Frosene on the gaming scene
HEART OF ROCK AND ROLL. Chukchansi’s Sounds of Summer outdoor series continues with Huey
Lewis and The News on Thursday, August 10 at 8 p.m. in its outdoor pavilion. With over three decades under their belt and over 20 million albums sold, the band is still going strong entertaining audiences worldwide.
Fans can expect to hear such favorites as “Heart of Rock and Roll,” “I Want A New Drug,” “Hip To Be Square,” and “Workin’ For A Livin’,” among others. The band also wrote and performed “The Power of Love” and “Back in Time” for the hit film Back to the Future. “The Power of Love,” incidentally, went to
#1 on Billboard’s single chart and was nominated for an Academy Award as well.
Tickets are $50 and $60. Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino is located at 711 Lucky Lane in Coarsegold, CA. Call 866973-9614 or visit chukchansigold.com.
The next night, August 11 at
7 p.m., Huey Lewis and The News team up with Greg Kihn and appear for a special night of rock and roll at
Thunder Valley Resort’s Outdoor Amphitheater at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $39.65 to $179.95 (plus taxes and fees). Thunder Valley is located in Lincoln, CA. For more details, call 877-468-8777 or visit thundervalley resort.com. MUSICAL NOTES. The Greg Kihn legendary Herbie Hancock appears in the showroom of the MontBleu Resort Casino and
Spa on August 18 at 7 p.m. “Herbie was the step after Bud Powell and
Thelonious Monk, and I haven’t heard anybody yet who has come after him,” said Miles Davis in his autobiography. A Chicago native, Hancock was a child prodigy who performed with the Chicago Symphony at age 11. He started playing jazz in high school and double-majored in music and electrical engineering at Grinnell College in Iowa. Five decades later, he has been rewarded with Grammy Awards and devoted audiences throughout the world. Tickets are $50-$70 and can be purchased by calling 1-800-BELUCKY or visit montbleuresort.com
… Mark your calendar, Chukchansi’s
Rockin’ Brews and BBQ Fest is slated for Saturday, August 19 at the outdoor pavilion from 5-10 p.m. The festival features microbrews, an array of vendors, barbecue feasting, and much more. The live music blues and rock line-up include the Sam Morrison
Band, the Byrom Brothers, Trey Tosh and The Soul Galaxy. For tickets and info call 800-866-794-6946 or visit chukchansigold.com … The Grammywinning Manhattan Transfer head to Cache Creek Casino Resort in Brooks, CA, Saturday, August 19 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $39-$69. Call 800722-2243 or visit cachecreek.com. COMEDY SCENE DUO. The Grand Sierra Resort and Casino welcomes acclaimed funnymen Steve
Martin and Martin Short on Saturday, August 26 at 9 p.m. in the Grand Theatre. The show also features the Grammywinning Steep Canyon Rangers, the bluegrass band which Martin frequently performs with, as well as Jeff Babko, whose television work began with Short’s syndicated talk show in 1999/2000. For over a decade Babko has also
Instead of blaming yourself, Nate, how about what Jean de la Fontaine once said: “Luck’s always to blame.”
One important thing you want to remember when playing in a blackjack tournament is that all players are competing against the same dealer. The significance of this is that players tend to have similar outcomes on any given hand. In your example, if the dealer draws a blackjack, the entire table ends up with the same result, a loss.
One way to gain ground is by playing each hand correctly and having better cards than your opponents have. However, it is a lot easier to gain ground by betting and playing your hand differently than the others are at the table.
I was once in that same Final Jeopardy position as you, Nate, and here is the move that I made.
Unlike you, I pushed in all my chips on the last hand but for one $5 chip. The others on the table chucked in all their chips on the last hand, only to be wiped out by the dealer having a blackjack. My remaining red chip was enough to win the tournament.
Dear Mark: For the blackjack player, is there a set amount of winning hands in a row where you would recommend increasing you bet size? Jed C.
When wagering at blackjack, I lean towards the winning progressive method of betting, setting a predetermined percentage increase after each winning bet. For example, you increase your winning bets by 50% after the second win: $10, $10, $15, $22, etc., but maintain the continuously flat bet (the table minimum) when losing.
Be it flat, progressive, or betting the farm once you are ahead, none of these methods will affect the house advantage, nor guarantee that you will win more money. If the casino has an advantage before money management, it still has that same advantage even after you apply any type of money management technique. The reason I like the progressive method of wagering, is that after the second $10 win, you are now betting just your winnings, and by doing so, you minimize your losses.
Remember one thing, Jed, and that is whether you won or lost the previous hand, it has no effect on the results of the next hand. Yes, with smart play, blackjack offers you some of the best odds against the casino. But any time you increase your bet, the cost of playing blackjack increases because you are exposing more of your current bankroll against the built-in house edge.
Dear Mark: Now that football season is over I can say that I had a decent year. Total net loss: just over $100. I consider this one of my better years. Typically, I bet against the spread, betting $11 to win $10. Who actually pays the 10% commission, the winner or the loser? Michael S.
With most point-spread bets, Michael, the Lords of Chance make their money by charging a commission, or vigorish (aka vig) on every bet. When betting a typical football game, you wager $11 to win $10. When you redeem your winning ticket, you get back $21.
Assuming a 50% probability of winning, I can justify both the winner and loser paying the commission that creates the 4.54% house edge.
From the loser’s perspective, if you make an $11 wager, you get a refundable fee of $1 if it wins. Otherwise, the loser is paying the $1 commission.
From the winner’s view of that same $11 to win $10 wager, if the bet wins, you only get a return of $10. That missing dollar is viewed as the vig.
Dear Mark: Is there a way of combining multiple wagers on a roulette table to maximize one’s odds and increase my chances of winning? For instance, a column bet pays off at 2 to 1. If I place the second and third column, I have a 66.6% chance of winning, just so long as the 0/00 don’t appear. I would offset that by playing either the 0-00-1-2-3 combination, or a split bet of one chip on the 0-00. Tim S.
You can increase your probability of winning — at least something — by placing multiple bets on the layout, but, let me cap that, BUT, the house edge on any combination of bets, less one, is always going to be 1/19, or 5.26%.
You also included in your question the 0-00-1-2-3 combination bet. All wagers, Tim, on a double zero roulette table give the casino a 5.26% advantage (1/19), and no combination of bets on the layout will change that. One exception to that rule is a wager where you are betting that the 0, 00, 1, 2, or 3 pocket catches the ball. That wager is significantly higher.
And why? Because it is about what the casino is willing to pay you versus the true odds of hitting any of these numbers. This five number wager, also called the basket bet, has a 13.16% probability of winning, pays 6 to 1, creating an overall return of .9211 on the dollar. This one bet, above all others, has a house edge of 7.89%.
Any combination strategy, Tim, at an American roulette table should be to start with avoiding the fivenumber wager. Otherwise, all the remaining bets, in any combination, still have a 5.26% edge.
The canny players maximize their odds and increases their chances of winning by searching out, and playing only on a single zero roulette game, as that little extra effort — if successful in finding one — allows you to chop the house edge from 5.26% to 2.63%.