Gamblers Against the House: how Players Avoid "Sweating Money" at all Costs 

Occurrence of casino visitors

Although they were created to provide entertainment and allow customers to spend a pleasant time, the gambling halls do not feel too comfortable when the sums of money that the players take home exceed the tens of thousands; and the malaise is even greater with millionaire figures.

Of course, these abundant triumphs do not happen every day. In fact, a player is more likely to go bankrupt than to win a jackpot. In one way or another, the problem of the prize is not the amount, but the frequency.

When the management of a casino begins to realize that there are more privileged players than others, who win so assiduously that they begin to represent a financial risk, they do not hesitate to "sweat the money". Not many casino visitors understand the term, but it is simple if it is explained in the right way.

Sweating money: a concept

As mentioned before, the house is always looking for a way to profit. It is the essence that has ruled casinos forever and, in the world of finance, capital can never be taken for granted. What is a real surprise is that in some games the rate of profit for the house is almost zero. Part of that set is made up of baccarat, blackjack and French roulette, whose profit margin for the house is 2%. According to the performance of the clients and the chance to make their own, that margin can decrease or increase, but to be profit, it is still minimal.

The reason that pushes the casinos to maintain these entertainment tables, is the competition. So, as the amount of profit is per player, the casino should keep them hooked to their games and encourage them to start by feeling waters with chips of $5 and end up with credits of $75 or $100. Still, even luck is not so provident with a player unless it is poker; and just as the gaming halls congratulate the customers who go home with a few extra dollars in their pockets, frown at a constant streak, and start to sweat the money.

This is nothing more than starting to look at any irregularity and settling it to avoid having to disburse such juicy rewards. The first thing the casino does in these cases is to resort to the staff to stop that hemorrhage of money that the players uncover.

Clarification in gambling

The manager is the ringleader of everything and begins to become incredibly inquisitive with room supervisors and security members to detect any cheating or flaws in the machines and tables. From a nut that broke down, to an ill-received computation are reasons for the player to retain his prize if it contributes to the loss of capital in the casino.

Before it is considered a dishonest action, it is worth clarifying that the gambling halls begin to focus on players who, overnight, make piles of money without apparent reason or ability, or a slot machine that releases prizes ever seen or infrequent.

It is an irregular action that, like any company, the casinos are in need of attention to make losses less remarkable. In that sense, they are not only looking for better players or broken machines but bad distributors and cheating in the hands of cards. If the management finds that, in effect, everything is a good run, the client receives his contribution without hindrance, but if there is any reliable evidence of dishonest actions, it is time to take legal action.

Default earnings

In the best of cases, and to avoid legal proceedings that, in the end, also cost money, casino managers always prefer that the inexplicable abundance of a machine or table to the players is due to some technical defect. These include roulette damaged favoring certain numbers, distributors who reveal the cards during the negotiation, the player beating the casino, a cheater or a dealer and player who are associated to "beat" the house.

In the last two cases, of course, the facts can not be ignored, and, while the employee signs his dismissal letter and receives his liquidation, the player is being exiled from that casino and, probably, from a list that includes unwanted players.

Benefit of the table

However, when the advantages to the table are offered by the carelessness of a dealer, the casino does not dismiss them but helps them improve their technique and supervises that they follow them fully before returning them to the room. It is a more practical and thrifty solution, in any case. What represents a real sacrifice for casinos is a mechanical error. In fact, these are the ones that tend to bleed their capital faster and, being a source of entertainment with such popularity, cannot afford to remove or mark them as out of service.

Generally, technical solutions are the option that best suits them and, with a machine already repaired, it is put back into operation while evaluating if the error continues. It's a necessary evil and an investment that, after all, comes out cheaper than getting a new slot machine.

A case of cases

The sweating of money did not begin to be implemented without any reason. In fact, there is historical data that shows why and fails in favor of casinos that, after all, are a company that can not admit outrageous losses or put at risk the virtues of its employees. One of the most memorable money leaks occurred in the Golden Nugget of the city of Atlanta, the United States, which lost more than a million and a half dollars against fourteen players of mini-baccarat.

The reason: a manufacturer of decks sold them decks that were placed in the same pattern. The matter came to court and, of course, the court ruled in favor of the Golden Nugget. The employees reinforced security regarding the supervision and distribution of the cards and the matter was closed without it happening again. Dishonest forms of gambling have been the thorn that most casinos fight, although it is not the same for all types of players.

About the poker table

At the poker table, for example, the chances of the casino losing money are very minimal, essentially because it is a game of real opponents who beat inequality and inequality of conditions according to the formation of each of them. However, in the games whose winnings are all from the casino, the hemorrhages, the faster they slow down, the better.

Another case of embezzlement against a casino company occurred when the Tran Organization won more than $7 million between 2002 and 2006. This was due to a croupier who teamed up with players marking cards with invisible ink, shuffling fast and embezzling records. This is one of the most unpleasant reference cases that proves how sweating money is a necessary evil.

