| Archie Karas | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Greek |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Born | Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis November 1, 1950 (age 70)[1] Antypata, Greece |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Money finish(es) | 7 |
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But craps players known as Golden Arms - who have rolled winning dice for more than an hour - disagree, while casinos say it's more math than mystique. By David Montero April 28, 2017. Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis (Greek: Ανάργυρος Καραβουρνιώτης, born November 1, 1950), commonly known as Archie Karas, is a Greek-American gambler, high roller, poker player, and pool shark famous for the largest and longest documented winning streak in casino gambling history, simply known as The Run, when he drove to Las Vegas with $50 in December 1992 and then.
Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis[2] (Greek: Ανάργυρος Καραβουρνιώτης, born November 1, 1950), commonly known as Archie Karas, is a Greek-Americangambler, high roller, poker player, and pool shark famous for the largest and longest documented winning streak in casino gambling history, simply known as The Run, when he drove to Las Vegas with $50 in December 1992 and then turned a $10,000 loan into more than $40 million by the beginning of 1995, only to lose it all later that year. Karas himself claims to have gambled with more money in casinos than anyone else in history[3] and has often been compared to Nick the Greek, another high-stakes gambler of Greek origin.[4]
Early life[edit]
Karas was born on November 1, 1950 in Antypata on the island of Cephalonia, Greece. He grew up in poverty and had to shoot marbles as a teenager to avoid going hungry. His father, Nickolas, was a construction worker who struggled financially.[2]
Karas ran away from home at the age of 15 after, in a rage, his father threw a shovel at him, barely missing his head. He never saw his father again. Nickolas died four years later.
Karas worked as a waiter on a ship, making $60 a month until the ship arrived at Portland, Oregon. He would later move to Los Angeles, where he would gamble his bankroll up to $2,000,000 before losing it playing high-stakes poker.[2]
Gambling career[edit]
He worked at a Los Angeles restaurant, which was next to a bowling alley and a pool hall. There he honed his pool skills and eventually made more money playing pool than he did as a waiter. When his victims from the pool hall thinned out, he went to Los Angeles card rooms to play poker. Karas claims to have gone from broke to millionaire and back several times. Later, he became an astute poker player, building his bankroll to over $2,000,000. Professional poker players such as Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson, had played and considered Karas a weaker poker player often giving Karas handicaps to play. In December 1992, Karas had lost all but $50 playing high-stakes poker. Instead of reevaluating his situation and slowing down, he decided to go to Las Vegas in search of bigger games. The next three years would go down in legend as the greatest run in casino gambling history.[2]
You've got to understand something. Money means nothing to me. I don't value it. I've had all the material things I could ever want. Everything. The things I want, money can't buy: health, freedom, love, happiness. I don't care about money, so I have no fear. I don't care if I lose it.[3]
The Run[edit]
Karas' initial run lasted for six months when he drove to Las Vegas with $50 and turned a $10,000 loan into approximately $17 million playing poker and pool. In December 1992, after losing his entire bankroll, Karas drove to Vegas with his car and $50 in his wallet. After arriving at The Mirage, Karas recognized a fellow poker player from the Los Angeles scene and convinced him for a $10,000 loan. Karas quickly turned the loan into $30,000 playing $200/$400 limitRazz.[3] Karas returned $20,000 to his backer, who was more than content.[5]
With a little over $10,000 in his pocket, Karas went to a bar with a pool table adjacent from the Liberace Plaza on East Tropicana. There he found a wealthy and respected poker and pool player. Karas refused to reveal his name for the sake of his opponent's reputation; he simply referred to him as 'Mr. X'. They started playing 9-ball pool at $5,000 a game raising the stakes as games progressed. After Karas won several hundred thousand dollars, they raised the stakes to $40,000 a game. Many gamblers and professional poker players watched Archie play with stakes never seen before. Karas ended up winning $1,200,000. The two decided to play poker at Binion's Horseshoe where Karas won an additional $3,000,000 from Mr. X. Karas was willing to gamble everything he made and continued to raise the stakes to a level few dared to play at.[6]
