit upon roulette which may wind up lasting perpetually in the world’s casinos. 

When the game appeared in casinos in the late 1600’s, it became a smash hit. Players loved it and many couldn’t stop playing it – until, of course, they went broke. Noblemen were the worst of all because they had enough money to play and play and play until…they had little money left.  

Playing roulette is the ultimate numbers game with bets of all sorts that deal with numbers – colored numbers, high and low numbers, individual numbers, groups of numbers. Players have so many, many options at this game it is a wonder they can make any decisions at all.

There are now three types of roulette games out there in the casino world.  The single-zero games (0) which come in with an edge of 2.7 percent; the double-zero game (0, 00) which comes in with an edge of 5.26 percent, and the triple-zero game (0, 00, 000) which comes in with a 7.69 percent house edge.

[Please note: The various roulette games also have names associated with them. The single-zero game is called the European or French game. The double-zero game is called the American game. The triple-zero game is called “why would you ever play this game?” Interestingly enough, the American game was created in Europe and the European and French game was created in America. The triple-zero game was created where Satan lives.]

The payback on a single-number winner is 35-to-1. That is for all the games. Note how awful the triple-zero game becomes because of such a winning payout. 

The potentially bad thing about roulette is the fact that if you bet just one number you can go through a long, long losing streak. That can be a downer to many players not only because it costs them a lot of money but because the game starts to get annoying.

The best bets to make are the even-money bets. There are only three of these bets: the red/black, the odd/even, and the high/low. They are called “even-money” because they pay even-money, not because they are 50/50 propositions. 

In fact, the casinos will win more of these bets than will the player. For example, in the double-zero games, the casino will win 20 times and lose 18 times. 

The house edge remains the same for the players who make these bets but the losing streaks are far less severe than they are in the “let us pick a single number in honor of grandma’s 100th birthday.” To me, preserving money is a key staple of gambling.

Oh, yes, there are many other bets too but you are in decent territory making the even-money bets your main wagers. Losing streaks stink.

You are better off playing at a full or nearly full table because you will face fewer decisions. More decisions are better for the casino because it has an edge. If you have an edge? Then you’d want more decisions. That is a simple rule.

Finally, are there “biased” or “off” wheels today? Probably not. The roulette wheels are seemingly perfect, at least the relatively new ones. So, gamble on them cautiously.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Gambling is a great leveler. Whether rich or poor, famous or anonymous, we all like to have a little something riding on the turn of a card or the outcome of a sporting event. In that regard, celebrities are just like the rest of us – albeit, to a degree. They like to gamble, they deal with ups and downs, they do everything in their power to win. 

That said, things get different when you factor in sums on the line and notoriety attached to their wins or losses. Wagers are eye widening and reports of money on the line make headlines. Here then are some of the world’s most famous people who like to gamble big, what they play and how they handle outcomes.

BEN AFFLECK

The media loves writing about Ben Affleck grabbing coffee or enjoying dinner with J-Lo. So, when he plays blackjack – with her at his side or solo – everyone takes notice. And that would include casino surveillance snoops. 

Such was the case in 2014 when he got backed off from the high-limit tables at the old Hard Rock (now known as the Virgin) in Las Vegas, where he was supposedly spreading from $100 to $10,000 per hand in a double deck game. 

Unless you’re terrible, the casinos will take notice. Apparently, he is not terrible. He was card counting and winning. Underscoring that celebs in casinos really are like the rest of us, he was asked to stop playing blackjack. 

More recently, in 2021, Affleck was spotted firing it up at the high limit tables of Wynn Las Vegas. If dealers love him more than casino enforcers do, it’s because he’s what’s known as a George (Vegas lingo for a generous tipper). On one occasion, he is said to have tipped out most of his Hard Rock winnings. Another time, it’s been alleged, he and Matt Damon wrapped up a Mirage session by giving away money to fellow gamblers. Nice guys!

ASHTON KUTCHER

Watch an Ashton Kutcher movie, and it would be easy to wonder whether or not the actor is as goofy in real life as he often is on screen. In Las Vegas, that definitely is not the case. 

In fact, he’s made a killing by wagering on NCAA football. But it’s more complicated than that. Kutcher is not lucky, he’s smart. Or at least smart enough to align himself with the right people.

As Kutcher told Esquire magazine, “I used to place bets for the largest national sports betting syndicate in America. I basically just placed bets for half a season. We cleared like $750,000 in four weeks of college football.” 

Soon after going on the massive heater, he found himself persona non grata in sports books. Despite the rebuffing, and not hinting at whether or not he still gambles in Vegas, Kutcher said, “It was pretty fun … but they eventually caught on.”

TIGER WOODS

Tiger Woods is not the kind of guy who’s going to play low-roller blackjack. It’s been reported that he has a $1 million line of credit at the MGM Grand’s ultra-luxe Mansion – and that was a number of years ago. It might be even higher today. 

Phil Hellmuth, a sometime blackjack compatriot of the golf superstar, once told me, “Tiger is excellent at blackjack. He bears down a little bit, pays attention and plays perfect basic strategy. He takes his losing hands well and doesn’t get upset, though you do see that extra bit of focus at times. 

“I remember having a 13 against the dealer’s 2 and not being sure what to do. Tiger immediately told me to stand – and he was right. It’s the correct play” – unless one is card counting, like Affleck, and the count is -1 or lower, which would command hitting. “I said, ‘Aren’t you supposed to be a dumb golfer?’ He cracked up. I remember that Tiger won big that night. I’m not going into the number. But, if I say big, of course it was six figures.”

CHARLES BARKLEY

The former NBA star’s gambling habits are all too well known. He’s never hidden his gaming proclivities, nor did Wynn Las Vegas when the joint sued him over a $400,000 marker that went unpaid.

Barkley settled up with the Wynn and had to fork over an additional $40,000 to the Vegas District Attorney’s office (amazingly, the DA there has a division devoted to collecting unpaid markers and receives an extra 10 percent for its trouble). 