Zero tolerance level

Some casinos are much less tolerant of the profit margin they allow themselves to lose. In fact, the fulminates are able to dismiss all the croupiers or banish a whole table of players, no matter how many assiduous they are, if they discover them cheating. However, this attitude is sometimes counterproductive from the perspective of the players. The more incisive the casinos are in terms of sweating money, the greater the obstacles that will be placed when a gambler, out of sheer luck, hits a jackpot.

Odds and loyalty

Other gambling halls are aware that in most cases a triumphant player reaps his winnings thanks to luck or odds. That's the reason why they allow themselves to hand out the prizes after a regular process of supervision, trusting that the gamblers will appreciate the gesture and return for loyalty.

The strategies work almost 90% of the time, and in a certain sense, the money given in the prizes is almost completely recovered by the same client, who returns to try his luck night after night. The streak, at some point, fails against your bets and the house takes advantage of that advantage.

Outstanding players are eliminated

On the Internet, there are many discussion forums where they discuss how to take advantage of the house cheating. Generally, it's about players familiar with those actions. These types of punters are known as "advantaged players" and recognizing them is as easy as getting rid of them. They usually look for big shots, represented by gambling halls that offer great rewards and cater to their players.

Although some pass unnoticed to the advantaged, others are skeptical and impious when they discover the presence of someone. In fact, the easiest way to eradicate them is to prohibit them from entering. This is the method that would be expected from a gaming room, especially considering the policy for the right of admission and the disclosure of relevant data that jeopardize the proper functioning of a casino. However, there are other ways to get rid of an advantage.

Betting pattern

One of the most effective is known as "betting pattern", and is basically to force the player to increase their betting credits when the house has an advantage over their earnings. In blackjack, baccarat, and dice it is very common to observe this technique. There are two predictable reactions: the player realizes his disadvantageous position and withdraws from the game or - and this is well aware of the casinos - spread their bets hoping to get a bigger profit. If this is the situation, the casino is in all its right to take action against the advantaged players and make them walk to the sound they dictate.

The big problem of blackjack

This is one of the most popular games of land-based casinos. Some specialists even claim that it equals poker and far outweighs others of the same style. However, for the advantaged players, it is incredibly easy to develop techniques that improve their chances of always winning at home.

These range from card counting to tracking the shuffling or carding of holes. When the casinos detect these methods, they simply eradicate the player by forbidding them to play blackjack. From the point of view of public relations, it is the most diplomatic way of acting because they eliminate the bettor from that game in which they manage to gain an advantage.

For a sample, there is a famous that can be mentioned: Ben Affleck. When the Hard Rock casino in Las Vegas discovered that the actor was using card counting to take advantage of the house, he was immediately banned from that practice. The problem was not that he was making or losing too much money, but that Affleck was incredibly good at blackjack and did not want to risk other players being scammed by his technique.

Respectfully, and without making any scandal, they exhorted the actor to try his luck at another game table. Blackjack, on the other hand, is not the only way that players have taken advantage of the house. Some similar situations are repeated with games like baccarat and three-card poker.

Absolute measures

If the ultimatum is not received and accepted by the players, the casino resorts to its most drastic technique: prohibit them completely in their game room. In fact, there is a record set during the 80s and 90s, periods in which casinos around the world began to lose so much money in blackjack, that they "sweated" that capital by preventing them from entering their facilities again.

It seems a contradiction, but the more successful a player is in card counting, the greater the relentlessness with which the casino treats them. In fact, unwanted people who dare to return, legal actions can even trigger an arrest. The policies, however, do not work the same in all countries, and an example of this occurred in New Jersey, in the eastern United States.

When the International Resorts prohibited a player with the surname Uston from entering its facilities, the court, finding no evidence to incriminate the subject of cheating, simply ruled in his favor, claiming that no games room can expel its players just for being successful. This left a bad taste in the mouth of the casino, but he had to content himself with accepting the verdict and paying the person what, very honestly, he had managed to amass playing on his premises.

How to remain anonymous

The most experienced players usually realize when a casino is trying to "sweat" the money at their expense. Because of this, they have prepared some techniques so as not to be victims of the drastic measures that management takes. First, they become vigilant about the people who are supervising the room.

When they feel that a hall chief is paying too much attention to them, they seek anonymity by missing a few rounds or moving to another table to try their luck on something completely different. The most effective alternative for a casino to avoid a player with a good run is to stay the most amount of time under profile. Some are slipping here or there between the facilities, while others use the slots - always agreed upon - to divert attention from them.

Info related to sweating money

However, these measures fall into the paranoid. The sweating of money on the part of the casinos do not usually affect the average players, because the last thing a gambling room wants to do is bother a gambler who, after all, is generating profits. This attitude, however, should never be taken as a signal to start committing minor and serious faults within a casino.

The trap will always be frowned upon and legal actions, when verifiable, can unleash terrible consequences. The casinos are entertainment sites to have a good time, get a little drunk and make some money, but with its jovial atmosphere and everything, it is still a company that does not admit, in any way, the flight of their capitals.