Re: Is baccarat that great/bad a game?

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Alan Shank) wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] (eric peter) wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Joe LadyKiller) wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> > >   Yep, only James Bond wins all the time at this game...I believe that!
> > 
> > it's a game of negitive expectation, thus one can never win long-term.
> > however it's considered to be one of the better house games. poker's
> > the only form of gambling in which i'm an overall winner.
> 
> There's that idea again! This is a gross misunderstanding of
> probability. In a negative-expectation game, the house will come out
> ahead, long term; the players, taken as an aggregate, will lose. This
> DOES NOT mean that ALL the players will lose. Some will win, even long
> term. This is due to variance, our friend.
> 
> Cheers,
> Alan Shank

It is true, however, that in most of these games there is no way to
make oneself one of the players who will win, even long term. In fact,
there is no way to even make it more LIKELY that one will be one of
those players. In blackjack, you can make it more likely. If you count
cards, you can make it MUCH more likely. In craps, it is unlikely that
you OR the house will make a ton of money longterm if you play
reasonably. In the other games, you pay your money for the
entertainment value. Winning is not a reasonable expectation.

--
Will in New Haven