Guilty pleasures

Anyone have a game/table they love even though they know better? I just got home from a week in Las Vegas and am ashamed to admit I had some of the most fun doing two things I know the Wizard would recommend against. Heck even I'd recommend against:

1. Wizard of Oz slot machine. I know it's not a new machine, but it was new to me and I couldn't get enough. The effects were a blast, and the people playing next to me were always cheering me on as well. I almost peed my pants the first time the flying monkeys showed up.

2. Blackjack (6:5) at Bally's Party Pit. I know, I know - I shouldn't have - but I was with an insistent friend. Drinks came fast and strong and the dealers I met were some of the nicest I came across all week. Too bad my chips didn't pile up as fast as the decks of cards they kept giving me.

Similarly, the 6:5 poolside at the Flamingo is awesome. $5 minimum when I was there, and FAST free cocktail service. It was worth the loss...

I am not a shill for Harrah's properties either, that is just about the only way I'll play at one of their hotels.

Slot machines: The new Star Trek slot machine with the two screens. The Supranos slot machine (there was a small island in Venetian where 2 of the 6 machines were "loose"--will find out in two weeks if they're still there and "loose" LOL). The "fish" slot machine with the two screens and the fish swimming in a bowl on the upper screen (with the "fish food" bonus). There's an island of six "community" slot machines at Red Rock with mult-layer displays and a pig theme. Dean Martin's Wild Party with the unusual "9x4" layout.

Table games: Three card poker.

I guess I play Blackjack to finance the other games, LOL.

Quote: dlevinelaw

...the 6:5 poolside at the Flamingo is awesome...

This sentence has never been uttered before by humanity, in any language, in over a million years of talking and writing.

--Dorothy

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If you enjoy a game that has a really bad house edge, and you know what your likely loss is, that's fine and there shouldn't be any guilt involved.

Quote: Nareed

If you enjoy a game that has a really bad house edge, and you know what your likely loss is, that's fine and there shouldn't be any guilt involved.

Most 6:5 blackjack has a house edge ~1.5% (according to the survey on this site). Thats not too bad... compares favorably to placing the 6 or 8 in craps, and is much better then Roulette. So if its the only 'blackjack' game at limits you are comfortable with, hey, I am not going to fault you for playing! Especially if there are other 'bonuses' to playing (pretty dealers, freely flowing booze, whatever!) However, I don't play 6:5 because usually there are 3:2 shoe games at the same limit available at the same casino or nearby. Also, I don't want to support in any way the encroachment of 6:5. But again, to each his own!

Perhaps I can experience a bit of posterity in that case.

Quote: DrEntropy

Most 6:5 blackjack has a house edge ~1.5% (according to the survey on this site). Thats not too bad... compares favorably to placing the 6 or 8 in craps, and is much better then Roulette. So if its the only 'blackjack' game at limits you are comfortable with, hey, I am not going to fault you for playing! Especially if there are other 'bonuses' to playing (pretty dealers, freely flowing booze, whatever!) However, I don't play 6:5 because usually there are 3:2 shoe games at the same limit available at the same casino or nearby. Also, I don't want to support in any way the encroachment of 6:5. But again, to each his own!

I understand. In that case you should decide which is of more value to you: playing any kind of available BJ you enjoy, or making every effort to stamp out 6:5 twenty one. Guilt is not necessary.

Keno has about the worst house edge of any game. I don't play it. Partly because of the house edge, partly because I don't enjoy it. But I smile when I pass the Keno area and see lots of, usually, older people enjoying the game.

I'm about to say something odd: pleasure is too important not to be enjoyed. I mean if something brings you pelasure without hurting you in any significant way, or in any way you're unwilling to accept, then forget about whether it's proper or not and just enjoy it. Be it Keno, or 6:5, or a silly song, or anything.

I agree that people should play what makes them happy - after all, gambling is about entertainment. Therefore any game is acceptable, even Keno if you love it. Keno is actually not that bad because of its slow rate of play and usually small bets. However there is certainly a group of people that would like to have the best chance to increase their chance of winning and the resultant pleasure it brings. Thus education about what the good and bad bets are is a great thing.

Regarding 6:5, I understand the casino offering it if it includes a frill benefit - like poolside, or pleasure pits etc. What bothers me is when they offer it alongside regular tables. Here nobody gains anything by playing it - its certainly not any more fun than 3:2. But, I blame the players more than anything. You don't need to go to the Wizard of Odds to realize that your blackjack was short payed and you should go to another table. The fact that there are still players making this mistake years after its introduction is a telling tale about the sheer stupidity of some gamblers.

Oh the Humanity!

Tourists on the Strip play 6 to 5 Black Jack and like it.

and slot machines too!

The casinos aren't looking for us.(meaning savvy gamblers)

Trust me!