View Poll Results: At which casino games can you profit?

Voters
5. You may not vote on this poll
  • Blackjack

    3 60.00%
  • Video Poker

    3 60.00%
  • Baccarat

    1 20.00%
  • Craps

    1 20.00%
  • Pai Gow

    0 0%
  • Roulette

    0 0%
  • Live Poker

    3 60.00%
  • Slot machines (not video poker)

    1 20.00%
  • 3 Card poker, Let It Ride, and others

    0 0%
  • Sports Betting

    4 80.00%
Multiple Choice Poll.
Results 1 to 11 of 11

Thread: At which casino games do you think it's possible to have a profit?

  1. #1
    Over the past couple of years there has been a lot of discussion about "advantage play" at casino games. And by using "advantage play" techniques some believe that they can beat the casino and come out ahead even when the game has a house edge or the casino has a mathematical advantage on the bets.

    What are some of the techniques of advantage play? Well, they include proper strategy as well as inside information or special plays that the general public isn't aware of. This inside information can include "the count" of the cards still available to be dealt in blackjack, or that a roulette wheel has a bias towards certain numbers, or that a dealer is unknowingly flashing certain cards before they are dealt.

    Some "advantage players" claim they can have an edge over casinos because they have special information about how the games are run. Perhaps they can can sense how a dealer spins the big wheel or the roulette wheel and from that can predict and place a bet before the dealer stops the betting. Some advantage players believe they know where the best paying slot machines are located on a bank of machines.

    Cheating is also a form of advantage play but we won't discuss that -- and instead just want to concentrate on legal play. Card counting at blackjack is legal even if the casinos will not let a card counter play. Dice setting and dice control are legal even if a casino does not allow a player to set the dice or use a controlled throw at craps.

    The other element of advantage play is knowing how to get the most out of the system including how to maximize the offers you get from a casino for show tickets, sporting event tickets, free restaurant meals, free hotel stays, free play money, even rebates on losses. I was told the other day that Harrah's Rincon Casino in San Diego has a program where it will give a rebate to table game players who lose $25,000 or more in a given month -- and that could be viewed to help a player. Some players even figure that the soap and tissue boxes that take home from a hotel stay has some value and is part of an "advantage play." Others put a higher value on casino gifts and department store cards which are given out for certain promotions and will play during those "promotional days."

    And some players will play during certain days because "play" can be figured into entries for contests. Here in Southern California Morongo and Pala -- two casinos -- are giving away cars every week to players and the more play the better your chances of being drawn as the winner.

    In live poker, an "advantage play" might be playing where there are drawings, and cash back rebates, as well as big "bad beat jackpots" available.

    So, at which casino games do you think it is possible to have a profit and how important is advantage play in making that profit?

  2. #2
    I don't see sports betting in the list. I made a bet on SF yesterday for $2k since I basically pushed on the two bets two weeks ago. But I'm already way ahead lifetime in sports bets even if I lose this one. Therefore, I have the "advantage" in that casino game.

  3. #3
    Sports betting is not on the list. I also thought about not including live poker, because it doesn't have a "house edge."

  4. #4
    I think that correct about live poker because it's usually boy us vs. the casino. But of course sports betting has a house edge or else it wouldn't be offered.

  5. #5
    Originally Posted by Rob.Singer View Post
    I think that correct about live poker because it's usually boy us vs. the casino. But of course sports betting has a house edge or else it wouldn't be offered.
    there is no house edge at live poker, but it's also offered. But I am adding sports betting to the list.

  6. #6
    I would have said horse racing--but that is omitted also-although I got my but kicked today.

  7. #7
    The question is badly phrased, as Alan has made the point many times that anyone "CAN" profit at any game at any time regardless of probabilities. Somebody wins the lottery, after all, so one "CAN" profit playing the lottery.

    Betfair, by the way, which has many thousands of customers for horse racing, has reported that for certain years just five or six people made more than six digits betting horses. It's that difficult, despite there being the opportunity for dozens of plays each day.

  8. #8
    And I phrased my response badly, as well -- I should have said "five or six people made six digits." Not "more than six digits."

  9. #9
    Originally Posted by redietz View Post
    The question is badly phrased, as Alan has made the point many times that anyone "CAN" profit at any game at any time regardless of probabilities. Somebody wins the lottery, after all, so one "CAN" profit playing the lottery.

    Betfair, by the way, which has many thousands of customers for horse racing, has reported that for certain years just five or six people made more than six digits betting horses. It's that difficult, despite there being the opportunity for dozens of plays each day.
    Red-I would seriously question those numbers. I know many more than that that earn over 6 figures in horse racing. None bet with Betfair but Betfair has to have hundreds of thousands of players in Europe and now in the US.

    The key with horse racing is that, although you have to overcome the house edge (between 15% to 25% of every dollar coming in goes to the gov, the track, the purses, etc.), you are playing against other bettors, not the house, and if you are better than they are you can and should win. In that sense, it is like poker. But it is different than poker in that it is a full time job requiring endless hours of work. The individual that just won the national handicapping championship in Vegas is a full time horse player and he says he spends at least 12 hours a day on his "job".

  10. #10
    Betfair makes its numbers public, so what I said wasn't a guesstimate.

  11. #11
    Originally Posted by redietz View Post
    The question is badly phrased, as Alan has made the point many times that anyone "CAN" profit at any game at any time regardless of probabilities.
    The question is what it is. Disregard my comments and my feelings. This is for others to vote their preferences.

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