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Hands are crucial in seven-card stud, and unless you understand the value of starting hands, you’ll be fleeced by the experienced players. In general, there are four categories of strength in starting hands.

1. Very Strong Hands: a hand that consists of three of the same cards is the poker player’s dream. It won’t happen often – only once in about 425 hands – but when it does, you’ve probably got a winner .
But you don’t want to win just the antes and bring in bets, so you’ve got to be able to read the other players. Will a raise on the first round of betting chase out the other players? If you believe it will, you might want to hold off your first raise until at least the next round. On the other hand, if several players have already entered the pot, a raise is unlikely to force them to fold. Don’t get too cocky, however. Three of a kind is a strong hand, but it does occasionally get beaten.

2. Strong Hands: a high pair is valuable in seven-card stud but, in most cases, it will need some improvement. It is particularly dangerous if someone else has a higher pair. If this is the case, you should discard your hand. One exception is if your kicker – your next highest card – is higher than your opponent’s kicker. Nevertheless this hand should be played aggressively and, in most cases, you’ll play it to the river.

3. Good Hands: whether and how to play small and middle pairs are sometimes the most complicated decisions in seven-card stud. The most important factor is whether the cards you need to improve your hands are available. When you need another Four, for instance, and you see the third Four in your opponent’s hand, it doesn’t leave much of a chance to find the fourth in one of your draw cards. Another factor, however, is the size of your kicker. If you have a big card along with a small or medium pair, you’ve got another avenue to go if you get lucky.

4. Possible Hands: these are hands that need help, but still have the possibility to become good hands. They include three-card flushes and three-card straights. Once again, the upcards of your opponents will give you the best clue about how viable your hands are. And once again, the size of your kicker is a consideration in determining the value of this hand.

DOWN THE STREETS
As mentioned previously, all decisions made affect your ability to win. As the game proceeds, however, the decisions made can become very costly unless you understand the possibilities. You must be able to assess not only your opponents’ cards but also exactly how they relate to your own hand.

Several strategies are called for in specific situations. If you make the hand you’re looking for, bet it to the limit. If you pull a flush on sixth street, for instance, you should not check. Since some of your cards must be exposed, your opponent will suspect a flush, and not bet into your check.
That means you’ll lose a chance to get a double bet by every active player into the pot. If you check and give the active players a chance to get another card, there’s a chance they may draw a hand that might beat your flush, costing you the entire pot. If you’ve got it, bet it.

If your opponent draws a third suited card, or a third card to a straight, check or call. This isn’t a point to play aggressively because if you raise, your opponent will undoubtedly raise as well. It could end up costing you serious money. Another situation to beware of is when a player pairs an
exposed card on the board. This gives him a good chance to have three of a kind. Even if he doesn’t, he may have a quality hand. Unless you can beat him with a better hand, or you’re looking at a particularly good pot, retire.

Once you have decided to bet on fifth street, it rarely makes sense to fold before the river. The only exception to this rule is if you can clearly see that your hand cannot be improved enough on sixth street to beat a threatening hand held by an opponent. If you decide to go through on sixth street, do not fold on the river. If your opponent is bluffing, you have a chance to catch him at it, and you only have to expose a bluff once in a while to make it worth your while to go all the way.

The obvious object of poker is to win the pot. That is easier said than done, but there are two ways to accomplish that goal. The first is to have the best hand at the table, and the second is to convince the other players that you have the best hand so they’ll drop out and leave you the pot. This is called bluffing, and is not nearly as successful as many of the experts would have you believe.

Before you begin to play, the most important thing to understand is the ranking of hands in poker. Many a game has been lost when a player – usually a beginner, but sometimes an experienced player – forgets which hand beats which. The most frequently confused hands are the full house, flush and straight. Commit to memory the chart in this chapter before even considering venturing out into the cruel world of casino poker.

Most poker games, including seven-card stud and Texas hold’em, use the rankings shown overleaf, which are the best hands, using five cards.

Casinos have their own language, like any specialized occupation or sideline, but no game has a more colourful shouting slang than craps. Much of this heritage has been lost as the legendary craps players head for the big game in the sky, but novice players would do well to review expressions they just might hear while playing their initial dice games.

