(Comps continued)

Players Club Card

     

If you insist on playing slot machines, there is at least one way you can reduce the house edge. The number one thing to remember is to be sure that you get and use a players club card. (Most casinos have a desk set aside for club members.) At any time when you walk across a casino floor you will notice that less than half of the people playing the machines are using a players club card. The advantage to using the card is that the casino calculates your play in order to determine how much free stuff to give you, called comps. Also, most slot clubs offer cash back. This means that if you are playing on a machine that gives the house a 2.5 % edge and your card pays back at a rate of about 50 cents for every $100 played, using a card effectively reduces the houses edge over you by an additional half percent, to 2%.

A lot of people don't use the card because they feel like the casino is spying on them. "Well, Mr. Smith has won enough today, set his card to loser". The casino is only keeping up with the amount you bet and how long you stay for the purpose of determining how valuable you are to the casino (and as a way to tailor marketing items to individual patrons). If you play the machines a lot and never use a card you are missing out on free rooms, free meals, and cash back. The casino does not care if any particular player wins or loses. In fact, the casino needs winners almost as much as losers. After all, if there were never winners, why would anyone ever go to a casino? 

Remember, however, to check out the details of the slot club. Some clubs offer a better cash back rate than others.

One should also use their players club card when playing at the table games. The casino will keep up with how long you play and your average bet to determine how much to comp you.