Advantage Player Questionnaire

Hello everyone,

I'm a Sociology student researching if there is a change in perception towards advantage playing in an age with more algorithmic gambling and would appreciate self-reported data from anyone who attempts/succeeds advantage play.

1. How familiar are you with casino games, casino surveillance practices, or advantage-play strategies?

2. To what extent do you agree or disagree: “Some casinos are easier to exploit than others because of differences in surveillance, game protection, or employee experience."

3. Which factors would most influence your perception that a casino is vulnerable to advantage play?
Select up to 3:
- Surveillance effectiveness
- Employee experience
- Management/enforcement
- Technology
- Casino reputation
- Size of the casino
- Game protection
- Information from other players
- Personal experience
- Other (please specify if you can).

4. Does technology advancement or lack of in a property influence your perception of the properties ability to identify advantage-play? Does it influence your likelihood to attempt or test out a strategy?

4. If you believed a casino had difficulty detecting sophisticated advantage-play strategies, how would that affect your willingness to take advantage of an opportunity?

5. If you were unfamiliar with two otherwise similar casinos, how much would the perceived reputation and professionalism of each institution influence which one you considered more difficult to exploit?
Casino A: A Tribal casino with a long-established reputation, professional surveillance department, and extensive gaming operations.
Casino B: A commercial casino with a long-established reputation, professional surveillance department, and extensive gaming operations.

6. Imagine you discovered a potentially profitable advantage at a casino and believed the likelihood of detection was low. How likely would you be to continue exploiting the opportunity?

Thank you!

Quote: SoccStudent

1. How familiar are you with casino games, casino surveillance practices, or advantage-play strategies?

I am very familiar with casino games; I have very little familiarity with casino surveillance practices; I have some familiarity with different casino game strategies that can change casino house advantages from positive to negative.

Quote: SoccStudent

2. To what extent do you agree or disagree: “Some casinos are easier to exploit than others because of differences in surveillance, game protection, or employee experience."

Are you asking about something like a hi-lo count in blackjack, or capping bets; using a light wand or just playing the best video poker pay tables? Making a bet a casino offers is not exploitation, regardless of the house edge. I can't speak to the cheating side, so I really can't answer this.

Quote: SoccStudent

3. Which factors would most influence your perception that a casino is vulnerable to advantage play?

Game protection and nothing else. If a casino offers bets with a negative house edge, they are vulnerable to having customers make bets with a negative house edge. If a casino never offers bets with a negative house edge, customers will never be able to make a bet with a negative house edge.

Personal experience will determine if I'm the one who makes those bets.

Quote: SoccStudent

4. Does technology advancement or lack of in a property influence your perception of the properties ability to identify advantage-play? Does it influence your likelihood to attempt or test out a strategy?

No.

Quote: SoccStudent

4. If you believed a casino had difficulty detecting sophisticated advantage-play strategies, how would that affect your willingness to take advantage of an opportunity?

I've only ever known unsophisticated strategies to make bets with a player edge. If I ever uncover a sophisticated strategy, I don't know how my belief about a casinos ability to detect it would affect on my betting. So much would depend on things other than the sophistication, like expected income from the strategy.

Quote: SoccStudent

5. If you were unfamiliar with two otherwise similar casinos, how much would the perceived reputation and professionalism of each institution influence which one you considered more difficult to exploit?
Casino A: A Tribal casino with a long-established reputation, professional surveillance department, and extensive gaming operations.
Casino B: A commercial casino with a long-established reputation, professional surveillance department, and extensive gaming operations.

I mostly only bet based on geographic location. Since there's no tribal casinos in the Las Vegas Valley, only 'Casino B' would have a chance to earn my business, but it's not guaranteed. But again, making a bet they offer would never be exploitation and that's about as far as my casino game patronage goes. So the only answer most anyone can give is neither.

Quote: SoccStudent

6. Imagine you discovered a potentially profitable advantage at a casino and believed the likelihood of detection was low. How likely would you be to continue exploiting the opportunity?

I may or may not continue to make bets, depending on profits and working conditions. But it wouldn't be exploitation; I can't continue something that never started.

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Keep us updated on your research, I would be very interested in it.

For experienced and dedicated advantage players, nothing matters except... the advantage. How much money am I going to be able to get out of this place.

Now of course getting harassed, ejected, and possibly worse affects how long you get to play and thus, how much money. But I'd say fear of surveillance, fear of detection and the consequences of these things themselves have little to no effect on whether or not an advanced advantage player plays a game.

I think I can see you are unfamiliar with how closed mouth APs are.