How you rate

If you were ever curious as to WHY you are getting the comps you are currently drawing. Or are frustrated in not getting ANY comps, start here!

Everyone is rated. No, not like in college. You are not rated on how big your tits are, or how fast you can shotgun a beer. You are rated with a dollar sign. That’s what you mean to the casino. They call it your Average Daily Theoretical loss. That’s how much they expect you to lose in a day. We will call this your ADT from here on out.

The old measuring stick for comps, that most casinos used, saw them return back 30% of your theoretical losses. If they know you are playing a slot machine with a 10% hold, all the time, they can expect to fleece you for $10 with every $100 you cycle through the machine. Of that $10 they expect to win, you should have been accruing $3 back in the way of comps. That way you keep coming back for that punch in the stomach since you are just glad they didn’t punch you in the face.

Now 30% seems generous. But the comps you earn can only be used with them. In their restaurants or in their hotels. So it’s not like they are really out of pocket much. You have no choice in how you get to spend that money. You cant take 30% in all Free Play. Or turn it all into a fine suite. It is their call on how they chop it up. Usually they will cover a free room first, they want you in house, and then move what is left into resort credit (or free meals) or Free Play.

Add in the insult that they figure that 30% on the rack rate of their hotel rooms, and not that smoking deal you found in a Google search. But still, free is free. And I like being rewarded for doing what I was going to do anyway.

Now don't go expecting $3.00 in value back for every $10 you gamble. This money is all accumulative. If you don't even play through enough in expected losses to earn a free room, just be happy if you get $25 in Free Play or maybe a free buffet.

But in these modern times, when data can be more valuable than money, casino often run fancy overlay software to figure out your true value to them. 30% back of expected losses is still a decent assumption. But the casino now wants to see your overall value to them, and not just what they expect to skin ya for on the slots.

Systems such as Praxis player analytics

So, how can this change things? It now really all depends on the club and market. If you are a steady player and your ADT doesn't change much, you might have noticed you get better offers in Vegas during the hot summer months or the slower Thanksgiving to X-mas season. This is the casinos attempt to get people on property during historically slow times. So it might take more to entice players to visit. Or those players that are really rated under the level to get a free room, might suddenly be offered one.

Some casinos will actually decrease your offers by using this data, even with the same ADT, to see just how little it will take to get you to show up. If you show up for a free 2 night stay and $100 in Free Play. They might dog you down to $50 and 2 nights the next time. If you show up for that, they might drop to $25 and 2 nights. Always 2 nights, since they want you there and playing, but why would they keep giving you $100 if you will play the same and still show up for $25.

Transversely, if you stay away some might keep bumping you up to see what it will take to get you back in the door. New system or old system of rating, it takes time to cycle the data. If you just played big last night, don't go expecting to see better offers the next day.

Casinos run so much analytical data now its crazy. I've been reading into the CMP rating system (linked above) looking for ways to get an edge on comps. Nuts how much they know about you and how you play. Casinos want to know what you are worth, how much you are willing to play and spend on property. How long you play. What sort of games you are playing and how likely you are to show up and collect a free gift or meal. They are looking for your finite value.

Player A & Player B both average $10K of coin-in per night.

Player A always books his free room and spends the night. They also make sure to use their two free buffet passes and are always the first in line to collect whichever giveaways the casino is running that day. They also usually show up on bonus point multiplier nights to get the most bang for their buck.

Player B sometimes doesn't use that free room. They show up and play for the fun of playing. They are much more likely to skip the 2 free buffets and would rather spend their own money on better dining. They play on a whim, multiplier night or not. Sometimes they get to the casino too late to collect their free gift.

Again, the casino knows both players will play through $10K, but which one do you think is more likely to be able to book their free room on busy nights? Which one is more likely to be invited to certain promotional events?

Are you an advantage player? Do you seem to sit on the best returning slots and leave after hitting a certain bonus tier? How likely are you to show up and play, even without a free room? Are you spending money in resort owned restaurants? And if so, which ones?

They now can see beyond what you are running through a machine or betting on average at a table. That players club card is now a personal tracking device for nearly ALL your activities on property. I have even spoke to property managers that have linked your club card to your room key. They now can tell how long you stay in your room, thus knowing your time away from the Casino & the rest of the Resort.

Yup, those that actually spend time in their free rooms are not rated as highly as those that aren't. Outside of you maybe buying some porn shows on TV, having you out of the room most likely means you are gambling, eating, shopping, clubbing, or in other words, spending money with them.

