Gambling geniuses.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1603907

by filmschool • 16 years ago

2 1 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Ever since I read 'Bringing down the house' by Ben Mezrich, i've been curious and amazed by guys who game gambling. This forum is populated by people who fit the intellectual profile. Has anyone here ever done anything like that? Just curious.

gexla• 16 years ago

Because of house edge, coming out ahead in the long run is difficult if not functionally impossible for most people. Card counting in blackjack will give the player a small edge if done at the correct games. I believe at one time there were internet casinos which offered blackjack games which gave the player a small house edge with optimal play, but those games are likely no long available.

I would say that discipline and controlling your emotions is more important than being any sort of a genius. No strategy will hand you a win if you fall apart when you're losing.

I don't want to say that nobody has ever figured out how to beat the casino fairly over the long run. I'm sure there are a small number of professional gamblers who have figured out various strategies for coming out ahead, even though the idea of overcoming the house edge (if there is one) goes against logic. If there are people out there like that, I can assure you that they wouldn't be posting their strategies unless they were totally finished with gambling, and even then they probably wouldn't post their knowledge.

If you would like to try to "game gambling" then my first suggestion would be online poker. Essentially the players, set the "pot odds" for you. I would guess that most players don't even know what "pot odds" means (look it up if you don't.) That means a lot of poker players are playing blind. As long as these uninformed players are creating opportunities (inefficiencies in play) for better players, then this is the best place to make money in gambling.

Other than poker and counting cards in blackjack, I'm not sure there are any other opportunities for playing with the edge in the players favor. Betvoyager is an online casino which offers many casino games with zero house edge. Betfair does the same, though Betfair is much more restrictive with betting limits and other things. That's still not a player edge, but it's the lowest you will likely find. So if you would like to test out strategies, then Betvoyager with their zero edge games is a good place to check out.

Gambling geniuses.

Related Stories