Last week was a lot of looking back at my trip to Las Vegas.  There will be a few more in the coming weeks.  Unfortunately ECG is having some problems, which I’m working on getting fixed but that won’t stop the goods from going up.  I’m back home for a week before I take off again for another adventure.

Speaking of adventures, football season starts this week with some NCAA games.  I’ll be sharing my picks on my tumblr and twitter once again this year if you’re interested.  I’ll also have JMP back with his NFL picks.  So get ready!  Here are the highlights in the past week on ECG.

• Thoughts on the Venetian
• Camp Vegas
• Trump Marina Making Bank on $1 Blackjack
• Mary Connell v1.0 vs. v2.0
• Grazie Upgrade, Upgrade
• Why I Play Video Poker
• Union Not Helping Atlantic City
• Venetian Suite Review – Meh

Buy “Las Vegas” – Season One

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• June 6, 2010 -- Week In Review
• February 21, 2010 -- Week In Review
• August 9, 2009 -- ECG Week in Review
• August 24, 2010 -- Why I Play Video Poker
• August 16, 2010 -- AC Hilton’s New Full-Pay VP Area: It’s Real and It’s Spectacular

Making bank, might be a little strong, but I was a little surprised when I saw that Trump Marina was making more money from $1 blackjack than higher limits (I’m guessing $10).

(Trump Marina’s Don) Browne noted that the $1 tables are averaging about an $1,100 win per day for the casino, compared to about $950 for higher-stakes blackjack games at Trump Marina. On weekends, the average daily win on the $1 tables jumps to about $1,500.

Earlier this year I saw the money behind the reason for so many $25 limit tables in casinos.  I guess for Trump this is a good thing, but the odds are not with the player.  Because of the .25 extra I would tend to stay away from this kind of game.  Even if I could get drunk on crappy beer and well drinks.

For full odds/strategy check the wizard of odds.  And because a picture of Ivanka Trump is more interesting than a picture of Trump Marina..

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• July 11, 2010 -- Week In Review
• December 2, 2009 -- Palazzo and Venetian Blackjack
• August 2, 2009 -- ECG Week In Review
• August 29, 2010 -- Week In Review
• August 9, 2010 -- Las Vegas Video Poker Research

Two years ago I realized that a friend of mine was getting better comps than I was by playing video poker in Atlantic City.  I was appalled by this.  I never thought that a game that grannies played would be given better treatment by the casinos than the table games I played.

This was the catalyst for me learning more about advantage play, payouts and percentages over two years ago.  It’s also partially the reason I started ECG.  Hopefully people can learn from my experiences – good, bad, drunk and over-caffeinated.

Since my $15 bets in blackjack weren’t accumulating comps in the way they I wanted them to, I devoted that money to learning how to play video poker.  I thought that maybe this would help my comps a little while making me a more efficient gambler.  I still play $25 hands when I play blackjack, but I tend to stay away from low limits for reasons beyond comps.

Since I began playing video poker, my comps have certainly gotten better and I’ve been able to extend my gambling day as I enjoy playing video poker in the morning before the rest of the casino is awake.  I’ve also come to learn what I like and dislike with all games and I’ve learned a lot about my own tendencies when I gamble.

This blog started as an into into my video poker play during my recent trip to Las Vegas, but was a little too long for an intro.  Look for my video poker play later this week and why I think video poker in Vegas is lame.

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• August 29, 2010 -- Week In Review
• August 15, 2010 -- Week In Review
• August 8, 2010 -- Week In Review
• July 11, 2010 -- Week In Review
• May 13, 2010 -- My Vegas Vacation – Gambling

Lots of good stuff this week on ECG.  I’m going to slowly start ECG 4.0 in the next few weeks.  I’m going to try to do this behind the scenes, but my lack of programming skills may not allow that.  So if the site looks as if it’s under construction then it probably is.  This won’t effect the blog updates, but some features may go away.

Feel free to email me if there’s something you’d like to see on the next version of ECG or if you have an idea for a logo.  You can reach me than [eastcoastgambler] at [gmail] dot [com].

• Planet Showboat Hollywood?
• Bills Gambling Hall Getting Cleaned Up
• Cosmopolitan Round Up
• Mandalay Bay and Las Vegas Hilton May Be For Sale
• Tim Tebow is #1
• Jeff Ma Interview
• 6-5 Blackjack is “Great” for Tourists
• World Series Of Poker Registration Up At Least 20%
• Seven Stars Insider – July
• New Blackjack Basic Strategy Calculator
• Did Charles Barkley Lose $100K Gambling For a Few Hours
• Ads on Slot Machines
• Harrah’s Resort Customer Service FTW! – Kinda

Buy Bringing Down The House

Buy 21

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• August 8, 2010 -- Week In Review
• June 6, 2010 -- Week In Review
• August 22, 2010 -- Week In Review
• June 21, 2010 -- Las Vegas Round Up
• February 21, 2010 -- Week In Review

Jeff Ma wrote the awesome book Bringing Down The House with Ben Mezrich.  Looking at him, you may remember his cameo in 21. Besides being a card counter for the MIT blackjack team Jeff has also been a part of fantasy sports (he used to appear on the MLB fantasy podcast) and got into sports in general.

This interview, from tech crunch, touches on his new book in addition to blackjack, sports and movies.  It’s a nice view/listen.  Enjoy.

Buy Bringing Down The House

Buy 21

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Related Posts

• July 11, 2010 -- Week In Review
• August 25, 2010 -- Trump Marina Making Bank on $1 Blackjack
• July 8, 2010 -- 6-5 Blackjack is “Great” For Tourists!?
• July 7, 2010 -- New Blackjack Basic Strategy Calculator
• December 2, 2009 -- Palazzo and Venetian Blackjack