Advantage Play Methods That Won’t Get You Thrown Out of the Casino

CasinoEdge

Advantage play allows you to gain an edge over the casino through a specific game or technique. Advantage gambling is obviously exciting from the perspective that it gives you the opportunity to win long-term profits.

Of course, casinos aren’t fond of players who are capable of beating them. They take drastic steps to reduce these players’ edge and even resort to banning them if necessary.

The most famous example of players getting kicked out of casinos is card counters, who must camouflage their play to avoid being detected. Several other advantage play techniques can also get one thrown out of the casino.

Being booted from a gambling establishment is embarrassing and, more importantly, reduces your number of options for making money. But the good news is that there are a few techniques and games that give you the chance to win profits without being banned.

Casinos are perfectly fine with you using any of the following options, provided you don’t abuse them in any way.

Mystery Progressive Slot Machines

A mystery progressive slot machine offers a jackpot at a specific point (e.g. $500). You win the top prize if you make the contributing bet that makes the jackpot reach its payout point.

Most gamblers play these games like normal slot machines, where they spin the reels until they feel like quitting. However, these same players don’t realize that they’re giving up value by leaving just before the jackpot is triggered.

You want to look for games that are almost ready to pay their jackpot in order to gain an edge. The closer you are to the payout point, the more likely you are to earn profits.

Besides the fact that you can gain an advantage with these games, another advantage to mystery progressive machines is the low volatility.

Most of the slots pay their jackpots at anywhere from $50 to $500. Given the small top payouts, these games don’t have nearly as much volatility as bigger progressive slot machines.

You can gain an edge through mystery games with two methods:

Either:

Estimate when you should start playing based on the current jackpot size in relation to where it hits.

OR

Use a formula to calculate the exact point when you should start playing.

The first method is fine if you’re a recreational player who merely wants to boost your chances of winning. The downside, though, is that you won’t always know when you have an edge since you’re merely guessing.

For Example

You find a mystery progressive slot machine that pays its jackpot at $500.

The jackpot value is currently at $450.

You believe that you’re getting a long-term advantage by playing at this point.

If you don’t want to be in the dark on when you have an advantage, you can use a fairly simple formula to calculate positive expected value (+EV).

Here’s the formula:

  • t = j × (h + c) / (h + 2c)
    • t = Target point
    • j = Jackpot payout point
    • c = Jackpot contribution (percentage of each bet that goes towards funding the jackpot).
    • h = House edge

The biggest catch here is that you won’t know the jackpot contribution rate. Furthermore, you won’t always know the house edge of the games you play – especially in land-based casinos.

The jackpot contribution in progressive slot machines is usually around 2%. You can perform research to determine the payout percentage of whatever game you’re playing.

Assuming you’re dealing with land-based slot machines, you can look at state gaming reports to see how much each coin denomination pays on average. You can then use whatever figure is available for the coin denomination you’re playing.

Casinos don’t have a problem with you taking advantage of mystery progressive slot machines, because they’re not the ones contributing to your edge. Instead, those who’ve played before you have increased the jackpot to the point where the game is offering +EV.

Banking Slot Machines

A banking slot machine (a.k.a. accumulator slot) features a bonus meter. You trigger a bonus by collecting special scatter symbols and filling the meter. You can gain an advantage with these games by playing when the meter is nearly full.

One problem with banking slots is that there’s no formula to calculate the exact point when you should begin playing. However, you should be able to gain +EV by consistently playing when meters are almost full.

Here’s an example:

  • A banking slot machine’s meter fills when you earn 500 points.
  • You walk by an empty machine that has accumulated 450 points.
  • You believe that this game is now offering +EV.

Playing accumulator slot machines is perfect if you’re looking for an advantage gambling technique that doesn’t involve intense strategy.

Everything begins with walking around the casino and figuring out where the banking slot machines are. From here, you simply need to find the perfect combination of a nearly full meter and empty seat.

The biggest downside to accumulator slots is that there aren’t many available anymore. This is even the case in Las Vegas, where you’ll only find a limited number of these games.

Casinos used to feature more banking slot machines. However, certain advantage players ruined this by harassing customers to get them off games.