Barkley has come clean about having lost $1 million over the course of a day on at least 10 different occasions. Conversely, on the more positive tip, he won the same sum five or six times. He’s described his gambling as a “bad habit,” but vowed that he will not stop doing it because it’s “my life and it’s my money.”

Fair enough, though there was at least one instance when his breakneck wagering caused a pro golfer to cry. Such was explained by Andres Gonzales on the Golf magazine podcast Subpar. Gonzales, a PGA tour pro, was alongside Barkley in a casino, and, as he put it, Barkley was “putting 10 grand down on a blackjack table.” Then he’d be “turning around, putting 10 grand down on craps … he was stressing me out, man.”

That led to a panic attack and tears for Gonzales. Barkley, always hungry for action, tried convincing Gonzales to golf against him for money. Gonzales did not elaborate on his response, though the terms would have been characteristically terrible for Barkley: he wanted just one shot per side.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER

They don’t call the bling-loving boxer “Money” Mayweather for nothing. 

According to Bleacher Report, he’ll routinely walk around with $60,000 cash on his person (often in a backpack) and has been known to load $1 million into a duffle bag. That’s probably a good thing, as Mayweather has been said to play the highest stakes blackjack that casinos will allow. But his gambling in the pit pales alongside his sports wagering. It’s alleged that Money bet millions on the Denver Broncos to beat the Seattle Seahawks in the 2014 Super Bowl. Denver lost and so did Mayweather. 

But don’t feel too bad for the multimillionaire pugilist. Via non-Super Bowl bets, Mayweather is said to have cleared $200,000 on the Seahawks and another $626,923 on the Broncos, proving that, for some of us, everything comes out in the wash. 

Daily Mail reports that he had one month that yielded $4.7 million in sports betting profits. Then there was the time that his NBA and boxing smarts resulted in a windfall of $827,000 – and he didn’t even need to enter the ring.      

As Mayweather put it during an appearance on ESPN Radio, “Everyday, you have to find one [game] that you truly believe in … and that’s the one you load up on.”

Even for us nickel-and-dime gamblers, Floyd “Money” Mayweather’s words of wisdom serve as sound  advice.

Most iGaming players are familiar with traditional online casinos. Licensed online gaming platforms require real money deposits for real money gaming, with real money rewards. However, there are alternative options available to players in the form of sweepstakes casinos and social casinos. There are clear distinctions between various online casinos, which we will examine in this blog post.

Introducing Sweepstakes Casinos 

Many folks use the terms sweepstakes, lotteries and contests interchangeably. There are nuanced differences between them. Traditionally, sweepstakes refer to a giveaway with a randomly selected winner. With sweepstakes, no money needs to be spent directly upfront – no purchase is necessary for winning – and no skills or strategies are needed to win sweepstakes. But that's the traditional sense of the word, and it's slightly different with sweepstakes casinos.

Think of things like the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes – a case in point. Randomly selected winners have their prizes delivered to their homes. With sweepstakes casinos online, players participate in classic slots, video slots, jackpot slots, card games, table games, live casino games, keno and poker games using in-game currency known as sweeps coins or gold coins (GC).

This is an important distinction. For one thing, you're not using £, $ or € to gamble with. Your stake – your bet – is usually in Gold Coins. Sometimes, sweepstakes casinos use Sweeps Coins.

Owing to the non-gambling style nature of sweepstakes casinos – no real money is used for gambling games – they enjoy widespread legal status across the United States, except for Washington state. However, players must register and purchase Gold Coins to play sweepstakes casino games.

You simply wager with a different type of in-game currency. It's not necessary to provide banking information to the sweepstakes casino online during registration. That's why it is vital to carefully screen sweepstakes casinos and pick only credible operators from the list.

Why Sweepstakes Casinos over Traditional Online Casinos?

Sweepstakes casinos are popping up all over the place, which cuts both ways. For one thing, it makes online casino games accessible to many more players worldwide.

On the other hand, they are not all created equal. The proliferation of sweepstakes casinos is because no expensive gambling licensing and regulation is required – these are readily available in gambling-restricted enclaves. That's because they are defined differently. Sweepstakes casinos are known as social casinos, where the point is to have fun – not to gamble. No real money is required to play, and no real prizes are up for grabs.

It's worth noting that sweepstakes casinos are different to social casinos in one important way: sweeps casinos online offer players a chance to win real money, while social casinos are all about fun-play entertainment.

While playing free sweeps casino games, you can win real money using sweep or gold coins during sweepstakes sessions. You don't bet your money on the uncertain outcomes of card games, table games, dice games, or live casino games. With social casinos, only GC's are used – gold coins. No sweeps coins are at stake because you can't win real money or real prizes with social casinos.

Let's clarify this a little better:

• Sweeps Coins are only available as bonuses or free rewards, but here's the kicker – they can be redeemed for real money. That's why sweeps casinos are preferred by people who want to play casino games online and win real money. It's a roundabout way of playing for real cash and winning real money, much like the pachinko parlors across Japan. Sweeps coins cannot be purchased but can be held until a sufficient number is available for exchange.
• Gold Coins are typically gifted to players as part of a signup package or a welcome bonus stop. You can always purchase additional gold coins through the shop at the social casino. You can use these gold coins to play social casino games.

Naturally, there are advantages and disadvantages to sweeps casinos and social casinos. Whether you're playing with sweeps coins or gold coins, it's important to pick wisely. There are loads of Vegas-style online casino games to enjoy, with real cash prizes up for grabs.

Suppose you cannot register at a traditional online casino due to licensing and regulations in your country, territory, or jurisdiction. In that case, you can try to register and play at a sweepstakes casino, but not in all areas.

What Sort of Deals Are Available to Players with Sweepstakes Casinos?

