How to Make Real Money in Vegas

It's a dream for all of us, isn't it? Breeze into Vegas, have some fun, play a few games, and go home a couple thousand dollars richer. The truth, of course, is that this happens only rarely. For most people, the way to leave Vegas with a small fortune is to go there with a large fortune. Lost Wages, Bummer City. For most people...

But here's a way to visit Vegas and, quite consistently, go home with a tidy profit. It's not that hard. First off, don't play blackjack. Don't play craps, roulette, the slots, or keno. Don't play any game where the casino has a statistical edge. The longer you play, the more likely you are to lose.

Instead, play poker. You don't have to be an expert. You don't even have to be particularly good. All you have to be is patient. My very first experience at playing poker anywhere was the night before going into a Vegas casino. I got basic training and a few tips from a poker pro while sitting around the kitchen table and, the next day, made $120 in a four-hour session. And I've been able to repeat and improve that whenever I've visited over the years. Here's how:

First, let me say that these tips apply only to live poker table games in Las Vegas. They will probably not be effective (unless you're a real pro) at online poker rooms, at card rooms around the country such as Tupelo, MS and those scattered across Southern California. They don't even apply to the poker rooms in Reno. Why? All those poker venues are full of pro or semi-pro players, waiting for a happy, clueless fish (like you or me) to join the game. On the other hand, Las Vegas, while it certainly has its pro players, is also full of tourists there for a good time and not caring if they lose a few hundred bucks. That's the key.

Keep in mind that, at a live table game, you're not playing against the casino; you're playing against other civilians like yourself and the casino doesn't care who wins. They provide a dealer (who does not play a hand) to make sure all the rules are followed and they get their profit by taking a small percentage of each pot. All the rest of the money on the table belongs to the players and is passed back and forth among them.