Question on Comps

#1
As a general rule, and consider I usually play at one of the Ohio River Boats. Does anyone know the general formula used to compute comps at table games. Reason I ask is this, I will buy in usually $200.00 to $300.00, and always make sure I get rated, and play at a $5.00 or $10.00 table for sometimes 6 to 10 hours in one day and get almost no comps (exception being soft drinks, water, or beer), while my wife will sit a a quarter slot and play $50.00 for three or four hours a day and she get cupons in the mail, food comps, as well as the drink comps. Besides the normal well go to Vegas, any suggestions on how to imporve on table comps?
 

mrbill

Well-Known Member
#2
My experience in the 2 casinos my wife and I play at is the same. She plays slots and gets all kind of stuff in the mail. I play Blackjack and get nothing in the mail. I get mine by asking while I am playing. I've gotten meals, hotel rooms, free entries into a weekly tournament just by asking. It never hurts to ask, the worst they can say is no and maybe they'll give you what you asked for.
 
#3
There are two things to consider about why your wife is getting better offers. The first is that casinos seem to favor machine players a little bit over table players. Their results are more accurately tracked, their losses are more consistent, and the overhead is lower with machines. The second thing is that a quarter slot player is probably running more money through the machine than a $5 or $10 blackjack player is putting at risk in the same amount of time. Therefore, the machine player's theoretical is higher than the table players and that is what the casinos base your comps on in the first place. I know that the quarter slot player having a higher theoretical sounds off but it is usually true according to Casino Player.

As a table player, I don't like that but it does seem to be the case.
 
#4
richard57

I have actually ask at the table, and was pretty much told the meals, rooms, etc, are usually given to the people at the $25.00 or up tables. But usually there are not alot of players at those tables, at least where I have played. I am not so sure that not only do they track your buy in, but they track your cash out as well. On one very good weekend, I took a profit of $600.00 from the $10.00 tables. I played three sessions about three hours each, with a $200.00 buy in each time. That was by far the best I have ever done, but only twice have I walked away in the hole. I can't help but wonder if that has an effect.
 

KenSmith

Administrator
Staff member
#5
Rebel's right

A quarter slot player does generally have an expected loss higher than a $10 blackjack player. A $10 blackjack player will put about $600 in action in an hour, and if we assume a 1.5% house edge against a typical player (not true for an accurate basic strategy player), then the casino expects to win about $9 per hour from that player. A typical quarter slot player's expected loss is at least double that, and maybe triple.

The usual rule of thumb is that a casino is willing to give back 35 to 40% of their expected win in the form of comps. So that gives our $10 bettor about $3.15 an hour of comps. Frustrating for low-limit table players, but the good news is that if you play basic strategy, you're at least breakeven counting the comps.
 
