Page 10 - December 2004 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Lady Luck Iby Jean Scott
could give you all the mathematical evidence, accumulated over hundreds of years, that luck can be measured only in the past tense. I could quote chapter and verse from all the prob- ability texts proving that you don’t know you’ve been on a “streak” (good or bad) until after
it’s over. I could wax mystical, gazing into a crystal ball, and tell you that luck is nothing more than a hope, mere wishful thinking, if you try to project it into the future. I could preach till I’m blue in the face about the danger of trusting in luck when you’re gambling.
Changing machines is a popular ploy. And I’ve seen people get up and walk around their machine to “disturb the aura,” rub the machine to “massage” out a jackpot, peck on the glass to “wake up” the wild cards, even kiss the machine (I advise against this for reasons of hygiene).
I’m fascinated by all the rabbits’ feet, four-leaf clovers, trolls, pictures, tiger’s teeth, prosperity potions, and assorted talismans that decorate, for example, the tables of any bingo hall. I don’t have to wonder why everyone seems to be having a good time—it’s because there’s so much“luck in the air.”
And that’s the point. If your good-luck frog on top of a video poker machine or a picture of your grandchildren behind the coin slot makes you feel good, then it’s valuable, because that’s one of the goals of gambling. Using “lucky” charms or rituals is harmless as long as you realize they’re just something to relieve the mental stress when you’re on the losing side of a gambling session. Only when you believe that they can change the odds of a game and depend on them for luck, instead of developing your skills, does it become a harmful thing. Did you ever notice that you don’t need them when you’re winning?
Jean Scott, the “Queen of Comps,” is the author of the best-selling book The Frugal Gambler, a casino guide for thrifty low rollers, plus the sequel, More Frugal Gambling, now available at www.FrugalGambler.biz. Featured on “Dateline NBC,” “48 Hours,” and The Travel Channel, she stresses sensible, responsible gambling and shows how to stretch out casino fun time whatever your gambling bankroll.
7 p.m., and 9 p.m. Earn your tickets two hours before the rst drawing times in Pai Gow for Pai Gow (Pair of 9s on top or better), Mini Baccarat (any tie) and Double Baccarat (any 9 on top or better).
CASINO PAUMA
FRIDAYS, SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS at 4:00 p.m. Texas Hold’em Tournament
Registration opens at 2:30p.m. each day and is limited to 33 entrants. $5 buy-in receives $1,000 in tournament chips; $5 bounties; $5 re-buys receive
$500 in tournament chips with unlimited re-buys during rst three limit rounds. $10 add-on receives $2,000 in chips at end of third limit round only.
BARONA VALLEY RANCH
Round-the-Clock Poker Action in Poker Room Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino features a
15-table, non-smoking poker room with $3/$6, $4/$8, $8/$16 and No-Limit Texas Hold’em and High-Low Stud. Morning Madness: Every day from 9 a.m., to 11 a.m., get $20 in bonus play when you’re one of the rst 30 players with a $40 buy-in. Rack Attacks: Sunday through ursday night from 6:15 p.m. to 4:15 a.m., one table will be randomly drawn to have $100 added to the next pot, every other hour. Double Jackpots: Monday through Friday from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Wild Wednesday: Beginning at 6 p.m., make a full house or better and win up to $501.
Most respectable gambling writers disparage the very idea of luck. Any and all games you can name, according to the rigorous mathematically based wisdom, follow the immutable laws of probability. e edge, over the long run, is always accurate, right down to the ftieth decimal point.
necessarily a bad thing; I feel luck does have a place in the casino, and I’ve tried to come up with some of the bene ts that appealing to that capricious beauty—Lady Luck—might bring you.
Some people don special clothes in which to gamble.
In fact, playing only mathemati- cally positive machines strictly by the rules of optimal strategy is the only real comfort when you’re losing.
You know that rst of all, you’re not doing anything wrong. And second of all, the percentages will eventually bear out in your favor. As I inscribe in every book I personally autograph, “ e more you study, the ‘luckier’ you’llbe.”
“Using ‘lucky’ charms or rituals is harmless as long as you realize they’re just something to relieve the mental stress when you’re on the losing side of a
gambling session.”
Maybe you wore a particular shirt the last time you had a big win. If you feel lucky in that shirt, what’s the harm?
I occasionally see people pushing the single credit button two or three or ve times, rather than hitting the max-coin button once, e ciently. Pure superstition, of course, but it’s actually a good idea if you’re playing a machine with a high house edge.
at doesn’t prevent the vast majority of people from taking comfort in the much more convenient, and much less strenuous, concept of luck. And that’s not
SYCUAN RESORT & CASINO MONDAYS
$1,000 Guaranteed Limit Texas Hold’em at 10 a.m. $13 buy-in, no re-buys.
FREE No Limit Texas Hold’em Tournament at 6:30 p.m. $5 re-buys, one $10 add-on, $1,500 guaranteed. Free food bar for all players from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
TUESDAYS
$1,000 Guaranteed No Limit Texas Hold’em at 10 a.m.
$13 buy-in, no re-buys.
$2,000 Guaranteed No Limit Texas Hold’em at 6:30 p.m. $13 buy-in, $10 re-buys/add-on. $2,000 guaranteed.
WEDNESDAYS
$1,000 Guaranteed Limit 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo 10 a.m.
$13 buy-in, no re-buys.
THURSDAYS
No Limit Texas Hold’em Tournament at 10 a.m.
$13 buy-in for $1,000 chips; $5 re-buys for $1,000 chips;
$10 add-on for $3,000 chips. $1,500 guaranteed.
$2,000 Guaranteed No Limit Texas Hold’em at 6:30 p.m. $13 buy-in, $10 re-buys and one $10 add-on.
FRIDAYS
$1,000 Guaranteed No Limit Texas Hold’em at 10 a.m.
$13 buy-in, no re-buys.
$3,500 Guaranteed No Limit Texas Hold’em at 6:30 p.m. $25 buy-in, $20 re-buy/add-on.
SATURDAYS
$2,000 Guaranteed No Limit Texas Hold’em at 10 a.m.
$13 buy-in, $10 re-buys, $10 add-on.
Anything that slows down your play will cut down on your losses and the less you lose,
the “luckier” for you. e same is true of pulling a slot handle instead of pushing the spin button.
POKER PLAYS
$3,000 Guaranteed No Limit Texas Hold’em at 6 p.m. $13 buy-in, $10 re-buy/add-on.
SUNDAYS
$1,250 Guaranteed Limit Texas Hold’em at 10 a.m.
$8 buy-in.
$1,500 Guaranteed Limit Texas Hold’em at 6 p.m. $18 buy-in.
PAI GOW WINTER CASH GIVEAWAY
Win up to $3,000 through January 16th!
Monday through Friday at 7 p.m., 9 p.m., 11 p.m., and
1 a.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m., 5 p.m.,
Page 10 DECEMBER 2004
December 2004 Poker Plays Column: The Frugal GamblerTM