Choose your super power!
X-ray vision ? see the next card or all the dealers cards?
Freeze time? Set the entire shoe in the blackjack deck to your favour
Mind reading? Beat everyone at poker.
Or something else?
You would also need to be able to avoid being detected, so how would you actually use your ability?
Quote: ahiromuThe Force and craps.
That would be fun. You could make money while making the anoying players lose.
Quote: JerryLoganI'd like to forward time travel, get the sports results, then come back. That way there'd be no more 2-3 seasons for me.
would be quite funny to time travel and get the next two keno draws, and win the first with 20 picks, then win the second. Just to see their faces......
Anyone remember the Twilight Zone episode where the gambler sells his soul to win....
Any other power would take the fun out of the game.
But mind reading would be fun, particularly if you still occasionally bluff.
Just the occasional moment of seeing future keno or lottery numbers might be manageable.
No wonder super heros are such tortured souls.
Has anyone here read John MacDonald's "The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything"? A very entertaining story that was made into a lousy TV movie. The inventor started out using his device in a casino, got both bored and annoyed with the attention he attracted, then found a much better way to entertain himself with his discovery. His heir had quite the adventure himself, which is the main story of the book. Check it out for a fun read!Quote: WizardofEngland... Freeze time? Set the entire shoe in the blackjack deck to your favour ....
Quote: WizardThis would have made a good poll. Putting the ethical issues aside, I'd choose mind reading.
Good choice.
In Babylon 5, telepaths were not allowed to play at the casino.
The least wanted super power by me is mind reading, because I think that this takes all the fun from poker, for example. The only challenge I see at poker are the other players, so that would be actually boring!
On the other hand, beating a negative EV game would be very very nice!
Quote: ahiromuThe Force and craps.
This would also be nice when the heat comes down,
"These aren't the gambler's you're looking for. He can go about his business. Move along."
For every game, there is a power that would let you win, or at least know ahead of time if you're winning or losing.Quote: aluisioThe least wanted super power by me is mind reading, because I think that this takes all the fun from poker, for example.
When I said I'd like mind reading for poker, I was really talking about bluffing. I think it would be cool to know you have a losing hand, but be up against a marginal hand, and be listening in as the other player is thinking about calling or folding.
That might work for the low-level guards, but remember in SW5, when Luke went to see Jaba, the guard wanted to keep him out, but Luke convinced him he needed to see Jaba. When the guard took Luke to Jaba, saying that "He must speak with you..." Jaba's response was "You weak minded fool. He's using an old Jedi Mind Trick."Quote: waltomealThe force would also be nice when the heat comes down,
"These aren't the gambler's you're looking for. He can go about his business. Move along."
On a side note, does the CEO of the Evil Empire, Caesars, remind anybody of Jaba The Hut?
Quote: ahiromuThe Force and craps.
Even better: the Force and blackjack. (think about it...)
Quote: avargovThe ability to see an hour into the future. Especially when the PowerBall is at 300 million. Could be useful at the track as well. Wouldn't want it for sports though, would take the fun out of it.
Anyone remember the Twilight Zone episode where the gambler sells his soul to win....
The purpose is to win money, not to have fun. I'd love to know the outcome of games a few days in advance, go to any boisterous LV sportsbook, and make "assertions" to people during the game that this or that will happen. I'd go around town each weekend and become a virtual know-it-all....oh wait, we already HAVE one of those here!
Quote: JerryLoganThe purpose is to win money, not to have fun. I'd love to know the outcome of games a few days in advance, go to any boisterous LV sportsbook, and make "assertions" to people during the game that this or that will happen. I'd go around town each weekend and become a virtual know-it-all....oh wait, we already HAVE one of those here!
I think we have two, actually. I am sure at least one of them has fun in by making random assertions all the time and winding people up, and sod the money.
Quote: WizardofEnglandwould be quite funny to time travel and get the next two keno draws, and win the first with 20 picks, then win the second. Just to see their faces......
I'd mess with them even more. I would keep picking 6 out of 8 correctly, at a 100-1 payoff. They wouldn't believe I was cheating, otherwise why wouldn't I just score 8 out of 8 and be done with it; meantime, I'd be betting $10 a game, collecting $1000, and watching them get more and more disturbed as I kept winning.
