[OT] Counting cards. What is it?

[DMScott]

The best bet when you are going into a casino is to play poker (assuming you know what you're doing). While the house still takes a cut, there are no house odds. Just the other people at the table.

True, but if you're good at poker it's far better to find a private game. The rake in a casino on a public game is usually insane, particularly with Texas Hold 'Em being so popular these days. Best, ahem, bet is to treat a night at casino like any other night of entertainment - play the games you enjoy, have some food, flirt with the waitresses, and get the heck out if you find yourself getting upset or thinking you have to make money. Sometimes luck will go your way and you'll come out ahead, that's a bonus.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

I've always wanted to just go to a casino (in Vegas, I guess, since it's close) and just get all the cheapies. Cheap buffets, cheap rooms, cheap shows, and so on. To heck with gambling, I'd rather spend my money on other stuff!

Do the casinos notice people like me? Do they care if someone just tries to gouge 'em for what they offer (in hopes of eventually getting a new-found gambler)?

 

[DaveStebbins]

Best, ahem, bet is to treat a night at casino like any other night of entertainment - play the games you enjoy, have some food, flirt with the waitresses, and get the heck out if you find yourself getting upset or thinking you have to make money. Sometimes luck will go your way and you'll come out ahead, that's a bonus.

And there's the best gambling advice you're likely to ever receive.

Reminds me of how people wanted to be their own stock brokers a few years ago. Bunches of people were convinced that they could manage their portfolios as a hobby better then the trained personnel at large brokerage firms who did it all day long for a living. But when researchers ran the numbers, only about 10% made more money than they would have by just putting it in a good fund managed by a professional. Most came out considerably behind.

Sort of like how most people think they are above average drivers, or better than average in the sack.

-Dave

 

[Wilphe]

:There are no even chances in Roulette.

Ahem, I work in one, that is still what they get called whether it's a true even chance or not.

 

[Wilphe]

In any case I am in the UK, so there is 1-36 and Green zero. If zero comes in you lose half of your original bet on Odd, Even, High, Low, Red or Black.

 

[Wilphe]

You have an 18/37 chance of losing.
an 18/37 chance of doubling your money
and a 1 in 37 chance of halfing your stake

 

[Wilphe]

Which is a 1.35 % house edge, elsewhere on the wheel it is 2.7%. Which is about as good as you'll get in the UK.

 

[Wilphe]

The House Edge is only about 3% overall, per spin or hand. This turns into just under 20% overall win (more or less) over the course of a night.

 

[Wilphe]

Placing one big bet and then cashing out or giving up is viable in the sense that it minimizes the house edge, but it makes for a very short night out.

 

[Saeviomagy]

And there's the best gambling advice you're likely to ever receive.

Reminds me of how people wanted to be their own stock brokers a few years ago. Bunches of people were convinced that they could manage their portfolios as a hobby better then the trained personnel at large brokerage firms who did it all day long for a living. But when researchers ran the numbers, only about 10% made more money than they would have by just putting it in a good fund managed by a professional. Most came out considerably behind.

Sort of like how most people think they are above average drivers, or better than average in the sack.

-Dave

This comes down to an interesting little thing which was proven in a scientific study - that your perception of your own competence at something is inversely proportional to your competence.

ie - if you know nothing about a subject, you're more likely to think yourself more competent than you really are, because you just don't know all the stuff you don't know. At mid-ranges, you're likely to estimate your performance correctly - you have a good idea of what you know and don't know. At high levels of competence, you're likely to underestimate yourself - you assume that everyone else has to have a much higher level of knowledge than they really do.

The best cure for someone who thinks they know everything when they just don't is to make them study the subject - they'll rapidly find that every other fact they encounter was something they didn't know before.