Baccarat

Casino Gambling by Mark Pilarski

No Place Like Home for the amateurs

Dear Mark, Here in Kansas the Indian casinos offer an array of poker opportunities like Live poker, Let it Ride, Three-card poker and Caribbean Stud. If one plays video poker, or a game like Caribbean Stud, can one assume that the player is ready for a "live" poker game? Viola H.

Viola, m'dear, how can I say this? ... The Auntie Em crowd that plays video poker would click their heels and wish for home if they were to stumble in on a live poker game. The differences are far too many to delineate in this limited space, but for starters, video poker and games like Let it Ride and Caribbean Stud lack competitor-interactions: no bluffing or deducing your adversaries' hands from their betting patterns or demeanor. Not to say that skill is unimportant in the opponent-less games. You can improve your chances of winning a lot by knowing what to hold or discard in video poker, whether to bet or fold in Caribbean Stud, and how to manage the optional bets in Let It Ride. But unfortunately, such minimal skills only serve as bait for the cutthroat card sharks that cruise the poker room looking for wannabe Wizard poker players from Kansas.

Dear Mark, When playing blackjack, if all seat positions (first through third base) have to place their bets at the same time, wouldn't deck penetration be negated as to where you sit? Justin B.

Granted first and third base players have the exact same information when they are placing their initial wagers, but if you are on third base, you can view an abundance of extra cards (deeper deck penetration) before reacting to your hand. True, on the next hand the first base player will have yet deeper penetration, but the third base player will always see a little further into the deck than the first, unless of course, nobody takes a hit. Here again, the third base player will make the very last player decision, and as a consequnce have the very deepest penetration at the table. Anytime, Justin, you get to see more cards in play before acting on your hand, as Martha Stewart would say, "That's a good thing."

Dear Mark, The casino I play in will pay me even money for my blackjack versus the dealer's Ace before checking the hole card. Is this a benefit for the player or am I giving the house additional edge in the end by agreeing to this buy-out? By the way, I generally play on a single deck game. Bill M.

Bill, old son, what you are describing is the "insurance" or "even money" bet in blackjack. I recommend that you never take it, and here is why. Who is holding at least two of the cards the dealer needs to make blackjack? YOU. Many players automatically take insurance if they have a blackjack, or perhaps two face cards. In reality, it makes more sense to make an insurance bet if your hand does not contain a 10-valued card because this would be one more 10-valued card that could possibly be the dealer's hole card. Insuring a hand composed of two 10 cards on a single deck game gives the house a 14.3% edge, making this one of the worst bets in the casino, from the player's point of view.

Dear Mark, How is the joker used in Pai Gow poker? Billy E.

Pai Gow poker is played with a standard 52-card deck, an additional joker that can be used as a wild card in straight, flush, and straight flushes. The joker may also be used as an ace in any hand, or in some casinos, can be used as a wild card with any hand.

Gambling thought of the week: My favorite card game is Solitaire. I meet a better class of people.

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