The language of craps can be divided into two categories: colourful expressions craps shooters say to encourage the dice to roll their way, and the phrases dealers and stick men use to accept a bet or announce a roll of the dice.

The point numbers have all been given names, and with the exception of the five and ten, all have home towns that rhyme with their names.

In America, for example, the four is often called Little Joe from Kokomo, while the five is sometimes known as Little Phoebe. She has no hometown, but her cousin, Fiver, Fiver, Racetrack Driver, at least has a job. Our best friends, the six and eight are Southerners, known as Sixie from Dixie and Eighter from Decatur. Perhaps the nine was named after a former Rose Bowl Queen, Nina from Pasadena.

The ten usually goes by the name of Big Dick, but his hardway cousin, the five-five, is sometimes referred to as Hard Ten, Ladies’ Best Friend.

The dots on the dice have spawned a variety of other names. Snake’s Eyes is a pair of aces. Old-timers refer to the ace-deuce as Cross-Eyes, while Chopsticks and Rabbit Tracks are favoured nicknames for the hard six. Windows or the Square Pair is the hard eight. Twelves are usually known as Boxcars, but on occasion are called Sergeant’s Stripes, a reflection of the barracks games where many players cut
their craps teeth. The bets you can make have some distinctive names. The Buffalo Bet, for example, means that you put £1 each on all the hardways and £1 on the “any-seven”. A bet you’ll still hear a lot at the table is “C and E” which means “any craps” and “eleven”. On the odd rare occasion, you will hear this called “Chester and Esther”. Probably the most common word in craps today is “Yo!”, meaning Eleven. Legend has it that some long-forgotten dealer pronounced his elevens “yo-leven”. If you want to use it at the craps table, be sure to shout it with feeling.

Once again, the don’t-come bet is the opposite of the come. It is made after a point is established and is independent of the don’t-pass bets. The same rules apply to the don’t-come bet as to the don’t-pass bet on the come-out roll. If a point number is rolled, the dealer moves the bet to an area above the place bet boxes, and this bet wins if a seven is rolled before the point number is repeated. You may lay odds on the don’t-come bets the same way you do on come bets. The amount and ration of the odds bets are the same as those of the odds on a don’t-pass bet.

A don’t-come gambler is doing exactly the opposite of the come gambler. After a point is establlihed, he clearly has the advantage.

Most craps players like to bet the pass line. But there’s another bet at the table that offers the same edge, but is shunned by the vast majority. It is a bet on the don’t-pass line, sometimes called the “wrong” bettor. Some long-time observers of the game say only one in ten craps players bets the don’t-pass line and the other bets that go along with it, despite the fact that it offers the same low 1.4 per cent house advantage as the pass line.

Why is that? The don’t-pass line can be one of the most exciting bets and, after the come-out roll, the advantage is clearly in favour of the don’t better.

There are a couple of major reasons why the don’t-pass bettor is a rare bird in the casino. The main reason is that if you’re betting the don’t, you’re betting against the shooter.

While this obviously doesn’t affect how he rolls the dice, it nonetheless is taken as an affront. It takes a special kind of person to stand up to the disdain of the shooter, and the players who are betting with him.

Players who bet the don’t are often accused of betting “with” the house by other bettors. This is obviously ridiculous. The casino pays off both bets, and if everyone at the table were betting the don’t the casino would have to payoff the entire table just the same as if they’re betting the -do”. Because most players bet the “do”, however, players assume that the house must be rooting for the don’t, hence the mistaken idea that don’t bettors are allied with the casino.

The second reason people rarely bet the don’t is that it is a grind. You rarely make the big score by betting the don’t. You are playing in the hope of a choppy table – a pass, a miss, a miss, a pass, and a few more misses. A pass player looking for the hot streak – a long string of passes – while the don’t player will only win when the shooter rolls a consistent number of sevens.

It’s not difficult to understand the don’t -pass line. It’s the exact opposite of the pass line. All the rules are reversed.

The don’t bettor. 
•    Loses if the come-out roll is seven or 11.
•    Wins if two or three is thrown on the come-out roll.
•    Since the 12 is “barred” on the come-out roll, the wrong bettor pushes. There is no decision either way for the
don’t bettor.
•    If a number is rolled on the come-out roll – four, five, six, eight, nine or ten – the don’t gambler will win if the shooter rolls a seven before that number repeats.