One operator differs from the next, so weighing your options is important. Welcome bonuses include GCs and free sweepstakes coins in varying amounts. You can also enjoy crypto-style free chance attractions, free spin offers, free sweeps coins, and more. You can typically play various online casino games, such as classic slots, video slots (Megaways, Hold & Win), card games, table games, live dealer games, keno, and others.

Pick a reputable sweepstakes casino. Your next point of call is a quick & easy registration. Think about your preferred casino games, the welcome bonus package, and mobile access. These are important considerations for a sweeps casino.

Now, claim your welcome bonus. Remember, GCs and sweeps coins are available – you may need to use a promotional code to stock up. While most games tend to be slots, you can use your welcome package on various casino games.

Here's where things get interesting – you must purchase additional gold coins. This can be done through an online mail request or by getting them through the online store. Daily challenges, offers, and rewards may be available to boost your stash of gold coin cash. Now, with sweeps coins, you can redeem them for a cash value if you choose not to play sweepstakes casino games. That's the kicker.

Since these are social casino sites, you will find many available options to choose from. It's best to connect through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X.com, etc., to stock up on gold coins. That's part of the social gaming experience. When you buy gold coin packages, you get a set value with the gold coins you purchased. Use these gold coins to play sweeps games.

Collecting Your Sweepstakes Prizes Online

Recall that games played with gold coins don't yield redeemable prizes, but sweep coins do. The best part is that sweeps coins can be exchanged for cash. Like a traditional online casino process for depositing and withdrawing in financial transactions, sweeps withdrawals require verification.

That's because KYC (know your customer) policies, antifraud measures, and secure banking are sacrosanct. You will need three critical pieces of verification to process a sweepstakes withdrawal (redeem sweeps coins) of your winnings via bank transfer, PayPal, Skrill or NETELLER.

• Verified ID document (driver's license, passport, ID)
• Proof of Address (utility bill, phone bill, bank statement)
• Financial Service Information (credit card, check, bank details)

Mobile casino players are an increasingly important segment of the iGaming scene. HTML5-compatible sites are a must for players. Various sweeps casinos feature proprietary gaming platforms and native (dedicated) apps for players on Android smartphones and tablets, iPhone and iPad devices.

FAQs

What are Sweepstakes Casinos?

Sweepstakes casinos are online gaming platforms where players can enjoy casino-style games without using real money to gamble. Instead, they use in-game currencies like Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, with the latter offering the chance to win real cash prizes through sweepstakes mechanics.

How do Sweepstakes Casinos differ from traditional online casinos?

Unlike traditional online casinos that require real money deposits for gambling, Sweepstakes Casinos operate on a no-purchase-necessary basis using virtual currencies. This model allows them to offer legal casino-style gaming across most of the United States, excluding a few jurisdictions like Washington state.

Can you win real money at Sweepstakes Casinos?

Yes, players can win real money at Sweepstakes Casinos using Sweeps Coins, which can be obtained as bonuses or rewards and then redeemed for cash. This provides a unique way to participate in casino games and potentially win real prizes without directly gambling with real money.

What types of games can you play at Sweepstakes Casinos?

Sweepstakes Casinos offer a wide range of casino-style games, including classic slots, video slots, jackpot slots, card games, table games, and sometimes even live dealer games. These games use Gold Coins for regular play and Sweeps Coins for the chance to win real money.

How do you collect winnings from Sweepstakes Casinos?

To collect winnings (redeem Sweeps Coins for cash), players must undergo a verification process similar to traditional online casinos, including providing a verified ID, proof of address, and financial service information. This ensures adherence to KYC (Know Your Customer) policies and secures the transaction process for redeeming cash prizes.

When we think of bingo, we normally consider it to be a game played by old ladies in church basements. It doesn’t come anywhere close to being the sort of chancy activity that people who visit gambling cities such as Las Vegas will go out of their way to engage in.

At least one casino boss is trying to change that. Jonathan Jossell, CEO of the Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Vegas, not only holds high stakes bingo tournaments on a regular basis, but he even built a special ballroom – complete with computer terminals and cell-phone charging stations, large enough to accommodate 280 gamblers – designated as the Plaza’s Bingo Hall, dedicated exclusively to the playing of this game. 

And what a game it is: In the Plaza’s Bingo Hall, an event known as Super Bingo offers $160,000 in prize money. Players who fill in all 25 numbers on their cards, competing in the Super Coverall, win $50,000. It pays well because the odds of someone hitting the coverall are long – with 54 numbers called and 600 cards being played, the likelihood of making it is 3.21 percent. But longshots are the draw of Las Vegas, and people play Super Bingo with the dream of cashing in on the usually elusive outcome.

Bingo at The Plaza

While The Plaza is a great spot downtown – with a cool steakhouse, known as Oscar’s, done in collaboration with former Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman; a cocktail lounge with live music called the Sand Dollar and all the games you will find in any Sin City casino – big-time bingo serves as a point of differentiation. 

“We have the only bingo game in downtown Vegas, and there is no bingo on the Vegas Strip,” Jossell tells me (for what it’s worth, there are other off-Strip, locals-oriented casinos that feature bingo, but the Plaza seems to be pushing it harder than most). “It’s a great amenity. We sometimes have 800 people here playing Bingo.”

For the uninitiated, Bingo is a simple game that is not unlike keno. With both endeavors, numbers, chosen at random, are called out or posted electronically. You win money by having those numbers on your card.

The big difference is that in keno, players choose the numbers they want. In bingo, the numbers are chosen for you and placed on a square of paper. As the numbers are called, you mark them off with an ink-filled dauber. To increase the likelihood of hitting your numbers, you can play multiple cards in bingo and keno.

What happens when a player makes five bingo numbers in a row? They shout out, “Bingo!” Then the round ends, and they get paid off.

Big-Time Bingo

At the Plaza, the crowd of players redefines what you might think is typical for a game like bingo. People come from places as far-flung as Hawaii and Canada to play the Plaza’s big tournaments and Jossell maintains that his games are not the exclusive domain of oldsters.

