Hey folks, I figured I'd offer an ama for people unfamiliar with how casinos work in California.

I'd planned on making this account sooner (and planned for the name to be 'Different_Kind_of_Banker, but here we are) but better late than never right?

Here are some bits of info that may help get the ball rolling on questions

  • California has specific laws against Nevada style gambling (Where the house keeps the money if you lose)

  • Tribal land is exempt from those laws due to a court case over bingo halls on reservations in the 1980s (yes people were that aggressive about the small bits of money people got)

  • Casinos in California and not tribal lands are technically called card rooms. No slot machines are allowed and instead of getting the money from losses, it goes to a third party person called a banker. These third parties came up to circumvent the laws against Nevada gambling. So in the eyes of the law, card rooms aren't taking people's money. They are just hosting a place where they can gamble with each other's money and they have to pay for the space to use.

  • This workaround uses third party workers called bankers who offer up the money of the corporation to allow for gambling to take place. Players can play without a banker, but they have to use their own money.

  • I am a banker and I hate everything about the environment and feel like a gross person every time I come into work.

  • The customers are usually small business owners who want a chance to complain about losing.

With all that info, I welcome any sorts of questions you might have and hope you have a beautiful rest of your day.

  • booty [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Is card counting still a viable strategy

    Something important to realize is that card counting is still barely a viable strategy even if you're fucking incredible at it. You can be the world's best card counter and still lose tens of thousands of dollars in an unlucky streak. Mediocre card counters are basically free money to casinos.

    Here's a great video which helps demonstrate just how difficult it is to become even okay at card counting.