Guilty Pleasures

This topic has come up in a few threads the past couple of weeks so I thought I would dedicate one to it. We all have them, for me it's the hi-lo and craps check in craps with a $20 in a WoF machine every once in awhile (as well as megabucks). I'm just curious what everyone else is willing to admit to.

Guilty pleasure or 'I konw I shouldn't, but I just really want too" ...

I once took all my money I had made in the casino and divided it up by three and placed it out on the let it ride table- i figured I knew I was just tossing away 1/3rd of my money- but I really wanted to do it. I caught the last card for a pair of J's and made a 33% profit.... it just felt good to let myself go and make a big bet.

Simuler instance on pai gow poker- one time I just said to hell with it, and decided Id make one last bet before leaving the table. Instead of the 20-30 bucks I was doing, I put $100 on the bonus, and $1,000 on the main bet. Dealer made sure he had a pitboss come over first- we pushed, lost $100.

I also have one specific slot machine (wolf run) I like to play and I've got to play it every time I go to the casino- its not really a guilty pleasure but I figure its notable sense its the only slot machine I play on a reguler basis. If they are all full I might play coyote moon slot.

For me, it's playing the hardways at the craps table if I happen to be there. I'll throw a $20 in a 3-line reel slot once in a while as well. As a table player, I know I should play more VP to even out the comps, but I just can't stand the endless throwing of money away waiting for the SD curve to go my way on anything but a nickel machine.

-B

For me, it's roulette. I'm a blackjack an poker guy all the way, slots bore me to tears, and all other table games are just for occasional silliness... but I always pick one number of significance, put a bet on it, and see if it pays off big. I will never hang out at the roulette table for elongated periods of time, but 5 or 10 spins a visit is my guilty pleasure, and it gives me that guilty satisfaction no other game quite does, like "I just threw my money away... and it was fun!"

Caveman Keno. It seems so stupid, but I have hit it once in a while.

Craps: FireBet all the way baby. Yeah, it's a stupid bet, and if you have your money spread out at all when it hits, it almost doesn't matter if you have a FireBet up. But it's still fun. Plus C/E on the come-out, and occasionally hardways.

Slots: 50 or 100 multiple hand video poker. It's cool to watch as a good starting hand hits the predictable results.

Hold-Em: Playing, or even raising, with seven deuce off suit.

BJ: Splitting Tens. I only do this if I'm at a very low limit table, betting the minimum, with the dealer showing a 5 or 6, and I'm in the mood to screw with people's heads.



Of course, if you ask my wife, she'd say it's my habit of coming home with limited edition $5 chips.

At the Tropicana in AC, there is a $5 WoF slot right along the edge of the table games. The wheel doesn't have the typical span of spaces from $250 to $5000; the lowest win is $500, the highest is $1199. So, if you get a spin, you get a nice hit. I'll drop $100 in there, if I've been having a good trip.

Also, if I'm not in the mood to gamble but my wife is, I'll sit next to her at the penny slots and play max lines for .01 per bet. Sometimes it's a blast to see the machine go crazy and all the lights flashing and chimes ringing, and you've won $6.77!

Quote: Malaru

I also have one specific slot machine (wolf run) I like to play and I've got to play it every time I go to the casino- its not really a guilty pleasure but I figure its notable sense its the only slot machine I play on a reguler basis. If they are all full I might play coyote moon slot.

with all those wilds, how can you lose? :)

My companion often gives me 100.00 as we are about to leave for the airport for one final fling at a craps table. I should not gamble that way, but I do it. One hundred on the line even if I've been at a five or ten dollar table. Not a sensible thing to do, but ... .

Quote: Mosca

At the Tropicana in AC, there is a $5 WoF slot right along the edge of the table games. The wheel doesn't have the typical span of spaces from $250 to $5000; the lowest win is $500, the highest is $1199. So, if you get a spin, you get a nice hit. I'll drop $100 in there, if I've been having a good trip.

Is that typical of the $5 WoF machines in Vegas?

Hi. I'm ez19, and I have a confession.

I love the Horn High Ace Deuce on the come out roll.

Yes, I know it should not be done, and the odds are terrible.

But it's my crack cocaine at the craps table. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help myself. I am addicted to it now.

For those who don't know what that is, a regular horn bet is divided equally between the prop bets on the 2, 3, 11, and 12. However, many bettors don't like betting in increments of $4, so they double of the four parts, and bet in increments of $5. In this case, ez19 is betting $2 on the 3.

I must admit that I do make the 'crap check' (any crap) bet quite often. It is the only time I vary from pass line and come bets with odds. But I actually make it to lose. I seldom win it and so when I make it I am trying to break a streak of losing line bets from the a series of crap rolls.

Quote: Wizard

For those who don't know what that is, a regular horn bet is divided equally between the prop bets on the 2, 3, 11, and 12. However, many bettors don't like betting in increments of $4, so they double of the four parts, and bet in increments of $5. In this case, ez19 is betting $2 on the 3.

And here I thought you would say something about doing $4 any craps and a $1 11. You end up with an extra $1 on a 12 and 2. Atleast that's how it is where I play.