The key is the seven on the come-out roll. If a point is established, the odds are clearly in favour of the don’t bettor. After a point is established, the don’t bettor has twice as many chances to win than a four or a ten. The don’t gambler will win three times to every two for the five and the nine, and six times for every five for the six and the eight. It won’t surprise you then to understand why the casino will let you take down your don’t bet when it insists that pass-line bets remain in action until it is resolved. When you have the advantage, the casino would love to get off the hook.

Here’s the secret of the simplicity of craps. On the first roll of the dice – the “come-out roll” – the stickman will slide five dice to a player – the “shooter” – who will then select two dice. He’ll throw the dice to the opposite end of the table. The dice must hit the wall of the table to be considered a legal roll.

The shooter tries to establish a number – four, five, six, eight, nine or ten. The dealers will then take a “puck” that says “off’ on one side and “on” on the other side, and place it on the number rolled, “on” side up – it is always “off’ on the come-out roll. The shooter will then attempt to roll that number again before he rolls a seven. And that’s the entire
objective of craps.

Other things can happen. Normally, the shooter places a bet on the “pass line”. When they roll that number again before rolling a seven, they have made one “pass”. When you bet on the pass line, the “front line”, you’re betting on the “dos” or you’re betting “right”. Most players bet the pass line because it means they are going “with” the shooter, hoping that he gets a pair of hot dice and rolls all night. When you’re betting on the “don’t-pass” line, you’re betting on the “don’ts” or you’re betting the “wrong” way. The players who don’t-pass line believe that the odds of rolling a seven will eventually catch up to the shooter, and they want
to profit from those odds.

If the shooter rolls a seven or 11 on the come-out roll, he wins. The stickman may say, “Winner, front-line winner, pay the dos, take the don’ts.” The don’t bettors lose their money, and the shooter continues to roll.

If the shooter rolls a two, three or 12 on the come-out roll, he loses. The stickman will most likely say, “Two (three or 12). Craps, line away. Take the dos. Pay the don’ts.” 12 is barred. (If the 12 shows, the pass line bettors lose, and the don’t pass bettors don’t win or lose, they get a push.) If the shooter “craps out” – rolls his point and then rolls a seven – he passes the dice to the next shooter.

When the shooter establishes a point, say a six, the stickman will announce “Six, mark the six.” The shooter will then have a chance to roll again to try to make a six before he rolls a seven. If he makes his point, he gets a chance to establish another point. He will continue to roll until he rolls a seven, when he’ll “seven out”.

You don’t just walk up to a craps table and begin to play. That is the main reason that craps is a “dying” game in the casinos. Where it once dominated the American casino, craps is now disappearing as the players who learned the game in the back alleys of the major cities, or the barracks of the armed services, get older and disappear. But for those
who want the best action in a casino, craps is the only game to play.

Let’s start by looking at the craps layout. Confusing, right? It’s true that there are dozens of bets available to the craps player, but intelligent players will ignore the majority of those bets and concentrate on those that give you the best chance to win. So, for the moment, we’re going to forget about the pie-in-the-sky bets and concentrate on how to get started.

Don’t walk up to an empty game to play, because although the odds are no different at an empty table than at a full table, you won’t get the flavour of the game without at least a few players. But, in contrast, don’t try to get into a game that is jam-packed with players with a lot of hootin’ and hollerin’ because no one will want a novice who might slow
up the rolls of the “hot” dice.

Pick a calm game with a few players and plenty of room to spread out. Tell the dealer you’re just getting started. Most dealers who aren’t too busy will take the time to walk the novice through the game, explain the different bets and the procedures. They understand that their livelihood depends on developing the new players.

A craps table employs three dealers at a time: two stand behind the table to accept bets and to either pay winners or take from losers. On the other side, in the middle of the table, is the stickman who handles the dice with a “stick” controls the speed of the game. Sitting down opposite
the stickman is the boxman who acts like a supervisor in blackjack, approving all bets and large payouts.

The Bank and Player bets are two of the best available.

