8 Things Your Casino Doesn’t Want You to Know

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These days, real-life casinos go to extreme lengths to attract customers and retain their business. Behind the scenes however, there’s a lot going on those in charge would probably prefer you didn’t know about.

Casinos are places of magic, mystery and money – theatrical establishments where the rules of the outside world no longer seem to apply. But what many fail to realise is that the whole thing is engineered with the most spectacular strategic precision.

Or to put it another way, the kinds of things you think are purely random are anything but!

So just to paint a picture of what’s really going on in gaming halls worldwide, here’s a rundown of eight things your casino doesn’t want you to know:

1. The Odds Aren’t Always the Same

There are certain table games casino aficionados referred to as ‘carnival games’. Games that are extremely difficult to win and are therefore best approached for entertainment purposes only. A few examples of which include Caribbean Stud Poker, Three Card Poker, and Let It Ride Poker – games you’re almost never going to walk away from with a profit. That said, they can be hugely enjoyable to play – just as long as you gauge your expectations effectively. If you hear of any game being referred to as a carnival game, now you know exactly what it means!

2. It’s Possible to ‘Cheat’ at Blackjack

Card counting has been put to the test by millions of people worldwide, with the overwhelming majority having failed spectacularly. Truth is, you need incredible skill and mental capacity to make even a remote success of card counting. Nevertheless, get it right and it is in fact perfectly possible to tip the odds firmly in your favour, making out like a bandit with millions.  Unsurprisingly therefore, casinos typically view card counting as cheating, even though in reality it’s nothing of the sort. There’s nothing illegal whatsoever about card counting, though it does tend to breach casino policy. Still, worth a try if you know what you’re doing and know how to get away with it!

3. You Are Being Watched

Most businesses take security and surveillance seriously, though few come close to the contemporary casino. It’s one thing to be watched over by CCTV, but in the average casino these days, you’re being watched in close-up, glorious HD from the moment you enter until you leave. Literally everything you do is being watched and recorded. Some casinos these days have more than 20,000 separate cameras installed, covering every inch of every room from top to bottom. Hence, the near-impossibility of getting away with cheating these days – there’s a whole team of experts behind the scenes watching every move you make. An industry standard, but nonetheless creepy in the extreme!

4.  It’s Deliberately a Sensory Experience

Casino bosses are also absolute geniuses at manipulating the senses of guests.  Quite literally, everything about the interior of a casino setup is designed to stimulate you to play as long as possible and spend as much as possible. There are no clocks in casinos because they want you to lose track of time. There are no windows to the outdoors because they don’t want you to be reminded there’s of an outside world. Everything is deliberately as noisy and bright as they can get away with to keep your senses tingling at all times. Complementary food and drinks are provided to ensure you have to move as little as possible and spend more cash on the gaming floor.

5. Dealers Don’t Want Your Tips…Sometimes

If you’re doing particularly well and plan to tip the dealer a decent amount, go right ahead. If you’re in a position where you’re happy to offer £1 or so, chances are they’d much rather you bet it. This way, your paltry tip has every chance of being doubled or tripled. The thing is, it tends to be part of the professional code of the casino that dealers won’t typically ask players offering them tips to bet them on their behalf. Nevertheless, make the offer yourself and you might find they’re far happier to put smaller tips on the line.

6. The Chips Trick

Don’t be surprised if you enter a casino with £50, ask for it to be changed into chips and are summarily handed two £25 chips, or five £10 chips. They probably won’t even tell you that there are chips worth £5 or £1 available.  Make no mistake about it – this has nothing to do with laziness, or a kind-hearted gesture to make them easier to carry around. Instead, it’s simply a case of the casino trying to encourage you to blow your cash as quickly as possible and in the largest sums possible. A simple yet surprisingly effective trick most casinos practice religiously. So next time you change your cash for chips, feel free to ask for whatever denominations you are most comfortable with.

7. Dealers Want You to Win

If you ever experienced a losing streak, you’d be forgiven for thinking every dealer in every casino is out to get you. After all, you need to beat them in order to pocket a prize. The thing is though, logic dictates that the very last person who wants you to lose is the dealer. Think of it this way – you enter into a winning streak, beat the dealer hands-down 20 times in a row and end up with £3,000 you hadn’t expected to win. Would you be more likely to hand over a generous tip now, or if the dealer had beaten you and left you with empty pockets? Dealers succeed when players succeed – they aren’t always out to get you!

8. Casinos Can Withhold Winnings

Last but not least, there have been some truly painful reports over the years of casino customers thinking they’d hit the jackpot, only to be told by casino bosses this wasn’t the case. Video slots in particular occasionally display winning combinations, set their sirens wailing and congratulate you on winning a small fortune. Unfortunately, casinos reserve the right to withhold winnings, should they ‘detect errors’ in the system leading to an inaccurate result.  Unthinkable, but nonetheless the reality faced by a fair few would-be winners every year.

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