Even with all that, it is still a good bet to play the club card game. How do you begin? Obviously join the club. They can’t comp you if they don’t know who-in-the-hell you are. This is not like an old TV show. Unless you are throwing around a ton of money, there is no “Mr. Papageorgio here are the keys to a Villa”. So take what is yours. Get the card and always use it! Well not always, if you are just dropping by to play a little you might be hurting your average.

Stay mindful of how you play. If you are currently rated at $10K per day, for 5 days, your $50K of coin is is truly $10K a night. If you popped in the casino on your way home, or while roaming the Strip in Vegas, and you managed just $500 of coin. You are now rated $51K and 7 visits = Around $7K on average. You just lost 30% of your value and all you earned were a few club points and maybe a buck in reward credits.

Some casinos in tourist towns rate drop in visits lightly. But your locals will usually ding your ADT pretty hard.

So fluff up that ADT and make yourself seem like a bigger player. Analytics aside, this is still a safe enough assumption. If you play tables, tip. Any normal human being should tip these poor fuckers anyway. The shit a dealer has to take to get their meager wage every day is appalling. Throw the guy a few bones when you can, they live off of tips.

Their attitude will change and make for a much more enjoyable experience anyway. If you can, tip when you are losing and not just winning. After all, it’s not their fault you suck at tossing dice or counting cards. If the dealer is a dick, just move on. No tips and no play. Find someone fun to lead your table.

If you become a tipping fool, the dealers tend to want to take care of you. If I’m dropping $20.00 a hand on Black Jack for an hour, when the pit bosses shift change comes up, they’ll ask the dealer. It is not out of the norm for a dealer to say, I’m dropping $40.00 a hand for an hour or $20 a pop for 2 hours. Suddenly I’m twice the player I was and it just cost me $20.00 in tips, that I probably would have lost on 1 hand anyway.

It’s pretty simple, You play $10.00 a hand on average, get through 100 hands and you just risked $1,000. Naturally you did not lose every hand. Sometimes you won, sometimes it was a push. But overall the casinos knows you are going to lose 5% so they figure they are taking $50.00 in cash off you for every 100 hands you play. And if they are willing to throw you back 30% of that in comps ($15.00). So fluff the dealers and you’ll get much more than that!

Don't expect Whale status with any tips. These guys have to protect their jobs too. A $100 tip wont change your $20 rating to $500 in a blink. They ain't that stupid!

If you are a slot player, it’s insanely easy to fluff your ADT. Find the right game. Lower volatility slots, such as multi-line older mechanical slots, are a safe bet. Playing these will allow you to drive more money through a game. Newer penny machines, with elaborate themes and major jackpots will usually return less to the average player. Playing a machine with a 95% payback versus one with 85% is just smart play.

Instead of expecting to lose $15 with each $100 played through, you are only losing $5. That equates to three times longer on the slots before ruin. Three times more coin in being cycled through. Three times more likely to spin the reels until the RNG kicks out a good win.

The casino places your worth here on your Coin In. What is Coin In? That’s how much money you cycle through a machine. Don’t think you aren’t worth much to a casino since you only lost $300.00 that day. You are not a $300 player. Depending on what you played, say a $1.00 slot, 2 credits each spin with a 90% payback (we’ll go over this in a bit) in theory it should take you $900.00 of play to lose that $100.00 since the house (on average) only keeps 10% (overall) on that machine.

In other words, each $100.00 on Coin In should only be a $10.00 loss. So you are really a $2,700.00 a day player that just so happened to lose $300.00. Now if you look at it that way, don’t you feel like you deserve something? That’s your ADT.

On a 4 day trip you are gambling through over $10,000 of money. Even if you only have a gambling budget of $300.00 a day. With $10K in play, and an overall hold of 10% on the slots, the casino might comp you 30% of the $1,000.00 you should have lost. And that $300.00 in enough for a room for a couple nights and a couple of buffets in your belly.

The above math is assuming you actually lost your money and the paybacks were true. In reality, it will flux. Hell, sometimes you win! That $2.00 bet could mean a $200.00 hit. And in the short term you are actually winning. String in 6 hits like that over your stay you will still have all your money AND the casino will still comp you based on that $1,000 ADT loss. So you still get the free rooms and meals BUT it didn’t cost you anything! That’s how you actually win in Las Vegas.

Use your card, get your points and earn your comps. So what if the casino now wants to know what color your shit is. Getting something back for the risks you take in the casino is better than nothing. Do NOT listen to that crazy Fucker next to you that insists the casino will magically switch your machine into losing mode due to you having your club card inserted.

One has nothing to do with another. That random machine pulling random numbers for you, a random player, doesn't care what color you are, what level card you hold or if you can throw a midget 20 yards or not.

So Card up!