Ed Tice: Use your comp card to keep track of the casino

[Ed Tice]

I've read a lot of discussions lately about the casino tracking players by their players cards and whether we want to use them or not. Many casinos are now going to a "points" system and inquiring about your comps can let you know how much attention you got from the pit.

For example, I was playing at the Borgota last week. There were only $25 and $50 games that I could find (yikes). (I am told they have another BJ pit where I would have found cheaper games).

I don't have the BR to support play at this level, but since I heard (correctly) that the comps were good, I decided to play for a few hours. Using a 1:4 spread and Hi/Lo this turns out to be an even game (assuming I don't make too many errors, of course). Actually it is profitable at about minimum wage (with $5000/hr in action!)

After checking my comp $ balance, I asked for a casino host to ask why my comp ($8) was so small (even though this is about what I expected).

I got a very nice explaination that I earn 1 comp dollar for every $150 wagered (They actually said $100-$150 but $150 seems to be the magic number for BJ). I earned $8 which means that, according to the pit boss, I had wagered 8 x $150 = $900 in one hour. She said that I had settled only 48 bets at $25 each!

What does this tell me.

1) I left for the bathroom a few times and had to wait for a shuffle. The pit boss obviously noticed this and reduced the estimated number of bets settled.

2) Nobody noticed that I had bet spread at all!

For anybody curious about how much attention they received at any casino using a points system, a quick call to your casino host will let you know exactly how you were rated without having to ask the pit boss.

Just another FYI with comps, don't forget to conceal your breaking even! I usually conceal winnings (take a mixed stack of red/green to the bathroom and pocket a green in the stall... I assume its the one place they dont have cameras!) I was playing a 6:1 spread at another casino (again earning minimum wage) and of course nobody was paying any attention to me at all! I did hear the pit boss ask the dealer one time if I had bought anything from her. The dealer answered that I hadn't, so I knew I was going to get hit in comps (when you are playing for minimum wage, comps are a big part of your EV!).

So now I remember that even when I'm not on a lucky streak that I need to conceal my "breaking even" so that I can hustle for more comp dollars.

Ed

[Don Schlesinger]

>I earned $8 which means that, according to the pit boss, I had wagered 8 x $150 = $900 in one hour.

>What does this tell me?

I'll tell you what it tells me: the pit boss is an imbecile (what a surprise!), since 8 x $150 = $1,200, not $900! :-)

Don

[Ed Tice]

No I think it mens that I am an imbecile! 8 x $150 does equal $1200! But this is my math error, I believe (I didn't record the conversation), since she dis say that I had settled 48 bets x 25 does also equal $1200 and agrees with the comp. The comp rate is one comp dollar per $150 wagered and if you change the $900 in my post to $1200, all of the math works out.

Ed

> I'll tell you what it tells me: the pit boss
> is an imbecile (what a surprise!), since 8 x
> $150 = $1,200, not $900! :-)

> Don

[Sun Runner]

Trying to figure it out ..

Avg bet -$50
Hands per hour (?assumed?) -75
$$ in play per hour -$3,750
The house expectation (?assumed?) -1.5%
The house expectation per hour -$56
The house comp rate -$3,750/150 = $25 comp

Is that anywhere close to the rationale they use? Are they comping appx 45% of their expectation?

[j11]

The following formula was used at a New England casino - (average-bet X hands-per-hour X house-percentage X sliding-scale).

The sliding-scale was adjusted, based on the player's 'ability-rating'. For example - a basic strategy player was usually scaled around 22%.

So, ($100 X 75 X .015 X .22) = 24.75 points/hr.

[Ed Tice]

As I said, my casino host told me that the formulat at Borgota was simply one comp dollar for every $150 wagered.

So if you are playing blackjack and have a house advantage of 0.44% (AC rules) then theoretically you lose $0.66 for each $150 wagered and receive one comp dollar.

I don't believe that the comp dollars can be turned to cash, but they can be used for food and taken off your hotel bill.

So given that, even if you can only play BS, its cheaper to gamble for your dinner than pay for it in the restaurant.

This seems like a heck of a comp deal to me.

But more to the point, when the casino uses such a system, your casino host can tell you the specific details of your rating.

For example, I got "cheated" since my average bet was about $50 with a 1:4 spread. But I only got paid for an average bet of $25. But this tells me that the boss did not even notice that I was making any spread at all. So I can play there again much sooner.

Ed

> Trying to figure it out ..

> Avg bet -$50
> Hands per hour (?assumed?) -75
> $$ in play per hour -$3,750
> The house expectation (?assumed?) -1.5%
> The house expectation per hour -$56
> The house comp rate -$3,750/150 = $25 comp

> Is that anywhere close to the rationale they
> use? Are they comping appx 45% of their
> expectation?

[Sun Runner]

> As I said, my casino host told me that the
> formulat at Borgota was simply one comp
> dollar for every $150 wagered.

I understand it from the player's side; I was trying to get a window into the casino's side. Let's face it, their EV is way more than .44%.