“In recent years,” he told Forbes, “the game has been attracting a variety of new players, including many millennials. So, the Plaza put a renewed emphasis on it.”

To make sure that the bingo faithful get the point, Jossell hired the best caller in the game. He keeps the bar open with cocktails flowing for those who are in action (plus free doughnuts and coffee for the early arrivals).

Jossell even brought on a so-called bingo ambassador, in the personage of Reyz Ungos. He functions as a sort of host for the players, making sure everyone is comfortable, greeting regulars by name, helping those who are unsure of what to do. As far as the last point goes, though, one would be hard-pressed to not know what to do in a bingo game.

Bingo Odds

One thing that ardent players may not be aware of is the fact that bingo is actually a pretty fair gamble. The odds are better than much of what will be found on the live casino floor. The house edge is thin and there is money to be won. So much so, in fact, that bingo can be a loss leader for casinos. But Jossell has good reason for keeping the game going and putting money into it.

He doesn’t necessarily run bingo games back-to-back. In fact, there is often a couple hours of downtime between games. That allows time for customers to eat in the Plaza’s restaurants (Hash House A Go Go is a favorite) and gamble in the casino. Luring people in to play bingo and benefiting from them blowing money on slot machines is a pretty good deal for Jossell

If there is an advantage play here, it is to stick with bingo and to not dig into pockets for spins of slot machines or sessions of three card poker. 

Bingo History

When bingo first appeared, nobody was taking it all that seriously, strategizing for edges. It was invented in Germany and known as beano. Numbers were pulled from cigar boxes. Whoever managed to have five numbers in a row, of course, shouted out “Beano!”

Prizes were as modest at the game itself. Rather than receiving cash, winners left with kewpie dolls. 

Beano came to America in the late 1920s, was renamed Bingo and became a staple of churches and synagogues. Growing up in New Jersey, I worked the bingo game in the synagogue that my family belonged to. Paid in tips, I was a teenage waiter, bringing coffee, donuts and Kosher hot dogs to players. I’m not sure who won what there, but I do remember leaving with pockets full of quarters. 

That’s how it was until the 1970s, when Indian reservations began putting on higher stakes bingo games. Steve Wynn’s father made money running bingo halls and exposed the future casino magnate to the possibilities of earning big bucks by promoting gambling. Vegas got the bingo-bug long after the arrival of Wynn. 

Right now, Jossell and his crew at the Plaza are enjoying their bingo moment and hoping that it will keep growing and keep attracting new players.

“Everyone thought it was a dying breed, but we are revitalizing it,” Jossell tells me. “Everything that is old eventually becomes cool again.”

I am guessing that almost all casino players have a method of betting, even those few who just throw out their money willy-nilly wishing and hoping for some blind luck from the non-existent gods and goddesses of such luck. That’s a system, although an uninformed one. 

Sadly, those divine beings of luck departed long ago and they included the Greek and Roman civilizations whose many citizens hoped there was something more to existence than just the plain-old existence they experienced in their daily lives.

Most other players will play some aspect of a set method or several methods of them. They too probably think that somehow or other these methods will lead to long-term wins and not just simply good luck tonight. Hope is eternal. Players want their hopeful anticipation to be realized. Some players still don’t know how the casinos get their edges over these hopeful players and they think everything is luck, luck that can be (at times) counted upon.

If you flat bet, meaning make the exact same bet for the exact same amount time after time, the casino edge will slowly wear you down. Oh, yes, you will win some, lose some, but in a short or medium or long time, you will lose a given percent of all the money you wagered. That’s the way it is. Lady Luck? Ultimately she is nowhere to be found. She will not belong to the player. 

The casinos do not rely on luck. They make their profits not from wishful gambling, but from solid math and probabilities. 

[Please note: People are superstitious and even sometimes casino people are superstitious. The famous tale of the super-evil-unlucky craps table at Caesars Palace tells us such a story. You see, this table was a seemingly long-term loser. Day after day, night after night, the super-evil-unlucky table kept losing. Finally, the casino manager decided Caesars was getting killed by Brutus the table and had the table removed, brought to the rear of the property, chopped to shreds with the shreds finally being burned to cinders. The new table? Wonderful because it won what it was expected to win over the right periods of time.]

Positive Progressions: The Paroli 

Many players are not just satisfied with a win, especially if it is small or, worse, trivial. They want to go up and up and maybe up some more. The most typical way to go up and up is to increase one’s bet after a win. Doing so is called a positive progression because the player is ahead when doing this.

The classic system in doing this is called the Paroli Betting System or the Paroli. It is more often called the parlay method of wagering where the player doubles his or her bet three times before going back down to their initial bet. Thus, bet $25, win, now bet $50, win, now bet $100, win, then go back down to $25 and start all over again.

The parlay can be for more steps or it can end at the usual three and the player then stays at his original bet until he or she decides to parlay some more. 

The parlay can also be for less money. The player could put (let us say) $10 or $15, more, or less, on his or her original bet. The player makes the choice of how to play his or her parlay.

The Anti-Parlay

Yes, there is such a thing as the Anti-Parlay where the player increases his or her bet after a win (or two) and then decreases his or her bet below the original bet. 

Some roulette players like to do this on an early win in order to stay in the game longer when the inevitable losing streak occurs. Savvy roulette players know that long losing streaks can occur when they bet only one or two bets directly on a number or two.

They think of the anti-parlay as a safety measure.

The Spread the Wealth Paroli

Some blackjack and Pai Gow Poker players enjoy playing more than one hand, thinking that such a technique increases their chances to win. This is called the Spread the Wealth Paroli. The assumption is that the more bets, the better the chance to beat the house and win some money.

