Hello from Massachusetts

Hello everyone,
I have enjoyed the posts on the VMB as a lurker for a while now, and finally decided to participate as an active member.
I am drawn to Las Vegas like a moth to flame because I love 1) gambling, 2) the party atmosphere, and 3) the feeling of being young again, that I can't seem to find anywhere else in my travels around the world.

I only play games with relatively low house advantage. My main games are craps (my secret self-destructive habit is playing the Field, if you haven't guessed already from my name and avatar), baccarat and single-zero roulette with half-money back on even money bets. When I gamble, I don't want to feel like I am working, so I avoid black jack and poker, despite the excellent potential odds in these games. I never play the slots or other games with relatively high house advantage.

My frequent haunts are the Cosmopolitan, Aria, Planet Hollywood, Mandalay Bay, Rio, Wynn/Encore and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
I play to maximize my average bet/hour to generate the most theoretical, so I can get the most comps and thus lower the casino edge even more. I know the house should win in the long run because I play negative expected value games, but as long as I get appropriately entertained along the way, I'm good. For me, getting as much as I can from the casino in comps because of my play is part of the "game". And I cling to the statistical possibility that I might come out ahead of the casino over the course of my lifetime of play.

Here are my three rules of gambling, learned over a course of 30 years at a tuition cost of over $300,000:
1) Only gamble with money you can afford to throw in the trash, and not affect your finances at all.
Before any trip to a casino, I mentally assume I have lost all of my money on the first play, and this way, if I come back with anything, I am happy.
2) Understand how numbers, probability, statistics, and randomness really work.
For example, everyone knows that the number 7 will show up on average every 6th roll of the dice. But if I showed you a list of numbers and said it was a list of all the numbers rolled at a craps table, and every 6th number was a 7, like clockwork, you would tell me that I made up that list of numbers. Why? Because that is not how it would happen in real life. In real life, there will be bunches of 7's close together, and also large gaps between 7's. These "streaks" are "natural", and are predicted by the laws of probability etc. This is why I smirk whenever I see Pass line players complain, after a hot roll without many 7's, that the 7's are starting to come out. What do they expect? The 7's have to come out at some point, to obey the law of averages...it is only natural! To be clear, I don't fault them for continuing to play the Pass line, I fault them for complaining, because it tells me they don't understand how the numbers work. Similarly, I am bemused by Don't players who are stunned that the 7 can be rolled 9 times in row on the Come out (9 is the longest streak I have seen)...it can happen.
3) Have a large enough bank roll for your average bet size.
When I was younger, I used to over bet my bank roll, and I would frequently tap out when I hit a modest bad streak of 6 or 7 losses in a row.
Now, I bring enough to cover up to 20 straight losses (which would be very bad luck indeed), but when the tide turns as it inevitably does, I will still be in the game and can ride the wave to catch up. For example, if I am playing craps on the Pass line with 3-4-5 odds, and I am making $200 dollar bets with $600-$1,200 odds, I will bring $25,000 to the table. Another advantage of playing this way is that all that action generates theoretical, which gets comped back to me at 40%, thus lowering the house edge. Thus, if I break even, I am actually winning!

I look forward to interacting with the VMB!

Sincerely yours,
PayTriple

 

I want to learn how to play craps. Any online practice sites?

 

I never use online sites, I use a computer program for simulation.
I think the Wizard of Odds has an online craps simulator.
There are many good books on learning craps.
One of my favorites is "Craps: Take the money and run " by Henry Tamburin.
But if you just want the rules and how to play, the Wizard of Odds site is fantastic.

 

Welcome to the board! Look forward to your posts.

 

Welcome to VMB.
Where do you play in Vegas and what do you get in offers?
I enjoy craps myself but play more Video Poker.

 

I like the Cosmo, Aria, Hard Rock, Planet Hollywood, Wynn.
I usually book with the best offer-of-the moment.
My last offer at the Cosmo was for 4 nights, $300 dining credit, and $1775 in promo chips (one-time use). Also had essentially unlimited limousine use.
This was better than the offer from the Aria with 3 nights in their Skysuite, $400 resort credit, and 2 tickets to Zarkana, and round-trip limousine to the airport.

 

Welcome from a former Masshole.

 

This is a great welcome post, even if it is from a masshole.