That would probably be most useful to the type of people who have to confess, "I have a college degree but I didn't do very good and spent most of my time having fun." Those folks have to blame their educational shortcomings on "crummy" teachers and probably fantasize about having been more effective cheating on exams.Quote: JerryLoganHow about the ability to see university exam answers so you could have gotten a better job?
Needless to say they had a pretty 'hot' shoe and won a considerable amount of money :-) When the casino eventually found out they attached chains to their shoes to thwart any possibility of it happening again.
Furthermore, in an episode of 'The Real Hustle', the 3 hustlers managed to change a shoe in a Las Vegas casino.
I would pick mind control as my 'Super Power' just for the fun of it. Just imagine a big shot at the Blackjack table boasting about how good he is and scolding everyone else's play. I would have great enjoyment making him split tens and then standing on 13 and hitting the 18 :-) It would only be fun if they couldn't work out why they played that way after the control had worn off. Also, in poker, making someone blurt out what they have would be kinda fun for a while :-)
Quote: DocThat would probably be most useful to the type of people who have to confess, "I have a college degree but I didn't do very good and spent most of my time having fun." Those folks have to blame their educational shortcomings on "crummy" teachers and probably fantasize about having been more effective cheating on exams.
Except for the fact that doing well in school has no bearing whatsoever on who makes the most money and who wishes they did. Besides, tell us what happened when YOU asked a teacher to show you her tits!
Quote: DocThat would probably be most useful to the type of people who have to confess, "I have a college degree but I didn't do very good and spent most of my time having fun." Those folks have to blame their educational shortcomings on "crummy" teachers and probably fantasize about having been more effective cheating on exams.
I had a 3.92 GPA in undergrad work, and a 4.0 in grad sschool, and got EXACTLY the job I wanted when I finished my M.A. I probably wouldn't have gotten that job if I had sluffed off in college; it wasn't so much about being intelligent as it was doing the work, and not succumbing to temptations to goof off. As the work gets harder, there's less and less margin for error. I saw all around me, students who were very talented but slipped up a bit on the work ethic. As a result, many of them had poorer GPAs then they should have. I don't know how much that impacts future hiring decisions, but it's a competitive world out there, and you might as well do as well as you can in college to set yourself up. The quality of your teachers has very little to do with your success. Failing in college and blaming your teachers for it is like shooting a 115 on the golf course and blaming your clubs.
Edit: Back to superpowers. Another discussion being dragged off-topic.
Quote: mkl654321I had a 3.92 GPA in undergrad work, and a 4.0 in grad sschool, and got EXACTLY the job I wanted when I finished my M.A. I probably wouldn't have gotten that job if I had sluffed off in college; it wasn't so much about being intelligent as it was doing the work, and not succumbing to temptations to goof off. As the work gets harder, there's less and less margin for error. I saw all around me, students who were very talented but slipped up a bit on the work ethic. As a result, many of them had poorer GPAs then they should have. I don't know how much that impacts future hiring decisions, but it's a competitive world out there, and you might as well do as well as you can in college to set yourself up. The quality of your teachers has very little to do with your success. Failing in college and blaming your teachers for it is like shooting a 115 on the golf course and blaming your clubs.
Edit: Back to superpowers. Another discussion being dragged off-topic.
Provide support for those assertions.
And permit me to laugh! GPA's, degrees galore, and all you've got to show for it is getting ridiculed on multiple forums and "$55k"!!
Quote: NareedGood choice.
In Babylon 5, telepaths were not allowed to play at the casino.
Babylon 5? You're Awesome. That is all.
Quote: ahiromuBabylon 5? You're Awesome. That is all.
I have always been awesome :P
You'd have liked my old sig:
Sign at the Vorlon Tourist Office: "We have never been here."
Or these:
B5/DS9 Crossover scene one:
Sisko: Welcome to Deep Space Nine.
Sheridan: Nine? Good grief, NINE? You people are freaking persistent!
Q: Why did the Minbari cross the road?
A: Understanding is not necessary, only obedience.
Q: How many Centauri does it take to screw-in a light bulb?
A: None. they like it in the Shadows.
I've more...
Quote: WizardofEnglandIf you could have one super power, that would be beneficial in the world of gambling what would it be?
