Re: Is baccarat that great/bad a game?

"Lou Krieger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> >>  "Alan Shank" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 
> 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. <<
> 
> You're right, of course, Alan in your assertion that some players will be
> long term winners.  So will those few lottery players who hit the Power Ball
> mega jackpot and walk away with $50 million or so.  But that's sort of
> beside the point.

I don't think it's "beside the point," at all. I was responded to this
sentence:

"it's a game of negitive expectation, thus one can never win
long-term."

so my response was exactly to the point. (He can't even spell
"negative.")

> In Baccarat, or any other casino table game in which the
> odds are immutable and favor the house, one can neither identify nor predict
> which players will be fortunate enough to be long term winners.  Moreover,
> decisions one makes at the table are completely irrelevant in terms of
> influencing the results achieved.

That is true, but it's beside MY point.
> 
> In other words, at Baccarat, you're sort of like a spectator.  You put your
> money down, make no decisions whatsoever, and if you're incredibly lucky you
> might be a long term winner. And despite of the fact that betting "Banker"
> is one of the best casino bets available, it still favors the house, and in
> the long term the vast majority of people lose.

Yes, it favors the house, but by less than many, many bets available
in casinos.

> You can go into a bookstore and get a copy of  my book, "Gambling For
> Dummies," and see for yourself, or just take my word for the fact that a
> player exerts no control over the results at the Baccarat table,

I am not a "Dummy," so I am unlikely to buy your book. I do not
dispute your allegation that the players exert no control over the
results. I have never played Baccarat nor chemin-de-fer, but just
vaguely recall that Ian Fleming described a game in which the players
did decide whether to hit or not.

Cheers,
Alan Shank