Like every other gambler, I’ve been an avid reader on many topics surrounding the subject of casino gambling. Topics of interest to me have ranged from how to get the most out of comps to strategies for successful dice setting to blackjack strategies. Now, books which grab my attention are books on Texas Hold’em because like everyone else, poker is something I want to read about. However, I no longer put much faith in strategies that I read about in a long formatted book and let me tell you why.
Years ago, before a trip to Las Vegas, I practiced counting cards and played according to basic online bingo strategy as taught by Edward Thorpe’s 1961 book, Beat the Dealer. I must have practiced non-stop for weeks. At the last minute, our plans were changed and we had to go to Birmingham, Alabama on business. I talked my husband into taking me to the casinos in Choctaw, Mississippi after his business trip ended so that I could practice my new found expertise. And when we arrived, I was ready to break the casino! It must have been a twist of fate and I was convinced after breaking Choctaw, it would be on to Las Vegas!
You might say that I was very disappointed. First of all, I couldn’t keep up with the count because we sat down at a table where I was constantly asked questions by a lady that just would not leave me alone while I tried to concentrate on my new strategy. Second of all, my husband was playing exactly like the dealer plays and raking in hundreds of dollars playing without splitting aces or eights or anything like that.
As my new found friend continued to speed talk, I managed to play on the same five hundred dollars that I started with while keeping a keen eye on my husband’s remarkable run at the table. When he finished up his gaming session, he had managed to profit over $2000.00 in a very short period of time. Since he doesn’t gamble that much, he was thrilled. Of course he made some comments about my card counting and told me that he did follow me on the size of his bets because he knew if I increased my bets, that the cards were favorable for the free bingo game player. We had a few laughs as I explained to him the fluctuating bets were a fluke because I lost count once my new found friend gave a new definition to ‘motor mouth’. The next day, we managed to play at a quiet table and my husband’s run continued as he played exactly as the dealer played which was hit until you have a hard 17 and he didn’t split anything. Whether I agree with that part or not is irrelevant because he won again and this time he added another $1800.00 to his winnings. I barely hung on to my $500.00 by using the coveted ‘Thorpe’ system.
Needless to say, I came home from our casino vacation with a little less interest in reading the books in my new library on strategies for anything. I had spent hours of reading and practicing only to have my husband out wit me with his way of playing. It’s safe for you to assume that since he realized an overall profit of $3800.00 and I came home with $14.00 less than I started with; this was not a fun trip for me. However, I learned a very valuable lesson.
There are some strategies that work some of the time for some of the games. There are other strategies that will never work. Then, there are strategies that aren’t called strategies which will work occasionally on a fluke if you know when to walk away with your winnings. And that’s how I feel about strategies.