Well, does it do what these players think it does? Yes, it can at times win the player money, maybe even a lot of money. Hot streaks can occur on both hands or three (or more!) hands. That’s the good news. But…

The Bad News Folks

The bad news is that the house edge is working on all the money being wagered. It doesn’t matter if you are only betting one bet, no matter how low or high that bet or those bets, you can trust that the casino will be extracting its percentage over time. 

What that time is can be questioned of course.

Some players can fall into a hole right away and never see the light of day or the bright lights of the casinos because of the fog of losing bing-bam-boom, just like that. 

All the Paroli systems are (now do you want to hear this?) losers. You cannot overcome house edges with betting styles. I’d like to put the word “period” at the end of the last sentence but that would be rubbing it in. 

Hey, who knows, maybe there is a magic craps table out there, or a bent and broken roulette wheel, or an unlucky dealer or ... come on, just play smart and give the casinos your original bets and let that be that. There is no magic coming your way over any lengthy period of time.

All Paroli betting techniques are based on initial positive results. The player wants to increase his or her wins and starts moving the bets skyward. That will ultimately end in losses or reduced wins. Let that be a warning to you. Although I am thinking you already know this.

Negative Progression Systems

There are some betting systems that are geared to getting you out of losses that you have already suffered. I wish I could tell you that these negative progressions worked but they don’t. Still, they might be fun to play for a short while if the amounts wagered are reasonable for a player’s bankroll. That statement is also true for the positive progressive systems as well.

The most famous negative progression system is the Martingale, named after a person that history has forgotten but whose system has soldiered on and might continue to soldier on through, perhaps, the ages.

Many casino players believe that they have discovered this system, especially those who are relatively new to casino games. I know I did. 

I figured I was a genius for coming up with this idea for beating the casinos and I played the system on my very first trip to Atlantic City way, way back when. I played it at the now long defunct Sands, which was across the street from where I was conceived (the Claridge) way, way, way back when. I knew nothing about casino play because I was in Atlantic City to learn about craps for a play I was starring in.

By the way, my playing that system had nothing to do with the Sands closure. Seriously, had everyone played my way the Sands might still be around.

Here Is the Martingale in its simplest form: You make your bet and you lose, then you double your next bet and you lose and you double the next bet. Like this; you bet $10, lose, then you go up to $20. Yes, at first this sounds like a negative Paroli play. Is it?

It’s not.

Let us say you now lose your $20 wager and you go to $40. Lose that and you go to $80. Notice we are always doubling the previous bet because a win will return our initial bet and the $10 win. 

The idea is that sooner or later you will win back everything you lost and wind up ahead of the casino. Brilliant! (Yep, I really thought I was brilliant coming up with this system as do all the other casino players who also thought they invented this system. Ah, the arrogance of youth! I really thought this method could guarantee a win.)

In about six, seven, or eight plays you will be betting as follows: $10, $20, $40, $80, $160, $320, $640, or higher if the casino lets you. As you can see the escalation is quite heavy and quite dangerous and will result in a severe loss.

And what are you betting that $640 (or higher) to win? A mere $10! You are chasing a $10 win by betting a total of $1270! Losing that much money can be overwhelming.

Truth be told. My Martingale went the whole route on the second day of my visit to Sands and I got clobbered – I lost all that money in order for me to win a mere $10! 

I learned my lesson by actually experiencing the horror of it all. It wasn’t until I started to read books and articles about casino play that I learned the Martingale has hurt many a player through the centuries. Yes, centuries. I was just one of the shell-shocked crowds of the down and out that have trundled as losers who used this method of play.

Scattered Martingale

There is no law of nature that says you must play the Martingale as written about above. You can tweak it and bet a negative progression in any manner that you choose. The same actually goes for the Paroli positive progression. You are after all the commander of your own fate…well, kind of.

The key to the Martingale is not what game you are playing or what bets you are making but the increase in those bets as you go through a hopefully short losing blip in your play. 

One method that some players like is the Scattered Martingale. You are increasing your bets in a negative progression but you are not playing the same bet each time. You are reorganizing the Martingale to your liking.

When playing roulette you might bet the red of the red/black bet and it loses; there is no reason to double up the bet on red. Jump over to black or high or low or odd or even with your increased wager. You are still playing the Martingale but it is not based on the same propositions time and again. You are allowed to jump what bets you make. The Martingale is a money betting system, not a what should you bet system.

However, I would not recommend doing a negative progression on inside bets that pay multiple monies since the payouts are not one-to-one. I would not recommend betting Martingales on most card games.

You could also go game-to-game making one-to-one (or almost one-to-one) wagers. Lost a $10 bet at roulette? Jump over to craps and play a place bet of 6 or 8 for the next higher amount. You can go from a $10 bet on red to an $18 or $24 bet on either 6 or 8. The increase in the bets might be more in this case but you are walking on the Lady Luck’s tightrope anyway and you are challenging fate and you should be aware of that.

The Grand Martingale

Do you love danger and you are not afraid to jump up and off a high mountain playing a Martingale that is more dangerous than the traditional one? Well, the Grand Martingale might suit you.

The grandness of this Martingale is its precipitous skyward thrust. You bet your $10, lose it and then go to $25, lose then go to $60. You can use whatever increase in bets that you desire but (of course) you will hit the table maximum much quicker. 

However, if you get in positive territory your wins will be for more money. 

Obviously, the Grand Martingale can be far more dangerous than the traditional one but it is skydiving for any Martingale player. Enjoy the fall!
  

Casino games should be played straightforwardly and simply. You don’t really want to do too much in the way of thinking and analyzing because that will, generally, just cause fatigue. Do your deep thinking about your favorite games at home in a relaxing and warm atmosphere.

In part one of this two-part series, I looked at casino playing generally and two games, blackjack, and craps, individually. Now, let’s go to some other games. In all, I want to keep things simple.

Roulette

Roulette is the “little wheel,” a game discovered by scientist and philosopher Blaise Pascal in the 1600s. He was looking to create a perpetual-motion machine, failed at that (as all have so far failed that) and came up with the “little wheel,” a device that has mesmerized casino players for centuries.

