COMPLETE QUICK PAGE SEARCH. EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT LAS VEGAS IS HERE!
BUFFETS/HOTELS/ MAPS/ SHOPPING/ GOLF/ RESTAURANTS/ MARRIAGE INFO/ LADIES PAGE/ TRAVEL DISCOUNT/ TRIVIA QUIZ/ FACTS AND HISTORY/ CASINO DO'S AND DONT'S/ LEARN BLACKJACK/ LEARN CRAPS/ SLOT TIPS/ LEARN BACCARAT/ ONLINE CASINOS/ SPORTSCORES/PICKS/ LINKS/ LINK EXCHANGE/ HOME

INTERNATIONAL GAMING

CLICK YOUR FLAG

CASINO DO'S AND DONT'S

Just like in good restauants, good manners are important in casinos. When you buy into a table game never hand your money directly to the dealer. Always put your money on the felt. Dealers are not allowed to take money, or anything else, directly from players.

Never offer advice to other players about how to play their hands, or what bets to make, or what games to play.

Never touch the cards in blackjack games where the cards are dealt face-up. Make your standing, hitting, splitting and doubling wishes known by hand signals.

In craps, never touch the shooter and never say the word "seven" after the point is established. This will cause the seven to come up on the next roll, (Or so it is believed by many craps players). Never push your way onto a crowded craps table while a roll is in progress. And never throw money onto the table when the shooter has the dice; always wait for the dice to be in the middle of the table under the control of the stickman before you buy in. If your hand hits the dice, you guessed it, another automatic seven.

Always hand in your players "rating card" when you buy into a game to be rated for comps, but never bet more or play longer than you intended to in order to get comps. Always put your players card in the machine you are playing and remember to take it out.

Never use the casino ATM machines,the fees and interest you pay on that money is too high. If you worry about carrying cash to the casinos, always take out a line of credit at the casinos where you intend to play. These are interest-free loans.

Craps
Craps is a game with a great variety of bets, most of which are a bad idea. Never make any of the center bets in the middle of the table (sounds redundant). Bets such as yo-eleven, and 12 and Any Craps and Whirl and World and Horn and Hard 4, 6, 8, and 10 and Big Red these are terrible bets, though, I have seen craps players hit hardways for thousands in a hot roll. These bets have big house edges, often in the double digits. The Field is also a bad idea, even when the casino offers a 3 to 1 payout on the 12 or 2. Though again, I have seen players hit the field bets for a small fortune.

The best bets of craps are easy to list. They are Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, Don’t Come, Odds. Always try to use these bets and the house will never have much of an edge on you.

The sometimes bets at craps can get a little tricky as sometimes things always do. Here they are with advice on when you make them and when you don’t:
Placing the 4 or 10 is a never because of the high 6.67 percent edge, but sometimes buying either or both is a good deal. When is that? When you only have to pay the five percent commission after a win. For high rollers buying the 4 or 10 for $50, the casino edge is just under 1.3 percent–better than the Pass Line or Come! Sometimes placing the 6 and/or 8 is the way to go, especially if you are on a low budget and want to get into the action on the two most active numbers after the 7. The casino only has a 1.52 percent edge on these bets and that is not so bad in the general scheme of things.

The placing of the 5 or 9 is usually not a good idea because of its four percent edge, but on a hot table, I bet them both. Not always at the same time. If I have the 6 and 8 covered, either on the pass line or placed and the table is cookin', I want more action so 5 or 9 is a good choice. Also have a come bet working. Remember, we got a "good feeling" and the shooter is rolling numbers. If you’re an "action" player always use the "buy option" for the 4 and 10 in these scenarios it makes the game a far tighter contest between you and the casino. We have more at risk now, but we have a "good feeling" about the shooter. If he "sevens-out" then we can curse ourselves and play conservatively the next shooter. Why do you think they call it gambling? Seriously, stay with the passline,comebet and place the six and eight. Place the 5 and 9 only when things are going good and your racks are fat.