#7
Comps

:cool2: THIS IS AN INTERESTING SUBJECT. MY WIFE AND I PLAY TOGETHER ALL THE TIME IN THE SAME CASINO'S BUT RARELY THE SAME GAMES. CURRENTLY SHE HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON THE NEWER PENNY SLOTS THAT ARE OUT.
SHE DOES EXCEEDINGLY WELL, AND IN FACT HER PLAY AND COMP RATING IS FABULOUS. MY PLAY ON THE OTHER HAND IS TABLES. MY COMP RATING STINKS. MY PLAYER RATINGS ARE COMPARABLE. (BLACK CARD BORGATA, DIAMOND MEMBER HARRAHS, PLATINUM RESORTS ETC).
SO THE BASIC RULE I HAVE FOUND IN AC AND IN VEGAS (AT LEAST THE RIO) IS BLACK JACK CARD PLAY COMPS IS MOSTLY RESERVED FOR LARGER WAGERS AND IF YOU WANT TO IMPROVE YOUR COMP'S YOU MAY EVEN CONSIDER PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO WHAT YOUR WIFE DOES. I DID JUST THAT AND MY COMP LEVEL IMPROVED DRAMATICALLY. I EVENTUALLY FOUND SOME GAMES THAT DO NOT BEAT ME UP. IF YOUR A MAX BET PLAYER, THIS WON'T WORK FOR YOU. YOU WILL HAVE TO WORK ON YOUR MONEY MANAGEMENT SKILLS ALSO, OR YOU'LL GO BUST. I'LL TYPICALLY HEAD OVER WITH A PLAN. CHECK THE THE 5-6 CASINOS THAT OFFER CASH BACK AND PROMOS, AND MOST OF THE TIME, TRY AND PARLAY THE CASH BACK INTO A BETTING STRADEGY BY FOCUSING ON GAMES THAT TURN SMALL AMOUNTS INTO SLIGHTLY LARGER AMOUNTS. AFTER A COUPLE HOURS I MAY HAVE ENOUGH FOR A TABLE BETTING STRADEGY. OR I MAY BE GOING HOME BUSTED, OR TO THE NEXT PROMO SCENERIO. WE SURPRIZE OURSELVES HOW OFTEN WE CAN MAKE THIS WORK.
IF I CAN ACCOMPLISH ONE 4 DIGIT NITE A WEEK I'M HAPPY. IF I CAN MANAGE 1 OR 2 PROMO JACKPOTS A YEAR, I'M VERY HAPPY.
SINCE I LIVE NEARBY, THIS IS MUCH EASIER FOR US.
THERE IS MORE TO THIS THAN I CARE TO SHARE HERE, BUT WE DO EXCEEDINGLY WELL. WE'VE WON HUNDREDS OF JACKPOTS, BEEN ON CRUISES, AND HAD TO SHARE WITH UNCLE SAM 5-6 DIGITS A YEAR IN WINNINGS. WE RARELY EAT AT HOME, AND HAVE DINNER IN ALL OF THE FINEST PLACES. MY WIFE DOES MUCH BETTER THAN I DO.
DONT GET ME WRONG! DESPITE DOING WELL, I HAVE NEVER FELT ANYONE HAS AN EDGE ON THE CASINOS. WHENEVER I GET COCKY I GET BURNT.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS TO REALLY IMPROVE YOUR MONEY MANAGEMENT SKILLS. EXPECT TO LOSE WHEN YOU GO, NOT WIN. PARLAY WHAT YOU CAN WITH GAMES YOU ARE TOTALLY FAMILIAR WITH. PARTICIPATE IN AS MANY PROMOTIONS AS POSSIBLE. FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT NOW ON WEDNESDAY YOU CAN GO TO TRUMP MARINA , PLAY AN AMOUNT YOU PLANNED ON LOSING (HOPEFULLY NOT) ( I LIKE 20$ 40$, ) AND PARTICIPATE IN THE FOUR PLAY PROMO WHICH IS NOW AT 64,000$. YES IT IS A ONE IN A _____- CHANCE, BUT I CAN ATTEST TO THE FACT THAT PEOPLE DO WIN. SOMEONE GOES HOME WITH 64,000$. MY WIFE AND I HAVE MANAGED TO DO IT MORE TIMES THAN YOU MAY THINK. AND WHEN YOU REALLY LOOK AT THE ODDS OF WINNING VS YOUR "ENTRY FEE" IT IS A PHENOMENAL GOOD DEAL. DON'T FORGET TO TAKE IN DINNER ON THE COUPON THEY SENT YOU, OR A FREE SHOW. MY WIFE LIKES THE SLOT TOURNAMENTS. I HATE THEM. BUT NOW I PARTICIPATE ALSO. THEY'RE FREE, (AT LEAST MOST ALL OF THEM), AND AGAIN SOMEONE DOES GO HOME WITH THE PROMO CASH.
HOPE THIS IS SOME HELP. AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. YOU REALLY NEED TO WORK ON MONEY MANAGEMENT SKILLS. WE ACTUALLY HAVE QUITE A LOT OF FUN.
 

Mikeaber

Well-Known Member
#8
Comps

I plaly nothing but Blackjack. Only one casino I've visited has actually granted me comps for my play at the $5-$10 tables. With that said, I just played two days this past weekend at AmeriStar in Kansas City. I'd been killing time at a little $3 table upstairs (betting $5 or $10 and getting a kick out of watching the newbies sweat over play decisions <LOL>). The Pit Boss recognized me from the $10 double deck game downstairs where he had been working the day before. He asked me what I was doing up there (a lot of side banter had been going on about the weird plays the pit criters had been seeing at the $3 tables and they had included me in some of those side-bars.) I told him jokingly, that I was just killing time, playing for meal comps. He told me that when I got tired of playing to see him. He gave me a comp for meals for two at any restaruant in the facility.

I think that maybe most of the table pit bosses do appreciate your play but are not permitted to run your comp points up like they do on the slots. However, if you do mention it to them and if you have put in some time at their tables, they are pretty free with at least meal comps. He did mention something about room comps but changed the subject pretty quickly. I think he recalled that the hotel was booked because of a Styx concert going on there this past weekend.
 
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