Teach
07-16-2008, 05:52 PM
"Walter, Walter," my mother would call out, "Time to get up!" "But Ma," I'd call back. "No, you get yourself out of bed this minute. You're going to be late for school." In those days, it wasn't so much that I disliked school. It was just that I had trouble getting up in the morning. I just wanted to stay in bed and sleep. Even years later, when I was teaching school, I'd eye that clock on my bureau as if it were "the enemy." I'd watch the digital read out change: 6:32 --- 6:33 --- 6:34... "Just give me a few more minutes," I thought.
As an adult, whenever I visited Vegas, I had my eyes wide open for "sleepers." No, these aren't late risers who'd rather lounge in bed than get up and start their day. These "sleepers" are what I call casino "sleepers."
For years I've been reading books about casino gambling: craps, roulette, slots, keno, BJ. You name it. I've read dozens of books. I must tell you from the get-go that most of the books I've read have been of little help. Oh, there are a few good topics here and there, but much of it is rehashed information. Frankly, I could probably condense into one chapter all that I actually learned from reading all those books.
Yet that one condensed chapter of which I just spoke would be filled with "nuggets." Kernals of info that might just help you leave the casino --- a winner! One such piece of information has to do with "sleepers." Let's use the game of roulette as an example. You may be the type who cases the wheel (finding a biased wheel is like looking for the proverbial "needle in a haystack"). Yet, if you listen to what I say, you may be "casing" the wheel for a completely different reason than you had originally intended --- a more quantifiable one. You're on the look-out for "sleepers."
At this juncture, let me (1): define what a "sleeper" is, and then (2): give you an actual example from Vegas casino play. A "sleeper" (I'll use roulette as an example) is a color, number, odd-even that has not come up in many spins.
Several years ago I was in the Bellagio with my friend "Bucko". We happened to be going by some roulette tables when I called out. "Bucko, "Look!" "What Teach, what is it?" he replied. He probably thought I had just spotted another Vegas lovely or a celebrity (we did see the boxer "Sugar Ray" Leonard that day). However, my response had nothing to do with either women or celebrities. I had spotted "a sleeper."
The vertical "wash-board" (ROR: recent outcomes readout) above the roulette table showed six "black" outcomes in a row. Now, I will say that I realize that the wheel has no memory; it certainly is possible that another six "black" numbers could just as easily come up. But I like my chances when I see a string of similar outcomes. To put it another way, the "red" has been "sleeping."
Anyway, "Bucko" and I rush over. The croupier is about to start his spin. I throw two "redbirds on red: "Bucko" does the same. A guy who must have overheard me put a single black chip on red. "Black outside," the dealer calls out to the pit boss. Round and round the wheel goes. It finally comes to rest. The dealer calls out: "It's #1, it's red, it's odd." It's a quick $10 for "Bucko" and me. $100 for the lucky stranger.
If I had lost, I could have played a D'alembert (betting progression whereby you raise your bet one unit after each loss) where I might have then bet $20. Fortunately, I won.
From there, "Bucko" and I went to the craps tables. "Sleepers" can be found there, as well. You must chart the play. You dutifully record every single throw of the dice. Let's say in the course of a half-hour, not one "boxcars" (#12) has been thrown in about 100 tosses (the statistical odds are 36-1). The number twelve is overdo. It is, in the parlance of gambling --- a "sleeper." You may bet a single chip (I believe the payoff is 30-to-1) on "Midnight" (#12). If you lose, you could keep adding a unit. There may be a point where you'll simply say, "I'm not going to continue this." A lot depends on your bankroll. Oh, by the way, "Bucko" and I didn't have much luck at the Bellagio's craps tables. And, in the short time we were there, we didn't spot any "sleepers".
So the next time you're in the casino and you hear one of the patrons say he is looking for "sleepers." It has nothing do to with late risers; it has everything to do with numbers or outcomes that haven't come up in a very long time.
As an adult, whenever I visited Vegas, I had my eyes wide open for "sleepers." No, these aren't late risers who'd rather lounge in bed than get up and start their day. These "sleepers" are what I call casino "sleepers."
For years I've been reading books about casino gambling: craps, roulette, slots, keno, BJ. You name it. I've read dozens of books. I must tell you from the get-go that most of the books I've read have been of little help. Oh, there are a few good topics here and there, but much of it is rehashed information. Frankly, I could probably condense into one chapter all that I actually learned from reading all those books.
Yet that one condensed chapter of which I just spoke would be filled with "nuggets." Kernals of info that might just help you leave the casino --- a winner! One such piece of information has to do with "sleepers." Let's use the game of roulette as an example. You may be the type who cases the wheel (finding a biased wheel is like looking for the proverbial "needle in a haystack"). Yet, if you listen to what I say, you may be "casing" the wheel for a completely different reason than you had originally intended --- a more quantifiable one. You're on the look-out for "sleepers."
At this juncture, let me (1): define what a "sleeper" is, and then (2): give you an actual example from Vegas casino play. A "sleeper" (I'll use roulette as an example) is a color, number, odd-even that has not come up in many spins.
Several years ago I was in the Bellagio with my friend "Bucko". We happened to be going by some roulette tables when I called out. "Bucko, "Look!" "What Teach, what is it?" he replied. He probably thought I had just spotted another Vegas lovely or a celebrity (we did see the boxer "Sugar Ray" Leonard that day). However, my response had nothing to do with either women or celebrities. I had spotted "a sleeper."
The vertical "wash-board" (ROR: recent outcomes readout) above the roulette table showed six "black" outcomes in a row. Now, I will say that I realize that the wheel has no memory; it certainly is possible that another six "black" numbers could just as easily come up. But I like my chances when I see a string of similar outcomes. To put it another way, the "red" has been "sleeping."
Anyway, "Bucko" and I rush over. The croupier is about to start his spin. I throw two "redbirds on red: "Bucko" does the same. A guy who must have overheard me put a single black chip on red. "Black outside," the dealer calls out to the pit boss. Round and round the wheel goes. It finally comes to rest. The dealer calls out: "It's #1, it's red, it's odd." It's a quick $10 for "Bucko" and me. $100 for the lucky stranger.
If I had lost, I could have played a D'alembert (betting progression whereby you raise your bet one unit after each loss) where I might have then bet $20. Fortunately, I won.
From there, "Bucko" and I went to the craps tables. "Sleepers" can be found there, as well. You must chart the play. You dutifully record every single throw of the dice. Let's say in the course of a half-hour, not one "boxcars" (#12) has been thrown in about 100 tosses (the statistical odds are 36-1). The number twelve is overdo. It is, in the parlance of gambling --- a "sleeper." You may bet a single chip (I believe the payoff is 30-to-1) on "Midnight" (#12). If you lose, you could keep adding a unit. There may be a point where you'll simply say, "I'm not going to continue this." A lot depends on your bankroll. Oh, by the way, "Bucko" and I didn't have much luck at the Bellagio's craps tables. And, in the short time we were there, we didn't spot any "sleepers".
So the next time you're in the casino and you hear one of the patrons say he is looking for "sleepers." It has nothing do to with late risers; it has everything to do with numbers or outcomes that haven't come up in a very long time.