Lucky Nugget - Where anyone can strike gold Lucky Nugget - Where anyone can strike gold

Roulette

This is a game I rarely play. With the 5.26 percent edge, I don't like my odds. Though many love the wheel, so if you want to play try to find a casino with single 0 wheel. Odds are better with a 2.7 edge for the house. So always look for European roulette wheels to play. If you get to play the European wheel with the "en prison" or the surrender option, the house edge is reduced in half to 1.35 percent on the outside even-money bets such as red/black, odd/even, high/low; making them even better bets than a majority of the bets to be found in the casino. Though I don't know any, off hand in Las Vegas.

Let It Ride
Let It Ride might be the second most popular card game in the casinos, after blackjack. Though, it’s a tough game to beat because it has a somewhat imposing 2.8 percent edge, if you use the correct strategy. Always use the correct strategy–the simplest expression of which is twofold: let your first bet ride on a pair of 10s or better, and on a possible royal or straight flush. On the second round, if you have improved on the latter hands, let them ride again; but always let that pair of 10s ride–they’re an automatic winner. Never deviate from that strategy and you’ll keep the house edge hovering at around three percent.

Be prepared for long losing streaks at Let It Ride because it has a win percentage of approximately one in four hands. Though, the hands you do win can sometimes be for substantial sums, and that’s why people like to play it.

Never bet the jackpot side bet. Even though it costs a mere dollar, it is a waste of money. Also, never bet more than the casino is willing to pay out should you win the bet. Read the small print on the Let It Ride signs and you’ll see something to the effect that this casino will not pay out more than "so much" amount on premium hands.

Blackjack

The most popular game in the casino, the game that gives the player the best chance to win. Below are some basic rules to abide by.........

Blackjack: Always split aces and eights Always split aces and eights, no matter what the dealer is showing. But this strategy can be extremely hard when you are facing an upcard of 10, because you think, rightly and wrongly, that if he has another 10 in the hole, your dead. The fact is, chances are he doesn’t have another 10 in the hole. Blackjack math tells us that the 10s make up a mere 16 cards out of 52. Therefore it is far more likely that the dealer has anywhere from a 2 through a 7 than he does a 10. Those 8s against a 10 are a losing hand, but splitting always loses you less in the long run.

Never split a pair of 10s or 5s. A hand of 20 is the third most powerful hand for the player, behind a blackjack and a multiple-card 21. The chances of getting two 10s on your split 10s are not good since you have taken two of the 10s you need out of the deck or shoe to make that original 20. You’ll likely get a hand that is a loser–perhaps two losers–if you always split your 10s. This applies even against an otherwise weak dealer upcard such as 5 or 6.

Splitting 5s is also a no-no. A total of 10 is a great hand to double down on when the dealer is showing 2 through 9 because your two 5s have increased the percentage of 10s in the remaining pack.

Always hit your stiff hands (12 through 16) against a dealer’s upcard of 7 or higher. Never hit your stiffs of 13-16 against a dealer’s stiff upcard (2-6). Always hit your 12 against a dealer’s 2 or 3, but never hit it against a dealer’s 4 through 6. Always double your 11 when the dealer is showing a 2 through 10. But sometimes double your 11 against a dealer ace as well. That would be in single-deck games.

You always split your pair of 2s against a dealer’s 3 through 7, but you sometimes split them against a dealer’s 2. When is that sometimes? In single-deck games you don’t split 2s against a dealer’s 2. In multiple-deck games, you do. But there’s a big "but" in the ointment, because if the single-deck game allows doubling after pair splitting, then you do split those 2s against a 2; and if the multiple-deck game doesn’t allow doubling after splitting, then you don’t split those 2s against a dealer’s upcard of 2 or 3.

Sometimes you split a pair of 4s and sometimes you don’t. When is which? Well, if you can double after splitting pairs, then when the dealer shows a 5 or 6, you split those 4s in both single and multiple-deck games. But when you can’t double after splitting, you simply hit your two 4s (an 8 after all) against all dealer upcards in a multiple-deck game, but you double down on that 8 against a dealer’s 5 or 6 in a single-deck game.

Never take insurance in multiple-deck games. However, sometimes you can make a good insurance bet during the first round of play in single-deck games, even if you are not a card counter. Look around and see if there are any 10s in the hands of the players to the right and left of you. If they have none and you also have none, insurance becomes a good bet as seven non-10 cards have been removed from the deck (the dealer’s ace counts too). That means of the 45 remaining unseen cards, 16 of them are 10s. Insure your hand. That bet now has the edge for the player.