Right now, it is the second or third most favored table-game in the casino. It even has a favorite number that players bet, the 17, known a James Bond’s number because actor Sean Connery always played that number when he was in a casino. And Connery was “Bond, James Bond.”

Players attempt to guess which numbers and propositions will come up when a little ball spins around a little wheel, then plunges into the receptacle, then lands on a numbered, colored pocket, where it stays and, quite simply, that is the winning spin.

You can wager directly on a number or two or multiple ones. You can bet on a proposition or groups of numbers with a single bet, or colors, or sequences.

The game itself is pretty simple. You bet what you think will come up, watch the ball spin, watch it then slide down through the side grooves, bounce around the pockets somewhat and finally settle into one pocket for the winning wager.

Players love the game and it is played in just about every casino in the world, legal casinos, and illegal casinos, and on the Internet casino websites such as 888casino.

There are three different roulette games currently competing in the casinos, one a good one (the single-zero [0] European/French game – house edge 2.7 percent), one a so-so double-zero [0, 00] American game with a house edge of 5.26 percent, and one an awful one made up of three zeroes [0, 00, 000] created by a modern-day Doctor Victor Frankenstein with a 7.69 percent house edge. (The villagers should stampede that one out of their small town.)

[Please note: What do house edges mean? If the game has a 2.7 percent house edge that means for every $100 you bet, the cost will be $2.70. The cost will be $5.26 for a game with a 5.26 percent house edge. And the cost will be $7.69 for a game with a 7.69 percent house edge. The higher the edge, the more a player will lose over time. Combine a high house edge with a speedy game and the player can be in deep trouble.]

I do believe there are better and worse ways to bet roulette. You can go straight up on a number or more than one number. Each number will require an individual separate wager. That can get expensive if you hit a losing streak. Think of 10 numbers each with $50 on them. The cost could be too much to bear. 

Or you can bet propositions such as the columns (three columns of 12 numbers each which pays two-to-one on a winning wager) or the dozens (which also pays two-to-one on a winning wager). Then you have what are called even-money bets of red/black, odd/even, high/low – each of which pays even-money. 

Yes, you can mix and match every wager at all three games. Heck, you could even bet all the numbers on a game and even though that would probably be a sign of true insanity, maybe some folks might do such a thing before they are hauled away.

Quickly, how does the casino get its edge at roulette? That’s simple, it short-changes the payment of a winning bet. If the bet should pay 37-to-1 on a win in a fair game (meaning a game where the casino does not have an edge), instead the casino pays 35-to-1. That short pay will lock in the house edge. That is what occurs on all three roulette games.

What is the simplest, best way to play roulette? Here we go:

• Roulette is a leisurely game, maybe 40 decisions an hour at a full table.
• The house edge of 2.7 percent is decent considering the game is leisurely. The other edge of 5.26 is somewhat high and at 7.69 percent is somewhat ridiculous.
• Play at crowded tables to reduce the number of decisions.
• One bet on one of the three even-money wagers (red/black or high/low or odd/even) and you have a decent chance to have a winning session. It is usually hard to get creamed in such a betting scheme. And you can usually last a long time as well. 
• If the even-money wagers have “surrender” (American 0, 00 wheels) then this is a boon. It reduces the house edge to 2.63 percent. Or “en prison” for European/French wheel (0) which reduces the house edge to 1.35 percent – one of the best bets in the casino.
• Do not bet any side bets.

Since casinos are starting to usher in that three-zero game, you might decide to play only half the decisions on those games to keep those projected losses somewhat low. If you play four hours of roulette a day, then play those four hours but make half the bets! That would be a wise way to handle the incredibly high edge on the triple-zero game.

Remember this: No one is forced to play every decision! Take that to heart.

Mini-Baccarat 

Traditional baccarat was also called “high-roller-room baccarat” because the minimum bets were high. The table was long and the dealers were all well-dressed; tuxes for the men and evening gowns for the women. There were usually four to six dealers per table.

The game had three bets, two of them excellent, one just awful. The two excellent bets were “player” and “bank” both of which came in with a house edge close to one percent. The third bet, “tie” was a truly awful bet. 

One of the fun aspects of traditional baccarat was that players got to deal the cards. Unlike when playing blackjack, the players did not have a say in how the hands were played. Still, dealing the cards was fun.

Over the years, casinos have started to do away with traditional baccarat and have instead substituted “mini-baccarat” played on a table somewhere between a blackjack-sized one and a somewhat larger one. There is only one dealer and he or she deals all the cards. Players do not deal.

Some of these tables have been put in the high-roller rooms and indeed they do get players for the high-roller game.

While traditional baccarat was leisurely, mini-baccarat is a game whose speed passes the sound barrier. It can have 150 hands dealt per hour (maybe more). It has numerous side-bets, all of them coming in with relatively high house edges. The game is a gambling trap, great house edges (on two bets) with lightning-like speed.

While the house edges on the three main bets are the exact same as on the traditional game, the speed of mini-baccarat makes those bets hit the player quite hard. In this game, speed definitely kills.

Here is a brief strategy for mini-baccarat:

• Do not play every decision. Only play maybe 33 percent of the hands.
• Since “bank” has the lowest house edge only bet “bank.” 
• Skip betting on “player.”
• Do not bet “tie” or even think about betting it.
• Do not make any side bets.
• Be aware that some mini-baccarat players are extremely superstitious and some of these will play opposite your betting (you bet “bank,” they bet “player”) and if they lose (and you win), they will not take it well.

Pai Gow Poker and Face-Up Pai Gow Poker

This is now one of my favorite games. Actually, two of my favorite games! 

You play two hands against the dealer, a two-card hand, and a five-card hand. The five-card hand is the dominant hand and must be a stronger hand than the two-cared one. You have to beat the dealer on both hands to win. There are a great number of ties. 

The game is leisurely and generally the players at the table are friendly and not too tightly wound up.

