A Winning System Part 2 - "The Frugal Gambler"
Last time, in A Winning System Part 1, I gave you an overall view of three products to help make you a winner at the casino. The Foundation of this system is “The Frugal Gambler” by Jean Scott. When you add the value of comps with the positive expectation of Video Poker, you can come out ahead. Jean shows you how to do this.
I first read about Jean years ago in the Las Vegas Advisor, in which the publisher, Anthony Curtis, had dubbed her the “Queen of Ku Pon”. About two years later on CBS’ news magazine“48 Hours” Dan Rather called her “The Queen of Comps” as they highlighted the story about the woman who stays many weeks a year in Las Vegas, eats in fine restaurants, and does it all for Free.
In “The Frugal Gambles” Jean gives us a look at how she and her husband Brad went from playing $100 a hand Blackjack to playing 25 cent Video Poker and receiving more comps from their “Low Roller” action. Jean explains how the casino comp system works, shattering many of the myths that players have heard about the casinos. You will find out about many of the comps available to you as a player. She then shows you how you can utilize a positive expectation game like Video Poker to get your fair share of these comps.
This book is not for video poker players only. Jean has advice and tips for anyone visiting a casino regardless of which game you choose. In the chapter entitled “Great Expectations” Jean gives us a view of the different types of Casino players which she calls the “Pyramid of Gamblers.” At the base is the confused player with no casino knowledge what -so -ever up to the Pro player at the top. The chapter has excellent charts showing the house edge for all the games and gives you an idea of the price you pay to play the various games.
Besides explaining how to go about obtaining comps from the casino, she explains the value of taking advantage of the many promotions offered by the casinos. You will learn about Funbooks and Free tournaments and a chapter is devoted to the most important tool for earning your share of comps, “The Slot Club."
Another chapter is devoted to The Airline Bump. Until I read Jean's book I did not realize how to go about getting a bump on an airline flight. This past summer I was on my way to Las Vegas to meet with some friends, Jean being among them. The night before leaving, I re-read the chapter on the Airline bump, followed her advice and was successful in getting bumped. Before I even got to Vegas I had “Won” a Free ticket from the airlines. As soon as I saw Jean, I told her the advice in that chapter alone had paid for my copy of the “Frugal Gambler” many times over.
I asked Jean if she would share some of her wisdom for this column. Here
are a few tips she had to offer about stretching your money in the casinos:
1. Go down in denomination. If you are losing too much playing dollar slots,
switch to quarters. Switch from green chips to red chips at the table games.
2. Slow down your play. Feed machine coins rather than using bill acceptors.
Choose a crowded table at BJ, craps, or roulette; you will play fewer hands.
3. Change your game to one with a lower house edge. Video keno has around
a 8% house edge; video poker usually has only around 2-3%.
4. Play the same game but choose a better bet. In roulette a wheel with a
double zero will have you losing about 5% over the long haul; a single-zero
game will lower that to 3%. At the crap table, skip the hardway bets which
have a house edge of over 9% and put your money on the pass line and take
the odds - you will reduce that edge to under 1%.
5. Play the same game but play it better. Most people who play BJ with a
seat-of-the-pants strategy will give the casino at least a 3% edge. A basic
strategy player can cut that to well under 1%. A video poker student can
avoid the low-paying machines that abound and find those few that will pay
them over 100% in the long run.
6 Don’t be afraid to ask for a comp. Many comps are easy to obtain but
you have to ASK!!
*****
If you want to have a fair shot at coming out ahead of the casinos, you must take advantage of all the comps and freebies that the casinos offer. The Frugal Gambler will show you how.
The next step is to learn how to play Video Poker. Next time I will review Dan Paymar’s “Video Poker- Optimum Play”.
Until next time, remember:
"Luck comes and goes...Knowledge stays forever."
A Winning System Part 1
A Winning System Part 3
A Winning System Part 4