SOME CASINO ADVICE
The casino is a finely tuned machine, which main goal is to get you to part with your money as painlessly as possible, Don't let your senses be dulled by all that glitter,you need a game plan when gambling and we'll give you some valuable advice!

BASIC CREDIT AND COMP RULES
Casino"s offer credit to anyone with a bank account that keep a few thousand in for six months or more. If you want credit pick a casino that interest you and call them and request they send you an application. From my links below you can check out different casino's for what appeals to you. Fill out the form and mail it back,with your requested amount of credit, 3,5,or 10 grand. If you do not have bad credit with any other casino, there all on the same linknet, you'll receive your approval in about 2 weeks. Now, when your ready to go to the joint, call first and ask for a host and tell'em your a credit player and will be in town for blah blah days and want a room at casino rates.

When you arrive go to the credit office or cage, tell the smiling person you wish to activate your credit line, you will also need to get a rating card, so ask this smiling person where to do this. Also look up your host and say howdy. After settling in your room, mosey down to your game of choice, in my opinion that's craps or 21, flip down your ID card and say you want to be rated. To be extra cool hold up your hand with all five fingers open when the floorperson ask how much credit you want, he'll know your an ol' veteran and want 5 hundred dollars in credit. The dealer or boxman will give you your chips and the floorman will be back to have you sign a credit voucher.

HOW YOUR RATED AND ASKING FOR COMPS
Ok, your at the table, you got credit and you just signed a marker and got your chips(checks), asumming you have a basic understanding of the game (craps or 21), you need to tell the boxman or dealer you wanna be rated. Being rated is how you quailify for comps (free stuff). But, how do you know what your being rated on? We'll me bucko's, simply it's the amount per bet and the number of bets per hour. Alot of casinos will tell you their rating rules, so shop around. For example the Mirage at $10 a bet, won't get you the time of day, but downtown many places will comp you full meals for this kind of action. Shop Around...Next, don't be afraid, after a couple hours of action, to ask the floorman for a comp to get something to eat. Unless your a big gambler, "they" usually won't offer first. Whether your winning or not, action deserves comps. If your action (average bet) is $25 to $100, depending on where your at, should qualify you for RFB (room,food,and beverage). Again, SHOP AROUND find a casino that fits your budget.

REASONABLE GOALS
Joe Blow has $500 to gamble with. Ask him how much he wants to win. Nine times out of ten he will say, "I'd be happy to double my money". The same Joe Blow will be happy to make 6 percent on a money market fund. Joe has too high of expectations in the casino. YOUR goal should be 20 percent profit. Joe, with his $500 bucks should have a goal of winning $100. The problem with most gamblers is they are too greedy and don't know when to stop. The common theory is that about 70 percent of the gamblers will get ahead at some point and 90 percent of them lose it all back. STICK to your goals! Don't try to break the casino, it will never happen. If you have made 20 percent stop for the day or at least a half a day and go sightseeing.

MONEY MANAGEMENT
is the KEY to smart gambling! The two main ingredients of money management are the amount of your total gambling budget (Bankroll), and the number of gambling sessions you plan to have on your trip. For example, if you want to bet $5 a bet you need about $650 for Craps and $300 for Blackjack a session and preferrably seven times this for your total trip. Why? In the event of a slow start you can survive until that Hot Roll or Good Cards come along. If this sounds like a lot of money (and it is), remember in craps,blackjack,etc., you need this much to still be in there when the action gets hot! And, when it's hot, there's nothing like it. Money will seem to be flowing into your racks. But, be cool stay in your session limit when things are cold. When your single session bankroll is gone LEAVE THE TABLE. DON'T reach in your pocket or sign another marker. Take a walk, get something to eat (remember to get a COMP), go for a swim, or take a nap. Wait for the next session you've planned. That Hot Roll and Good Cards are out there and in time you'll be in it and have the reserves to make a killing.

Real Players, real time, real Poker!
Check your local gaming laws
Site Meter
Changing LINKS

CONTACT US
copy©right 2001-2007,Las Vegas Guide A to Z