PLAYING IT SMART by ALAN KRIGMAN

Playing for comps is playing the fool

Every casino gambler has a strategy. Even those who don't think they have strategies really do. Just betting a quarter or dollar per pull in a machine, until a biggie breaks or either the clock or the wad run out, is a strategy.

But, a strategy for what? It may be anything on the spectrum from grabbing a small profit, to investing chump change on a shot at an amount folks know they're unlikely to ever have in the bank in any other way. It may also be a non-monetary goal. For instance, to buy three or four hours' immersion in a fantasy world. Or, surprisingly often, to earn a comp (a "complimentary") for a meal at the kwiksnack or buffet, a hotel room, a limo or plane ride to and from the casino, a shopping spree, or whatnot.

Comp strategies are typically based on the obvious fact that high rollers get the best perks. So the general idea is to appear to be wagering lots of money, yet actually risking very little.

Some people try playing for comps by boosting their bets when they think the pit staff is watching -- say, when a person in a suit comes by to jot a few figures down on a little card -- and dropping back to lower levels otherwise. This usually doesn't work. Don't mistake floor managers' friendliness with stupidity. Pit supervisors are paid to know who consistently bets big, and can spot this tactic by elimination. They also know that players who wager $25, $50, or more per coup won't be at $5 or $10 tables. And, when there's any doubt, they can monitor the action from afar by looking up and catching reflections in the mirrored ceilings, checking with the dealers, or -- in extreme cases -- calling the surveillance office and asking for precise rundowns.

Another way some connivers angle for comps is to conspire in pairs. The confederates take opposing sides of the same propositions in games where this is an option. Examples are Red and Black in roulette, Banker and Player in baccarat, or Pass and Don't Pass in craps. They figure that when one loses, the other wins. So, while comps are based on the amount each individual has on the table, the total the pair has at risk is the difference between the two bets. In the limit, two solid citizens can bet equal large amounts on each side. Between them, they expect to leave with two comps and their mutual fanny packs intact.

Some casinos discourage this practice if they spot it. They shouldn't. For reasons that will quickly become obvious.

Betting both sides "works" in that a team will get the comps it craves. If something about a comp beyond its dollar value is important, such as the ego trip of thinking a waiter or room clerk is impressed, fine and dandy. But the fact is, comps cost players like these far more than they cost the casinos.

To see why, think about simultaneous $25 bets on Pass and Don't Pass at craps. Similar reasoning would apply to other opposing bet situations. If the come-out roll yields a two, three, seven, or 11, one immediately wins even money and the other loses; it's a wash. If the come-out yields a four, five, six, eight, nine, or 10, one of the bets will eventually win even money and the other loses; again, a wash. But if the come-out yields a 12, the Pass bet loses and the Don't Pass pushes. So the team goes $25 down.

On the average, those boxcars pop on one out of every 36 come-outs. In 36 statistically-correct cycles, the two players will lose $25. Betting $50 total for 36 decision cycles would merit roughly $9.00 worth of comps. Gee, and they only cost $25. About 72 decision cycles would be necessary for two meals at a bargain buffet. A bargain costing the bettors in question $50.

It wouldn't take much bad luck to lose $75 or $100 in 72 come-out cycles. Or, the players could be lucky and not lose anything. In which case, they'd be $18 ahead, foodwise. Of course, while they can lose at the table, there's no upside. They can never make a cent. It's much as the punter's poet, Sumner A Ingmark, penned:

The folks too clever by a half,
Give someone else the last snide laugh.

(c) 2006, ICON/Information Concepts Inc

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