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Many of my friends who go to Las Vegas with me do win, because they know how to gamble and they are just naturally lucky people. If you play your cards right you have close to a 50/50 shot in blackjack and so if you are naturally lucky, you should win most of the time.
How many people are like me and my friends and like to gamble and win the majority of the time?
Where do you think the casinos get their money for all the extravagant buildings, shows and amenities they give out. Not from winners. The odds are always in the houses favor. Yes you may win some then lose some and if you're smart enough quit when you're ahead, but most people keep on betting and end up losers. The longer you stay there gambling the better the chances you'll end up in the red when you leave.
And in many cases when a casino sees someone on a hot streak they keep an eye on them and if they think it's suspicious play you'll be escorted out. Or they will find a way to get your money back.
Go to Vegas for fun not profit. As said before if you know when to hold them and when to fold them and you're ahead quit and go home.
Nitram hit that right on the money (to use a gambler's cliche). The games that have the best odds are craps and black jack. Even so, both are slightly weighted in favor of the house. Over time, the law of statistics will show the casino making money on every game it has as well as slot machines.
Drive down the Las Vegas Strip and take a careful look at Mandalay Bay, The Luxor, The MGM Grand, New York, New York, Bellagio,, Paris the Venetian, and Caesar's Palace. These are mega casinos that costs hundreds of millions of dollars to build. They couldn't have been built and couldn't stay operating unless someone was losing at the gaming tables.
I sometimes play craps, but I have strict rules. I never lose more than $30 before I quit. I used to play at an older casino that offered good "comps". (free meals and lodging based on your hours of play) The comps, at one time were creating a "break even" situation for me. However, the casino quickly figured that out and stopped being so generous.
Gambling is a lose/lose proposition for almost everyone. When it comes right down to it, I don't even support a lottery. It mostly works out to be a way of taking money from the poorest and most ignorant people in society.
I read somewhere that the casinos make back about 30% from their blackjack tables, which pays for those fancy casinos. Considering that the players odds are close to 50/50 if they play the basic strategy, that means that many players are doing dumb moves like hitting on a 19 or not splitting 8's or aces.
I usually win when I play and are up for all the times I have gone to the casino. But I understand that most people lose.
However, I did at one time, have an uncle who played 21. He played very cautiously and over time he managed to come close to breaking even, not too any loses.
That was averaged over a period of years. The uncle was not a gambler. He was at the tables because he was doing business with people who gambled. Sort of like how other types of businessmen play golf and do business.
I also heard rumors that the casinos changed the rules for the dealer about where he has to stand, which changed the odds away from favoring the players. The uncle was breaking even decades ago. Different times, different rules.
Another point; gamblers don't like to play it very cautiously and conservatively. There is no thrill in playing like an accountant, pinching the pennies, and never taking risks..
Do you think those theme hotels are built on our winnings? I don't think so. Sure, some people do better than others, yes, if you know what you are doing, especially when playing BJ or Craps the odds are better, but they still favor the house. As for some people being lucky, I don't think so. Remember, even when you are with someone gambling, you only hear the positive stories. Most people do not mention the money they lost or how much they donated to hit that jackpot or have a winning night at the BJ table. The first time we went to Vegas, we were in our mid 20s, knew nothing about gambling, but I came from a gambling family. We had purchased a book, it told us how to play our money and I about $250 at the crap table in less than an hour. Let me tell you, for kids our age, in the 1960s, playing a $ at a time to start, that was a fortune. Don't ask what happened the next couple of nights we were there. I usually play nickel slots and have won my share of jackpots or just had a good run. Am I ahead even or just down a little? Nope, I probably have lost 10 times more than I have won.
I'll be in Vegas for about 15 hours in a couple of months. I'll check in, go to dinner, see a show, go to sleep, and leave the next morning. I pay my own way (or use points/miles earned) and don't count on gambling winnings (or losses) to travel.
I'm guessing that if you actually carefully tracked your winnings and losses, you wouldn't be as "good" and "lucky" as you think you are.
My son used to play in chess tournaments in Las Vegas and Reno every year when he still lived at home and we lived in California. Since I had to wait around while he played all day, I allowed myself $25 each day at the slots and had the sense to walk away if I'd made a couple hundred dollars, which I occasionally did. One trip between my winnings and his tournament prize money, we actually did pay for our trip, but that was once out of 6 visits. Otherwise I treated it like entertainment - the price of a nice dinner, etc., and enjoyed my time playing. I realize there's no skill in playing slots but regardless, whatever you play, the odds are against you.
Blackjack is one game where you have CLOSE to the houses advantage, if you play right (forget about all the nonsense of counting cards, as casinos use too many decks, and the best card counter has to literally play for hours to see a payback because even that advantage is in the tenths of a percentage point).
But, the thing is, the house plays against humans, and the human tendency is to play and keep on playing until...until you lose. Almost everyone finds themselves ahead of the house at one point or another. It takes alot of willpower to quit when you are ahead.
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