Las Vegas Boulevard - the least mustachian street on Earth

[dandarc]

I am/was a gambler and I think the whole place is fascinating. I only gamble at games where I have a statistical advantage over the casino, so it's been profitable. To me losing sucks and is not "entertainment" (as lots of people suggest otherwise who throw their money away there, and call it the cost of entertainment).

Yes I gamble with >$300 from time to time. Usually Blackjack. I only do safe bets, not longshots. If I play roulette (which I have rarely done) I'm the guy betting on red or black because the numbers are sucker bets. I did the horse track once and I bet the favorites, winning a few bucks each time while my coworkers were busy losing with their trifectas and such.

You're right that the number bets are "sucker bets," but you're wrong in thinking that Red and Black aren't sucker bets.  The whole table is a bunch of sucker bets with a 5.3% house advantage.  The one exception to this is the 5 number bets which has a 7% (or so) house advantage.  The numbers aren't any worse bets then Red or Black. 

If you want a better chance at making money, then I'd suggest Craps or Baccarat. They've got the lowest house edge other than card counting in Black Jack.

Roulette's interesting in that the house edge is printed right on the table.  It would be a fair game without the 0 and 00.  5 number bets notwithstanding.

[zing12]

I am/was a gambler and I think the whole place is fascinating. I only gamble at games where I have a statistical advantage over the casino, so it's been profitable. To me losing sucks and is not "entertainment" (as lots of people suggest otherwise who throw their money away there, and call it the cost of entertainment).

Yes I gamble with >$300 from time to time. Usually Blackjack. I only do safe bets, not longshots. If I play roulette (which I have rarely done) I'm the guy betting on red or black because the numbers are sucker bets. I did the horse track once and I bet the favorites, winning a few bucks each time while my coworkers were busy losing with their trifectas and such.

The whole "losing as entertainment" thing is bizarre. The "entertainment" comes from trying to beat the system!

"trying"... you can't.
those casinos spend billions to take people's 100s of billions.
do yourself a favor and stop playing any game against the house.

I played poker professionally for 8 years...walking through the casinos I would see all sorts with "systems", "trying to take down the casino"...

yes this is my first post...I have lurked here for a long time and your post struck a nerve. so congrats you got me to post. I don't say anything above to be a jerk...I say it as a warning from someone much more experienced in the gambling world than you will ever be, to get out and stay out of that mentality that the casinos can be beat. The movies and books with systems are lying to you...they are lying in an effort to sell you a pipe dream.

My post is a little bit unclear. I'm smart, but I don't have the quick-thinking brain to count cards. I like to go to the casino and find a blackjack game with a small house edge and play basic strategy. I also like to find the good video poker machines on vpfree and play a basic strategy for Jacks or Better.

Then maybe if I want to be stupid, a spin or two of roulette playing red or black but I really don't even like to do that. We are defining 'beat the system' differently - my point was just that I generally try to do my research and play the games with halfway decent odds as opposed to the guy who goes and blindly plays gimmicky table games.

In general, I'd rather put down $20 on something that's decently probable where you win even money, than putting $20 on some longshot where I could win hundreds but it's highly improbable. I have friends who do the opposite and it just doesn't make sense to me. They all say "that's how you win money" except I might leave about even and they always lose.

[SnackDog]

Statistically speaking, the big casinos are going to eke out a small long term profit against the gambling public.  However, you are not the gambling public, you are Joe Gambler. And Joe Gambler can lose his paycheck or whip the living daylights out of the casino.  If you are lucky you can win!  This is what makes gambling fun and exciting, even if you lose.  Mr. Spock would never enjoy gambling. The rest of us humans can get pretty excited and emotional about getting lucky and winning big.

[MgoSam]

My statistics teacher in high school declared, "I haven't gambled a cent in any casino in my life," as his way of underscoring the negative returns from gambling. It is something I wish I took to heart when I was in college, but thankfully my losses were manageable and nothing drastic. My dad, on the other hand, has gambled quite a lot (think being comped everywhere he went), and thankfully he has learned his lesson and hasn't gambled for a long time.

I'm happier not imbibing in the least.

[TheAnonOne]

I go to Vegas two to three times a year for fun. It can be a 'cheap' get away with great food and some fun gambling (If your into that).

Did I mention the food?