Dear Mark: What would make a player take down his Don't Pass wager once the point has been established? I saw a player do this recently, more than once, without much success I might add. Lenny G. My best guess, Lenny, is that you had your eye on a superstitious player and his point was either a 6 or an 8. The casino jumps for joy when you take down your bet on the Don't Pass, because once these wagers are assigned a number, the player has an edge against the house. Yet, a few players on the Don't can get skittish because they mistakenly believe that if the point is a 6 or an 8, it has about …

Dear Mark: We love your column. We always learn something (especially understanding why we lose - ha, ha!).  But, for the winners - since we have NEVER been in this situation; we would like to know, do casinos have the ability/right to remove you from a machine "mid-play" because they feel you are winning too much, or, under the guise that the machine has malfunctioned? Carole P.  In the thirty plus years I’ve been in the gaming business, Carole, I’m hard pressed to recall a player getting backed off a machine because of winning too much; from table games on occasion, such as card counters …

Dear Mark: I know that with strict adherence to basic strategy and a 3/2 payout for blackjack, you can cut the house edge to .5%.  Assuming that I continue to use "perfect" basic strategy, what does the house edge shift to when the blackjack payout is only 6/5?  We're going on a cruise, and I've read that this is "the only game in town." Walt I.  One of the most legendary gamblers of all time was a Three-Card Monte dealer named Canada Bill. His gambling immortality rests not on his gambling prowess, nor his notable wins. He is remembered by but a single line he once voiced on the Mississippi…