BET     ODDS
Bank     1.17%
Player   1.35%
Tie        14.1%
 

The allure of baccarat is one of the most historic of any casino game. It dates back to the middle ages, when the game was played with parts of a Tarot deck. It originated in Italy and migrated to France, where it became the game of the aristocracy.
Eventually, baccarat evolved into European baccarat and the French game chemin de fer (French for “railroad”).
 
Each game gives the bank one slight rule variation that makes the game an even proposition for the casino and for the players. Chemin de fer is essentially the same game as today’s casino game of baccarat, but one of the players banks the game, rather than the casino. The role of “banker” rotates around the table. The casino takes no risk and merely charges a fee from each banker.

What is known as American baccarat actually originated in England and spread to South America. It was introduced into Las Vegas at the infamous Dunes casino in the late 1950s after Fidel Castro closed the even more infamous Havana casinos. Because it is so elegantly appointed, with marble, chandeliers, plush chairs and more, you might think that baccarat is still the game of the aristocracy. You’d be right. Many of the world’s highest gamblers make it their game of choice. Stories abound about rich men who bet millions during one session. Casino revenues on the Las Vegas Strip rise and fall precipitously according to the casinos’ fortunes at the baccarat tables.

There is a lesson to be learned by the choices made by these high gamblers. They make their millions by making shrewd business decisions, and their choice of casino game reflects their understanding of the odds. Despite baccarat’s elite reputation, the game is available to anyone who can make the minimum bet. In some cases, minimums can be as low as £2.50. At that level, a fund of £50 should be enough to experience one of the casino’s most fascinating games.

While the game is enjoyed by people of many nationalities and ethnic groups, it is the Asians that have made baccarat as popular – and profitable – as it is today. In some of the largest casinos in Las Vegas, several floors are reserved for large groups of Asians who often spend many hours and even days playing their favourite game. Table maximums are a point of negotiation, and some groups and individuals can bet up to $500,000 (approximately £300,000) a hand.

In the casinos of the Portuguese territory of Macao, near Hong Kong, baccarat is the game of choice, with dozens of customers lining up to play at a single table. These casinos allow more than one player to bet on a spot at the same time, while the dealers expertly track what each patron owes in commission on winning bank bets.

THE DECLINE OF ROULETTE
Casino executives, like all other businessmen, focus on the bottom line. Each game on the casino floor is expected to stand on its own. Complicated formulas tell executives how much each game is worth to the bottom line. Included in the equation are the costs for employees and equipment. In this context, slot machines are the best choice for the casino executives, with blackjack a distant second.

Other table games, such as roulette and craps, barely register. A casino can generally make more money from three slot machines than from one roulette table. If promoted and managed properly, roulette could be a casino’s most profitable game. To attract more action per hour to a roulette table, the casino must attract more players.

But players in the US are staying away from the tables in increasing numbers. Because of the high house advantage in the US, experts have often described roulette as a “sucker’s game”. And because nobody wants to be thought of as a sucker, roulette is ignored by serious players in the US. Casino executives often disdain roulette players because they are thought to be uneducated customers who don’t understand how to play.

This is not so in Europe. Because of the reasonable house advantage and because it isn’t sneered at, roulette is often the most popular game in the casino. These players are, therefore, valued customers who are treated with respect and deference, no matter their level of knowledge or skill at the game. Consequently, if you, as a beginner, are in the enviable position of being able to play in the US or in Europe, choose Europe every time.

ROULETTE’S APPEAL
The disciplined non-professional player can expect to play with only a minor disadvantage in both craps and blackjack, but there is no escaping the 5.26 per cent house advantage in “00” roulette (or even the seemingly less harsh 2.7 per cent at the “0” wheel).
But the vast majority of casino gamblers are playing for entertainment or excitement. Few are using a disciplined strategy that takes full advantage of any game. They are “hunch” bettors paying a big price.

In blackjack, the hunch bettor will fall victim to a high house advantage. Since basic strategy can cut the house advantage to a very attractive level, the opposite is also true. Players who bet with their hearts can raise the house advantage to seven per cent or more. Craps players are the same. Betting the field, the hardways, or the any seven bet may feel right at the time but, in the long run, you’re damaging the overall appeal of craps. Because both of these games are touted as “player friendly”, casino customers may not even realize they’ve dramatically increased the disadvantage they are facing by not playing intelligently. But despite that, these same players will avoid the roulette game, purely because they’ve heard of its high house advantage.
Roulette is unique in that no matter how bets are placed, the house advantage remains constant: 5.26 per cent. This is still very high for even-money bets, but is a relative bargain for long-shot play. There is no other game in the casino which can offer up to a 35-1 payout with only a 5.26 per cent “vig”.

