A person who knows how to play the slots will have an advantage over the house. Some of these players are called card counters and memorize the sequence of cards in previous hands. Others are known as slot vultures. They understand how the machine works and play when the positive value is at its highest. Some players are professional bettors or hustlers.
Slot vultures
Slot vultures have been a common sight at Lucky Cola casinos for a while now. They are often seen camped out near the machines, checking them out every two or three hours on weekdays and every one to two hours on weekends. I recently ran into one in the casino and it irritated me. I approached him and he played dumb. He was a vulture, trying to scam me out of my money.
Class II competition-style slot machine themes
‘Class II’ competition-style slot machines are games with competition-style themes. These machines often have a decision-point that allows players to choose a correct answer. They are designed to be as similar to traditional slot games as possible. Often, these games have a large jackpot that must be won by a certain time.
Class II competition-style slots have evolved over time and are now comparable to classic Las Vegas slot machines. The Seminole Hard Rock properties, for example, represent the pinnacle of Class II sophistication. Former IGT systems chief Lyle Bell, who is now the CIO of the Hard Rocks, developed a central computer system that replicates the sophistication of Class III games on a Class II floor.
Despite the similarities between Class II and Class III competition-style slot machines, they differ greatly in strategy. While some casinos operate both types, they recommend that you play only Class III games. The reason is simple: these machines are analogous to scratch-off lottery tickets, and the prize amount is determined by the handle of the machine.
Cheung Yin Sun
The names Cheung Yin Sun and Kelly Ivey might not be familiar to you if you’re a regular poker player, but you may know them from their association with the edge sorting scandal involving Phil Ivey. Cheung Yin Sun is a Hong Kong-born gambler who claims she’s lost $20 million of her father’s money playing casino games.
Cheung Yin Sun is a professional card spotting expert, and she says that she searches for mathematical tricks to beat the casinos. She once gave a friend $100,000 to gamble in a Las Vegas casino without paying him. After failing to repay the casino, she spent six months in Paris, but was able to return home after three weeks in jail. In the end, her family was able to pay off her debt.
Sun has a background in psychology. She studied the backs of playing cards to determine their patterns and then persuaded dealers to face the cards in her favor. She even trained herself to recognize minute variations, as small as 1/32 of an inch. She also exploited the perception that Chinese gamblers are superstitious and made her bets only after the cards were dealt.
In a game of poker
In a game of poker, an advantage player has an edge by seeing a single card briefly, also known as hole carding. This technique is used by casino sharks who have spent years studying the game and applying math to it has researched and memorized every statistical scenario, which helps him determine the optimal play in every situation. He is so good at it that he can one thousand plays in a single session.
Used this information to create a strategy to beat the system, doubling his profits. He did this by playing the $10 minimum tables where he had more chance of winning games. He also opted for games with deeper cut cards, which allow him to use card counting to his advantage.
Conclusion
When he plays, aims to find tables with fewer players and faster dealers. This combination can double the speed of a game and increase the winnable amount per session. The fewer players at a table, the less attention and scrutiny he receives. While people who play $10 and up routinely change their bets dramatically, players at lower-priced tables are not often subjected to such scrutiny.