These players, who are referred to as “vultures,” try to coax tourists off of games with near-full meters. They may ask the tourist if they can play the slot because it’s their lucky game.

But problems arise when the player doesn’t want to leave the machine and the vulture continues hanging around. Fist fights have even broken out in some situations.

Casinos solved these dilemmas by getting rid of their banking slot machines. This leaves you with fewer options than ever before.

Also note that you’ll be competing against the very same vultures that caused problems in the first place. You may run into issues of your own with these advantage gamblers if you decide to take advantage of accumulator slots.

Nevertheless, you can at least look forward to making profits through these games without being kicked out of the casino. The only way you’re going to get booted is if you become a vulture yourself and start causing problems.

Dice Control

Dice control (a.k.a. controlled shooting) is an advantage play technique where you try to throw the dice in a consistent manner to produce desired results.

Controlled shooting begins withholding the dice in a certain manner (a.k.a. setting) to produce whatever numbers you want to roll. For example, the “V set” is perfect for throwing a six (in “place 6” bet), because the 3s are exposed at the top.

You also have to practice your toss enough to where the dice barely kiss off the wall, thus reducing randomization. This can be done by rigging up a craps table in your basement and practicing for hours.

Many dice control experts measure their success by Sevens: Rolls Ratio (a.k.a. RSR), which is the ratio of rolls that produce a seven versus those that don’t.

The average RSR is 6:1, because this is the exact probability of rolling a seven with two dice. However, a skilled dice controller can allegedly reduce this ratio and win profits.

You don’t have to reduce your RSR by much to guarantee profits. In fact, lowering your ratio to 5.5:1 is enough to gain a huge edge.

Casinos have absolutely no problem with you using controlled shooting to beat them. The reason why is because casinos don’t believe that dice control works.

Controlled shooting seems valid in theory. Proponents of this technique suggest that a dice controller can improve their craft through practice, just like a basketball player practices free throws.

But you also have to consider the physics of the whole ordeal. You’re expected to toss the dice off the back wall, which is made out of rubberized diamond shapes. The idea that you can toss dice off a diamond-patterned wall and produce any level of consistent results seems far-fetched.

Nevertheless, some gambling authors like Frank Scoblete and Dominic LoRiggio swear that dice control works. These same experts teach courses on how one can improve their controlled shooting.

Of course, it’s no surprise that these gambling gurus are pro dice control when they’ve made a fortune off their books and courses.

Everything comes down to whether or not you believe that dice control is truly possible. If so, you can use this technique without fear of the casino throwing you out.

The only time that craps dealers get annoyed is when you take forever to set the dice. This holds up the game and costs the casino money.

Video Poker

Video poker isn’t an advantage play technique like the others I’ve discussed. However, I still believe that video poker belongs in this group since it can give you an edge and won’t get you banned.

Earning profits through this game involves two major steps:

  1. Finding variations that offer over 100% payback.
  2. Using optimal strategy to realize your advantage.

The first step is the toughest, because casinos rarely offer video poker variations with over 100% return to player (RTP). Instead, Jacks or Better (99.54% RTP) is usually your best option.

Nevada is the only state where you’ll find casinos with +EV poker machines. The games you want to look for include Deuces Wild (100.76% RTP), Double Bonus (100.17%), and Double Double Bonus (100.07%).

Keep in mind that you can’t play just any version of these games and expect to earn over 100% payback. You need to find the “full pay,” versions of these games.

Full pay refers to the best pay table offered within a specific variation. If you’re going to play Deuces Wild, for example, then you want to familiarize yourself with the top pay table for this game.

You can find which casinos offer the best versions of Deuces Wild, Double Bonus, and Double Double Bonus by using the site vpFREE2.com. This database allows you to search gambling destinations to find out what video poker games are offered at various casinos.

Considering that you must travel to Nevada in order to find +EV video poker, you might as well spend time focusing on full-pay Deuces Wild. This means that you should also practice strategy for this specific game.

Free video poker trainers don’t normally cover Deuces Wild. However, you can always purchase software that allows you to train for this game.