A $5 Horn High 2 or 12 gives you a win of $57 if the high hits, $26 if the 2 hits, and $11 if the 3 or 11 hits.

Expected value is: 57 x 1/36 + 26 x 1/36 + 11 x 4/36 - 5 x 30/36 = $0.6389

A $5 Horn high Yo or Ace Deuce gives you a win of $27 if the high hits, $26 if the 12 or two hits, and $11 if the Yo or Ace Deuce hits.

Expected value is: $26 x 2/36 + 27 x 2/36 + 11 x 2/36 - 5 x 30/36 = $0.6111

The $4 any craps and $1 Yo ends up paying $27 for a 2,3, and 12 and $11 for a Yo.

Expected value is $27 x 4/36 + 11 x 2/36 - 5 x 30/36 = $0.5556

So, indeed, miplet's horn bet is the better one.

Just to be absolutely clear: the expected value should have a negative sign in front of those values, no? So miplet's horn bet is the better one becasue it is the least negative.

Quote: miplet

And here I thought you would say something about doing $4 any craps and a $1 11. You end up with an extra $1 on a 12 and 2. Atleast that's how it is where I play.

First, thanks to Wizard for explaining the horn in greater detail.

On a related note - and I hate to hijack this thread to talk about the horn bet - I have to share this story, which is 100% true and relates exactly to what you are pointing out, miplet.

Playing craps in Iowa, I placed the $5 Horn high Ace Deuce on the comeout. The roll was 3. Winner! I was paid $27 - $30 for the 3 minus the $3 on the other numbers.

I then pressed it up $5, so I had a $10 Horn High Ace Deuce. The roll was 11. Winner! I was paid $22 - $30 for the 11 minus the $8 for the other bets.

I pressed it again to $15. A $15 Horn High Ace Deuce. The roll was 12. Winner!

I quickly did the math....I was expecting $78 - $90 for the $3 12, minus the $12 on the other numbers.

However, after the pit boss looked at it and conversed with the stick man, they paid me $81.

They said it pays better if instead I had the $12 C - $3 E in that case, as the payment is 12*7 - 3 = 81. They changed the bet for me and paid me the higher amount. This is exactly what miplet is talking about above - the 4C-1E is slightly better on the 2 and 12 than the horn high.

I was flabbergasted. I immediately tipped them and thanked them for that.

Wizard - I would imagine this is not standard practice and gamblers should not be accustomed to the casino moving their bets to a better payoff. Has anyone ever seen this before? To note, this was the Riverside Casino just south of Iowa City, IA.

Quote: ez19

I would imagine this is not standard practice and gamblers should not be accustomed to the casino moving their bets to a better payoff. Has anyone ever seen this before?

I wonder if you put $6 on the Big 6 or 8 if they'd move it to the place bet instead.

But I've been involved in something similar.

A guy was hitting a LOT of come-out sevens, but I often don't play the line if I'm not shooting. So I dropped $1 on the Any 7. It hit. I pressed it to $2. It hit again. When I pressed it to $3, they moved it to hop the sevens for a buck each. It hit again. Extra buck for me! Woo hoo!

But then I was stuck. I understood the advantage of the hop bets, but wanted to press it another buck. Instead, I pressed all three for a buck. But the reality is, if I was still on the Any 7, I probably would have pressed it $2 at that point. So add the extra buck I won and I was exactly where I would have been, bankroll-wise. It would have made a nice difference if he had hit another 7, but, alas, the fire was out.

Everyone,

If you are going to place $5 on the horn high ace deuce (Horn high 3) and you are playing downtown odds, you are better to do a $4 Craps and $1 Yo as you will get paid an extra dollar if the 2 or 12 come up.

You get paid $27 for any crap and $11 for a yo. The horn high ace deuce only gives you $26 for a 2 and 12, $27 for a 3 and $11 for a yo.

$1 WoF for me :)

Quote: DJTeddyBear

BJ: Splitting Tens. I only do this if I'm at a very low limit table, betting the minimum, with the dealer showing a 5 or 6, and I'm in the mood to screw with people's heads.

I read somewhere that splitting 10s against a 5/6 has a negligible EV difference vs just standing. Is this true?

Quote: ruascott

I read somewhere that splitting 10s against a 5/6 has a negligible EV difference vs just standing. Is this true?

Well...according the Wizard's website on BJ, the EV for splitting 10's against a 5 and 6 is 0.3804 and 0.4681 respectively(infinite deck, S17) vs standing 0.6704 and 0.7040.

That difference is definitely not negligible.

Quote: cardshark

Well...according the Wizard's website on BJ, the EV for splitting 10's against a 5 and 6 is 0.3804 and 0.4681 respectively(infinite deck, S17) vs standing 0.6704 and 0.7040.

That difference is definitely not negligible.

Wow, certainly is not. Thanks for the info.

Oh, not negligible at all.

But it sure is fun if you're in the mood to screw with people.

Of course, I only do it if I'm at a low limit table with a minimum bet. I've also done it in tournaments, but that's different.

Quote: ruascott

I read somewhere that splitting 10s against a 5/6 has a negligible EV difference vs just standing. Is this true?

I think people come up with these rules in their head. You do have a positive expectation on both hands if you split them, so people sort of do pseudo math.