X-ray vision ? see the next card or all the dealers cards?
Freeze time? Set the entire shoe in the blackjack deck to your favour
Mind reading? Beat everyone at poker.
Or something else?
You would also need to be able to avoid being detected, so how would you actually use your ability?
Travel in time. Move foward a day, get the sports results, then come back and make some bets. A lot less work than setting blackjack shoes, which are dissapearing anyways.
Quote: WizardofEnglandIf you could have one super power, that would be beneficial in the world of gambling what would it be?
X-ray vision ? see the next card or all the dealers cards?
Freeze time? Set the entire shoe in the blackjack deck to your favour
Mind reading? Beat everyone at poker.
Or something else?
You would also need to be able to avoid being detected, so how would you actually use your ability?
X-Ray vision would help you increase winnings, and could be lots of fun at a table with some hot babes playing and/or dealing!
Quote: ahiromuI'm sure you could. The final vorlon-shadow battle episode, I think it was mid s4 but I'm on my cell, is my favorite single episode of any show.
Three words: "War Without End" :)
But we should open a B5 thread elsewhere.
How about a superpower that would be useful only in gambling? And that does not involve making it less of a gamble, does not involve knowing the results in advance? I'm not sure I could think of one, because gambling is so closely tied to the world as it is, and powers what they are. Once you get a power, it isn't gambling any more.
Quote: MoscaHow about a superpower that would be useful only in gambling? And that does not involve making it less of a gamble, does not involve knowing the results in advance? I'm not sure I could think of one, because gambling is so closely tied to the world as it is, and powers what they are. Once you get a power, it isn't gambling any more.
How about if the probabilities in craps are shifted slightly from their fair values? Say, an 18-19% chance of rolling 7 instead of one out of six. The Wizard briefly discusses this here. You'd still have some variance in your bankroll and would still have losing sessions, and wouldn't have knowledge of any specific roll, but you would have a +EV in the long term.
But I sure liked the cocktail waitresses more....
Quote: 7outlineawayHow about if the probabilities in craps are shifted slightly from their fair values? Say, an 18-19% chance of rolling 7 instead of one out of six.
But how are probabilities shifted? Probabilities are mathematical descriptions, not concrete objects or forces that can be manipulated.
In craps, the only way to affect the probability of a dice throw is to exert control over the dice.
Quote: NareedBut how are probabilities shifted? Probabilities are mathematical descriptions, not concrete objects or forces that can be manipulated.
In craps, the only way to affect the probability of a dice throw is to exert control over the dice.
One example, whose benefits should be easy to quantify, could be to have to the 1 on each die come up less often than 1/6, with the other faces still equally likely (but greater then 1/6).
This could be achieved through dice control, loaded dice and/or changes in the laws of physics in the vicinity of the table. The original question involved having a superpower; once this is established the mechanics aren't really relevant.
So with 1 showing less often, one obvious thing is to take full odds on points of 8-9-10 and none on 4-5-6. Or place only the 8 on *every* point; this may be less likely to be detected.
Quote: NareedBut how are probabilities shifted? Probabilities are mathematical descriptions, not concrete objects or forces that can be manipulated.
In craps, the only way to affect the probability of a dice throw is to exert control over the dice.
It's a super power, maybe it's the super power of just getting lucky... hard to pin down but just somehow, you get lucky....
Quote: thecesspitQuote: NareedBut how are probabilities shifted? Probabilities are mathematical descriptions, not concrete objects or forces that can be manipulated.
In craps, the only way to affect the probability of a dice throw is to exert control over the dice.
It's a super power, maybe it's the super power of just getting lucky... hard to pin down but just somehow, you get lucky....
There you go... how about the power of being serendipitous, but only on a small scale? Within perhaps a 10 ft radius? Not wildly so, not a blatantly obvious power, but just enough.
Wow, what a life that would be; still human, but with a charmed life. Think of the confidence, when just a small extra number of personal choices come out ahead. take that chance, it usually works out! Walk up to that beautiful woman and just ask! Buy that old painting at the garage sale! What the hell, it's only $100; toss it on the hard 8!
Uh-oh, look out for that cliff! Whew; caught on a branch after only a 2 foot drop!