There is also no other game which does not penalize for hunch play. If you like to be entertained by hunch betting, and/or like to play for long odds on your hunches, then roulette is actually a much better deal than you’ll find with either craps or blackjack.
 

FINDING THE RIGHT GAME
As you see, the only way to reduce the house advantage is to find a game that offers either en prison or a single “0” wheel. In the US, casinos go through phases of trying to attract the roulette player by replacing the double “00” tables with some single “0” wheels. Whether it is Las Vegas or Atlantic City, those are the games you want to find. Hunt around.
In Europe, since all games are “right” games, the decision is much easier. A European would be offended to find a “00” wheel installed where their beloved “0” wheels were located. Once again, however, be aware of your bets. Since all players use the same chips, it is important that you know how much and where you bet.

STROKING THE SYSTEMS
As opposed to Bingo gratis beware of any roulette betting system that depends on a progression of bets; it is doomed to fail. You may experience some short-term wins with a progressive system but, eventually, the house advantage will catch up with you and you’ll experience a disastrous loss that may wipe out any previous successful sessions.

Over the long run, any progressive betting system has to find a way to beat the hefty 5.26 per cent house advantage and, in the long history of roulette, no one has been able to develop a system that would beat even the low French disadvantage of 2.7 per cent.

It becomes more important, therefore, to be able to rely on human or mechanical error to become a consistent winner at roulette. There are several “systems” that may help you discern where and when the ball is going to land in a particular number or group of numbers. By reading this next section, you will understand why many roulette players seem to be studying the wheel with such great concentration.

CLOCKING THE WHEEL
In most cases, you cannot predict where the ball is going to land, but many roulette players believe that recording where the ball has landed in the past will allow them to estimate when it will land there again.
To accomplish this, roulette players sit for hours, recording the list of numbers that hit. They note when a number hits more frequently than should be statistically probable, and then bet on that number, hoping the trend will continue.
They will also try to determine whether the ball is landing in any one “section” more than another section. If you look at the roulette wheel and use the “0” as the 12 o’clock point, the wheel can be divided into four quadrants. The roulette wheel is masterfully laid out, even when the “00” is added. On the American wheel, directly across the wheel from any even number is the next odd number, and vice versa. Pairs of even numbers alternate with pairs of odd numbers, except when split by the “0” and “00”.

Clocking the wheel can be very laborious, but some casinos have added an electronic device to help. These “scoreboards” record the last 20 numbers and colours that have hit. For those who don’t want to go back hundreds of spins, this scoreboard can be of great assistance.

One system is to note whether one or more numbers have hit twice or more within the last 20 spins. If so, the player places a straight-up bet on that number for the next five spins. If it hits, he pockets the profits. This continues until the number doesn’t hit in five spins, and he gets up in search of another table hitting the “big” numbers.
Another method is to record the number of times the ball falls into a section of the wheel. By tracking the 20 spins, the ball must fall into one of the quadrants more than 25 per cent of the time, since this should be the statistical norm. When you discover an anomaly, bet the numbers in that section for ten spins. If you win, continue to play that section until it regresses to hitting the normal amount, which should be five times for every 20 spins.

BIASED WHEELS
It is possible for a roulette wheel to be “biased” in such a manner that the observant player can obtain an advantage over the casino in the long run. These biases are caused by mechanical defects in the roulette wheel. But finding a wheel that is so defective as to actually overcome the built-in house advantage is extremely rare.

Most biased roulette wheels are not balanced correctly, and the spin of the wheel causes the ball to fall in one section of the wheel statistically more than in any other section. To make a valid observation, however, the player must be prepared to “clock” the wheel for an extended amount of time. The minimum amount of spins you want to observe is 500 because anything less would be considered short-term, and not statistically valid. You also must find a group of numbers that recur at least five per cent more frequently than would be considered normal in order to overcome the house advantage.