1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets

Bill Burton 12:43 Jun 17th, 2006 Books

Excerpt from book 1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets by Bill Burton This book contains 1000 tips spread out over 16 chapters covering most of the casino games and other casino related subjects. Here are a few tips you may find useful.

Chapter 1 – Play Like a Pro: How Casinos are Run

#40: The Casino Host works hand in hand with the marketing department to bring in players and keep them happy. Hosts can write comps for players for anything from a free meal to an all expense paid visit including food, room, and more. You don’t have to be a high roller to ask a host for a comp, so go ahead and give it a try. The worst thing they can do is say “no.”

Chapter - 2 Great Expectations: Odds, Probabilities and House Edge

#53: One thing that separates gaming from other forms of entertainment is there is no set price you pay to play. When you go to a show, you know in advance the price of the tickets. When you sit down to try your luck in the casino you don’t know exactly how much it will cost you to play.

Chapter 3 - Dollars and Sense: Money Management

#91 Don’t play at limits you can’t afford. If you only have $100, don’t play at a $25 dollar table or dollar slot machine. Your goal is to make your money last. One short losing streak will wipe you out if you don’t have a sufficient bankroll. There is no shame in playing lower limit games.

Chapter 4 - Reel Fun: Slots

#153: If you play the new ticket out machines, make sure to take your cash voucher. Some of the machines will beep loudly once the ticket is printed. You shouldn’t depend on this because in a noisy casino you may not hear it. Make it a habit to reach for you ticket as soon as you hit the cash out button.

Chapter 5 - In Search of the Royals: Video Poker

#221: Don’t automatically hit the maximum coin button. There was a time when the maximum bet on a video poker machine was five coins. Some of the newer machines have a maximum bet of 90 coins. You should check the help screen before hitting the max button so that you are certain what the maximum bet is.

Chapter 6 - Winning is Basic: Blackjack

318: When you double down you double your bet after receiving your first two cards. You then receive only one additional card on your hand. Most casinos will allow you to double down on any two cards. Some casinos limit your doubling to hands that total ten or eleven.

Chapter 7 - A Dicey Situation: Craps

#403: You can take down any bet on the craps table except for the passline bet or the come bet once the point has been established. You can pick up your passline odds or remove your field bets. You have to ask the dealer to take down your place bets

Chapter 8 - Go For a Spin: Roulette

#533: My favorite strategy is to bet two chips on the 10/13 and 28/31 double streets and one chip on the 17-18-20-21 Quad. You have 16 numbers covered that are spread around the wheel. If one of the bets wins, increase it by one chip on the next spin.

Chapter 10- Know When to Hold’em: Casino Poker

#712: Regardless of which game you play, the biggest mistake a player can make is playing too many hands. The objective to Poker is to win the most money. It is not to win the most pots. Players who win the most pots are playing too many hands and usually lose money in the end. A winning player is one who is very selective about the hands he plays. This takes patience and discipline, and it separates the winners from the losers.

Chapter 11- Know When to Fold ’em: Texas Hold’em

#758: Texas Hold'em is a faster paced game than seven-card stud. You can play a hand in about two minutes. This means you will see more hands during your playing session. This allows you to be more selective which should lead to profitability if you capitalize on the poor play of your opponents.

Chapter 12 – Follow the Bouncing Ball: Live and Video Keno

#824: Keno is a game that is based purely on luck. There is no skill required and nothing you can do to change the house edge. It is the equivalent to playing the lottery.

Chapter 13- Be a Sport: Sports Betting

#865: The point spread is not the odds maker’s predicted margin-of-victory. It is his prediction of what the number of points that will be required to split the wagering evenly on both teams. For this reason, the line may change from the opening line to the line at game time.

Chapter 14 - Best Things in Life are Free: Comps

#904: Many players think that comps are only for the high rollers who spend thousands of dollars each visit, but this is not true. There are different levels of comps depending on the amount of play you give the casinos. You should learn about the comp policy at the casinos where you play.

Chapter 15 - Thanks for the Tip: Who, when, and how much to tip.

#995: You should tip the hotel maids a couple of dollars per night when you check out. In most hotels, there is a card in the room with the name of your maid. You can place your tip by the card. I have found it is better to look for your maid and hand her the tip personally. 1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets, autographed by Bill Burton at: www.billburton.com