The original game, you play the dealer blind. You don’t know what hands he is going to make (nor does he or she). In the newer version, the dealer makes his hand first and you know what you have to do to beat him or tie her.

You should learn how to make your hands but – and here is a great part of the game – you can always ask the dealer what the “house way” is for setting the cards you’ve been dealt. This isn’t just his opinion but the set and solid way the house makes its hands. It is the best way.

[Please note: Not all dealers know the best bets at craps and blackjack. For some reason all they have to do is know the payouts and how to shuffle, etc. I always thought in my early days of play that the dealers were the experts but they aren’t. They are, however, the experts at dealing.]

Pai Gow Poker has a 2.8 percent house edge which can be lowered when you play the bank against all the other players. Face-Up Pai Gow Poker has a low edge of 1.81 percent. If you can play this version of the game it is the better one. What to do with this game:

• Do not make any side bets and unfortunately there are dozens of them.
• Most games will have at least two side bets with very high house edges.
• Do not play two hands or three hands, etc. Do not increase the money you are risking. What’s the point of that?

Slot Machines

The one-armed bandits have been in existence for well over a hundred years – well over. They started as simple machines with maybe a thousand possible ways to set the lines of which a tiny percent were winners.

You could win cigars (“that man won a cigar!”), candies, or gum (women who chewed gum were thought to hang out in saloons), and then players could go and exchange those gifts for money (that was the way to get around the gambling laws). You could also get a lemon, which was a crummy line. Come on, what can you do with a lemon?

Then the machines became electrical and hundreds of variations were introduced including video poker. 

Today’s slot machines are actual marvels, true marvels. They are the superheroes of casinos (and many are available on 888casino) for without them we would not have seen casino playing taking over the world. There are casinos in almost every continent and almost every country.

Today you can have dozens of different plays on a single machine. You can have prizes that go into the millions of dollars. You have people playing penny machines spending upward of 50 cents a spin!

How many spins (decisions) can a player create on a modern slot machine? Oh, brother, some 500 or more! Slot players are the true queens and kings of the casino world and the casinos know this and react accordingly for their royalty. Even so-called penny players can actually be dollar players. Yikes!

Okay, what to do with those former one-armed bandits? I am a believer in protecting my money even though I have stayed at casino-hotels 130 times a year in my four-decade career.

• The faster you play the worse off you will be. Slow down. Maybe after a few decisions turn around and study some of the other players or anyone who is ambling by. 
• Play the least you can play that gives you a thrill.
• If you are in an altered state of consciousness then quit. You probably aren’t getting anything out of your play.
• Slot machines are strictly luck and if you’ve been lucky that is great but it is no indication of your character.

That’s it for me for this new year of playing. All the best in and out of the casinos!

What do the casinos want from their players? Oh, yes, of course, to win the players’ money in a way that makes the player want to come back to play some more. That’s the game they play with us. I think (I hope) we all know that. The casino has edges on every game and very few players can beat those edges for any prolonged period of time.

I’ve been playing in the casinos for almost 40 years and I have played most games offered, either because I liked them or because I needed to write about them or both. 

Yet, the casino has another goal in mind; one seemingly at odds with making players happy that they are playing the casinos’ games – the casinos want to win a lot of money from every player. The more money, the better! 

What is the casinos’ definition of “a lot?” 

If you bring $100 to the table to play, the casino would love to win that $100. The win could be in $10 increments (or $5 in some casinos), but $100 would be the casinos’ goal. Depending on how the player plays will depend over some period of time how much he or she loses.

Now, what keeps a player playing? The game seems to offer the player opportunities to win. The player has to feel he or she has a shot at the bucks, be they big bucks or just some bucks. The illusion is that winning can happen.

Indeed, winning does happen. Tonight, of course, it could be a winning night for you. This afternoon? Sure thing. Playing this way for weeks at a time? Probably not. Playing this way for a few years? Oh, come on now.

So, the player has to know that the long-term prospects are dim, dimmer, and dimmest. That is the rule. It is the rule of probability and simple math.

Now the player might like craps or playing blackjack or roulette or any of the other table games, or the player might enjoy time (perhaps long periods of time) at the slot machines. A few wins here and there and that player tends to be happy with the game. That player is a caught fish at a beautiful lake. Casinos are – for the most part – beautiful lakes with fish swimming all over the place looking for food (wins). 

High rollers might even play in the great big ocean with the other big fish! Certainly, the ocean is really beautiful and fit for a big fish.

Stupendous Wins Are Coming, Right?

Let's say that as a player, you have won some and lost some more than that; all right, all right, sometimes much more than that. What keeps you coming back for more play? Why bother yourself?

I think it is one word – anticipation. 

People tend to be fantasists, even if they don’t know it. Anticipation of wins, perhaps big wins such as in the state lotteries, will drive players to play. Of course, it is the hope of the win and that hope becomes that anticipation and that anticipation makes the idea of going to the casino (or buying lottery tickets) appealing.

I'm sure that many or most or almost all casino players have that tingle when they know that soon they will be leaving for their favorite playing haunt. The idea that a win is dangling out there, especially for them helps them fuel the car or buy the plane ticket or sign up for that gambling cruise. 

The win is coming; maybe the big win, finally, please, the big win. I deserve a big win, don’t I? I anticipate the big win.

Seriously, my friends, it probably isn’t coming. That’s why when someone wins an amazing amount on a slot machine that is news – often television and newspaper and magazine news. Small wins aren’t news. Losses big or little aren’t really news. Unless something hideously bad happens to the small winning player, he or she will go unnoticed by anyone except him or herself.

How to Play the Games

Okay, enough about the feeling of anticipation and the winning big or medium or little. Let’s talk about how to keep those house edges somewhat at bay so that your losses don’t add up to members of your family scolding you for playing in the houses of Lady Luck.