A video poker trainer involves playing hands like normal. The key difference is that these programs point out when you make a mistake so that you can avoid these in the future.

Becoming an expert video poker player is a nice way to make $6 to $8 an hour through your gambling hobby. But don’t expect to get rich through these games.

You also need to deal with the fact that there aren’t many +EV video poker machines around the world. You either need to visit the Silver State or live there to gain an edge through video poker.

Dealer Signatures

A dealer signature is when a roulette croupier spins the ball in a manner that produces consistent results. Spotting signatures allows you to bet on the area where their ball normally lands and capitalize on this phenomenon.

That three things that you want to look for with a dealer signature include:

  1. Difference (pockets) between where the ball lands versus its release point.
  2. If the ball spins at a consistent velocity (count number of revolutions).
  3. If the wheel spins at a consistent velocity.

The first point is the most important, because being able to gauge where the ball might land gives you a huge advantage.

For Example

    If the dealer releases the ball at the 12 o’clock position.

    The ball normally lands in the 3 o’clock position.

    This is approximately 7-11 pockets from the release point.

Watching the velocity of the ball and wheel involves counting how many revolutions they both make before the round ends. Determining a consistent number of revolutions in the ball and/or wheel gives you another piece of the puzzle.

You don’t have to know exactly where the ball will land to win with dealer signatures. Simply having a general idea will give you a great chance at making profits.

Interested in how much you stand to gain with signatures?

Here’s An Example:

You notice that the dealer’s release point is around 6-10 pockets away from where it consistently lands.

You wager $5 on the nine pockets surrounding the landing point ($45 total).

These are all single number bets that pay 35:1 for a win.

You win one of these bets on a third of the spins.

You earn $175 for a win (5 x 35) and drop $90 for the two losing rounds.

$175 (winnings) – $135 (total wagers) = $40 profit per three spins.

You play 50 spins per hour.

(50 / 3) x 40 = $667 in profits per hour

I’m sure that you’d be thrilled with making a $667 hourly profit. But the big catch is that dealer signatures may not truly be real.

Those who believe in signatures point to the fact that casinos take drastic steps to throw off winning players. They’ll change croupiers, move wheels around, and sweat successful players.

The practice of changing dealers when a player wins too much seems to be an indication that signatures may work. But then again, casinos aren’t in the business of allowing advantage players to continue exploiting them.

I’ve seen interviews where casino personnel claim that there’s nothing to signatures. Therefore, this advantage technique is much like dice control in that its chances of success are questionable.

Conclusion

Gaining an advantage in casino games doesn’t mean that you also have to fear being thrown out of the casino. You can instead gain an edge over the house without being banned.

Mystery progressive and banking slot machines are two good ways to win profits without getting harassed. Both types of slots offer an advantage when you play at the right moment.

The downside to banking slots, though, is that there aren’t many of them left. Even when you do find accumulator slot machines, you have to deal with heavy competition for near-full bonus meters.

Video poker is a game that can be beaten with optimal strategy on the right variations. Deuces Wild can especially offer you a solid advantage.

But +EV video poker is almost as hard to find as banking slot machines. What’s more is that you won’t win any more than $10 per hour when your profits and rewards are calculated.

Dice control and dealer signatures are theoretically great advantage play methods. Both allegedly offer you a huge profit when you’re skilled at them. However, the same techniques have a major downside in that they may not actually work.

Most gambling experts contend that controlled shooting is purely fictional, because dice tosses are completely random. The jury is also out on dealer signatures, which involve iffy variables.

If you’re going to choose anything on this list, my top recommendations are mystery progressive slot machines and +EV video poker games. My last picks are controlled shooting and dealer signatures, because they may simply be a waste of time.

Petko Stoyanov
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About Petko Stoyanov
My name is Petko Stoyanov, and I've been a gambling writer for more than ten years. I guess that was the natural path for me since I've loved soccer and card games for as long as I can remember! I have a long and fairly successful history with English Premier League betting and online poker, but I follow many other sports. I watch all big European soccer leagues, basketball, football, and tennis regularly, and I keep an eye on snooker, volleyball, and major UFC events.