Casino Player December 2022

PLAYING THE TABLES

TABLE TALK

The Spice Of Life Even dedicated players need a backup plan

➤ by John Grochowski

CARLA Blackjack

I probably spend 75 percent of my time at blackjack.When I do play something else, it’s usually another card game. In my parents’ house, we were always playing cards of some kind. Pinochle, spades, hearts, rummy, crazy 8s,Uno—you name it,we played it. We didn’t really play poker as a family though I watched my mom and dad play with their friends sometimes. It was penny ante and I don’t remember what games,but I learned to rank poker hands just by watching. I’ve played Caribbean stud, Let It Ride,Mississippi stud andTexas hold’em bonus poker.The one I really like isThree Card Poker.I like the pair plus,because you can get a nice 40-1 on the straight flush,and you really get them pretty often.Not every time,of course,but maybe once every two or three trips I’ll get the straight flush, and the three of a kind maybe a little more. It’s easy and relaxed,and I don’t have to concentrate very hard,so I’m ready when I go back to blackjack. If you play craps at all, you know some days it’s just not happening. A cold table in craps is likeArctic cold, and I try to get my money out of that environment and into someplace warmer. One place I go is roulette. I don’t bet a lot of money there, because I know the odds aren’t very good. But it takes time for the wheel to spin and if you stick to the minimums, you don’t really bet much per hour. It was the first game I ever played in a casino. You knowwhat I really don’t like? Blackjack.After the excitement and the pace at craps, it just seems so slow to me. People really aren’t rooting for each other; they’re mostly just looking at their own hands until somebody makes a mistake.Then there’s always someone who wants to jump all over the poor guy who maybe made a bad play.Who needs that? JEREMY Craps

F or a small percentage of players, gambling is strictly limited to only one preferred game. Steadfast blackjack players don’t mi grate to craps,and vice versa.But most of us have two, three or more games in our repertoire.A break from the blackjack table might mean a littleThree Card Poker,or a craps player might dabble in roulette. And just about anyone might drop a few bucks in a slot machine. What do you do when you take a break from your usual game? Some players shared their fallback favorites. I like my strategy to matter,so when I’m not playing blackjack I’m play ing video poker.Truth be told, if the results weren’t so wildly variable, I’d be a video poker guy first. I kind of got hooked one day when I was hungry,but really didn’t want to wait in the buffet line.There were some poker machines right near the buffet, so I decided to play while the line thinned out. I’d played a little bit before,but not much.This time, I was on fire.No royal flush, but I got four of a kind three times in half an hour. I started with $20 and cashed in $250. I wish I could say something dramatic like, “That meant the steak house instead of the buffet,”but I’m not going to lie to you.The line thinned out and I went to the buffet, just with a little thicker wallet. STUART Blackjack

QUYN Three Card Poker

I’ve adopted Three Card Poker as my main game in the last couple of years, but really, I probably only play it a third of the time. I play a little every time I’m in a casino and it’s usually the first game I go to. But I like to jump from game to game. I play blackjack, and I did learn basic strategy online, so I do OK. I try a little roulette, and once in a while I’ll

2 2 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 • w w w . c a s i n o c e n t e r . c o m