I am going to give you a primer for slot machines and for some table games in order to keep your play simple and strong enough so that you will have a better chance of coming home with something other than hurt feelings. Maybe a happy something too. 

Sometimes just knowing you played well is enough to make you proud of yourself with or without winning.

Table Games

The number one table game is blackjack. It has been since the mid-1960s when Ed Thorp’s book Beat the Dealer roared onto the gaming best-seller lists. This book taught players how to play blackjack basic strategy, count cards and actually get an edge over the house.

Thousands of players have tried to accomplish this feat; few have succeeded but the idea that blackjack was a game that was a close contest between players and casinos caught on big time. Blackjack soon surpassed craps as the number one game in the casinos and has been so for many decades.

Sadly, too many players do not follow the “basic strategy” for the play of their hands and this diminishes their ability to give the casinos’ blackjack games a run for their money. 

Why players don’t bother to learn “basic strategy” is beyond me. Most casinos (and of course online operators like 888casino) will even allow players to bring a card that shows basic strategy. You almost never see anyone using such cards. Weird isn’t it?

Okay, first things first – play “basic strategy” as if your money was riding on it – because it is!

Make sure you know the statistics of the game. For example, a player will win about 44 percent of the hands, the casino will win about 48 percent of the hands, and the rest of the hands will be ties. 

The casino has allowed certain plays that let players add more money to their bets. You can double down on hands, split pairs, double after splits, and receive a bonus payout for a two-card hand of 21 (a blackjack). Some casinos limit such playing options and techniques so don’t play in those casinos.

The game for a basic strategy player comes in at about a one-half percent house edge. The is an expected loss of 50 cents per $100 wagered – if you play “basic strategy.” Now that is a low house edge in the scheme of things.  

Okay, here are some simple hints on how to play blackjack:

• Play at full or crowded tables. You want fewer decisions. The more decisions, the better for the casino; the fewer decisions, the better for the player.
• If you win a hand, do not parlay your bet by putting the win on top of the previous bet thereby doubling that bet – the casino wins 48 percent of the hands! So, flat bet the entire game.
• Look for the best rules such as: the casino pays 3-to-2 on blackjacks (not 6-to-5), the casino stands on soft 17, doubling allowed on any first two cards, splitting allowed, double on splits allowed.
• Never take insurance even if you have a blackjack against the dealer’s ace.
• Always split aces and eights. Never split fives or 10s.
• Do not give anyone advice on how to play his or her hand. Tell them to ask the dealer. If you give the right advice and the player loses, who will the player blame?
• Give yourself enough money to play but if things are not going so well, quit, and come back later. The game isn’t going anywhere. 
• Do not play more than one hand. Why increase your potential losses? You are not increasing your potential wins when the house has the edge on each hand.
• Save your drinking for after the game. Do not drink during a game as drinks can loosen you up to make silly plays and bet more than you should. Casinos like players who drink it up! That’s why the drinks are usually free.
• Do not make any side bets at the game.
• Go to the bathroom during play; not during the shuffle. If you have to wait to get back into the game – that’s fine and dandy. Non-playing time is break-even time.

Blackjack is a terrific game if played well. It can be devastating if the player makes foolish mistakes. There is no reason to play foolishly. Leave that to the other players. You play smart!

Oh Boy, It’s Craps!

Craps was the number-one table game for many decades until the blackjack revolution. 

The game was a favorite along the Mississippi River for generations and it was called crabs, not craps. As it made its way to Northern cities the folks heard the word “crabs” but thought the word was “craps.” So, the North won that regional war and the game was now called craps.

It was a big hit in the big cities. It was a big hit even in the towns and the small towns. 

But craps became the second game to poker in the armed forces during World War II. The greatest craps player of all time and my mentor "the Captain of craps" learned the game in the armed forces. It was he who taught me everything I know about casino playing. I tip my cap to him. He is long gone now. Atlantic City is not the same without him. 

[Please note: I have written several books about craps, always giving the Captain due credit for his thoughts and innovations. The Captain came up with two huge ideas, dice control and the Five-Count. For those players who practice both of these techniques, the game of craps is a new world indeed.]

It is my belief that craps is the most exciting game in the casino. No matter where you are in Lady Luck’s palace you can hear the cheers when a shooter is having a great roll with the dice. You can also hear the moans when everyone is getting clobbered too.

Craps is essentially a communal game as all (or most) of the players are betting with the shooter to hit various numbers and when those numbers get hit the cheers and applause can be deafening. You can hear them everywhere.

But, and this is a big BUT, craps can be a deadly game to one’s bankroll if not played properly. Do most players play properly? Not really.

There are a multitude of bets at craps, almost all of them lousy as can be with house edges to rival slot machines. Yes, some scratch the 20 percent mark and many come close to it.

For some reason, the overwhelming majority of craps players enjoy making multiple bets, almost all of them bad bets, limiting their chances to win on given nights where there aren’t many fair, good or some epic rolls. A quick loss with so many bets losing makes it hard for players to recoup their losses and get into the black.

Yet, craps does have a few, very few, excellent bets and these should be the ones players must make in order to have a chance to beat the casino. You want a chance to beat the casino? Then follow the following:

• If you desire a way not to have to bet on every shooter, learn the "Five-Count."
• Only make the pass-line bet for a small amount and back that bet with what you can afford in odds.
• Make a come bet and place odds on that bet. Perhaps make two come bets backed with odds. I only bet three bets on myself; I bet one bet on all the other shooters. I prefer to wager on me, no one else.
• Do not drink. 
• Do not get angry when shooters seven-out quickly. The game is random and short rolls happen all the time.
• Although the game is random, do not annoy a shooter. Let the shooter relax with the dice and enjoy his or her roll.
• If you are a woman, please try your hand at craps. There are so few women who play the game and they are a welcome presence at the table.
• Do not make any side bets or bonus bets. Stick to the basic good bets.

I will have another part to this article. Look for it.

All the best in and out of the casinos!