Scobe Speaks
The Games We Don't Play
By Frank Scoblete

Real Players talk about why they hate certain games

Casino gambling is fun, but not all players like all games. Some players love certain games and play them exclusively, while other players might dabble at two or three games. However, some players absolutely hate certain games, and often for very specific reasons.

“Shoot me if I ever play blackjack again,” states Madeline Russo of Pennsylvania. “I bought a strategy card from the gift shop figuring that it would help me play my hands, and it did. What I didn’t realize was that there are players at blackjack who can’t mind their own business at the table and are always giving advice to you to play your hands the way they want you to play your hands.

“I was sitting on third base and I took a hit on my 12 against a dealer’s two, which is what the card said to do. So this one guy went bananas because I wound up busting with a 10 and the dealer hit to a 20 and beat this guy. He kept yelling that I took the dealer’s bust card."

Madeline continues, “Then I moved to first base at another table so I wouldn’t have to worry about ‘ruining the table,’ and I a woman there said it was stupid to use the card I had bought from the casino because the strategy would just be to make the casino money. So on every hand she thought I should play differently, she would say, ‘See that card is making you lose.’ I threw the card out and started to play video poker where no one tells me what to do.”

Johnny Beltran of California says, “I wanted to play craps so I walked over to the table and I saw that layout and ran. There are just too many bets and too many things going on, people yelling and complaining and throwing out bets with weird names. It was just too much to take in so I went over to Caribbean Stud which I found very easy to play. Craps just looked too darn hard.”

Christopher Manning of Canada strongly dislikes roulette. “I figure that this game made all the royalty of Europe broke, so how do you have a chance at it? There are too many players making bets right on top of your bets and it is just too messy and chaotic. Players stand behind you and push out bets. They make bets early and have to be warned. It is too darn much. I prefer blackjack, where you relax and get to make your decisions without the pushing and shoving.”

“Slots are for idiots,” states Mary Casanova of New York. “Come on, the house has this giant edge and you sit in front of a stupid machine that is programmed to take your money. Duh! Why would someone want to do that? It seems so boring. I like to play craps where there is a lot of action with cheering and high fives. I also like to play craps because there are more men at the table than women. Sometimes I am the only woman and that is nice. I get treated like I am special.”

George W. has a dislike for all the carnival games. “Why did the casinos put these games in? Three-Card Poker and Let It Ride, why play those games? The strategy is dopey and the games have high house edges. I say stick to blackjack where you at least have a decent chance to win.”

“Blackjack? Don’t make me laugh!” responds Michael Angelino of Brooklyn, New York. “I say, ‘No thanks.’ It is way too hard to learn to play correctly and everyone gets angry if you slow down the game to take some time to think. I go to have fun and blackjack is just too much work. Plop me down in front of the slots and I feel like a king. I also have a chance to win some big money. At blackjack the best payment is a crummy three to two.”

Larson Middleton hates baccarat. “I’ve played it in the high roller room and the people who play baccarat are really weird, if you don’t mind me saying that. They really think bending and folding and shouting at the cards makes the cards do what they want. Are they out of it or what? It’s like flipping a coin, for crying out loud. Give me craps and video poker any day. You can have baccarat.”

“I do not like any machine games and I don’t even like the blackjack games where machines deal the cards,” says Louise DeStephano of Massachusetts. “I am a people person so give me games where it is just people, dealers and players. Keep the machines out of my face is all I am asking for.”

Frank Scoblete, #1 best-selling gaming author, is director of Golden Touch advantage-play seminars in dice-control. Websites: www.goldentouchcraps.com and www.scoblete.com. His new book is The Virgin Kiss and Other Adventures! To order Frank's products or free brochure, call (800) 944-0406.