With a bankroll of $4 million, Karas gambled his bankroll up to $7 million after spending only three months in Vegas. By now, many poker players had heard of Mr. X's losses to Archie. Only the best players dared to challenge him. Karas sat at the Binion's Horseshoe's poker table with 5 of his 7 million dollars in front of him, waiting for any players willing to play for such stakes.[7]
The first challenger was Stu Ungar, a three-time World Series of Poker champion widely regarded as one of the greatest Texas hold'em and gin rummy player of all time. Stu was backed by Lyle Berman, another professional poker player and business executive who co-founded Grand Casinos. Karas first beat Stu for $500,000 playing heads-up Razz. Karas then played Ungar in 7-card stud, which cost Ungar an additional $700,000.[7] The next player was Chip Reese, widely regarded as the greatest cash game player. Reese claims that Karas beat him for more money than anyone else he ever played. After 25 games, Reese was down $2,022,000 playing $8,000/$16,000 limit.[7]
Karas continued to beat many top players, from Puggy Pearson to Johnny Moss. Many top players would not play him simply because his stakes were too high. The only player to beat Karas in the first round during his run was Johnny Chan, who beat him for $900,000, though Chan did lose to Karas frequently, before and after the streak. By the end of his six-month-long winning streak, Karas had amassed more than $17 million. Karas said that Doyle Brunson was the only player able to win playing Razz during his winning streak.[8]
The poker action for Karas mostly dried up due to his reputation and stakes. He turned to dice, for $100,000 per roll.[4] Karas was allowed to make pass line and come bets of up to $300,000, but with no odds.[9]Jack Binion capped Karas' buy bets on the 4 and 10 at $100,000. At one point, Binion raised Karas' 4 and 10 buy bet limit to $200,000. Karas quickly won $920,000 under these conditions; then Binion immediately lowered the limit back to $100,000.[9] Karas said that he could quickly win $3 million on dice, while it would take days to weeks with poker. Karas stated, 'with each play I was making million-dollar decisions, I would have played even higher if they'd let me.'[3]
Transporting money became a hassle for Karas, as he had several million dollars in his car every day. He carried a gun with him at all times and would often have his brother and casino security guards escort him. At one point, Karas had won all of the Binion's casino's $5000 chips, the highest denomination at the time.[10] By the end of his winning streak, he had won over $40 million.[11][12]
Downfall[edit]
Karas's odds-defying two-and-a-half-year streak came to an end in 1995 when he lost most of his money in a period of three weeks. He lost $11 million playing dice and then lost the $2 million he won from Chip Reese back to him. Following these losses, he switched to baccarat and lost another $17 million, for a total of $30 million. With approximately $12 million left and needing a break from gambling, he returned to Greece. When he came back to Las Vegas, he went back to the Horseshoe, shooting dice and playing baccarat at $300,000 per bet, and in less than a month, lost all but his last million.[13]
With his last million, he went to the Bicycle Club and played Johnny Chan in a $1,000,000 freezeout match. This time, Chan was backed by Lyle Berman, and they took turns playing Karas. He preferred playing both of them, instead of just Chan, as he felt Chan was the tougher opponent. Karas won and doubled his money, only to lose it all at dice and baccarat, betting at the highest limits, in just a few days.[13]
Mini-streaks[edit]
Since he lost his $40 million, he has gone on a few smaller streaks. Less than a year later, he turned $40,000 into $1,000,000 at the Desert Inn. He then went back to the Horseshoe and won an additional $4 million before losing it all the next day.
A few years later, Karas went on another streak at the Gold Strike Casino, 32 miles outside Las Vegas. He went with $1,800 and lost $1,600 until he was down to just $200. Then after getting something to eat, he decided to gamble the rest of it. He shot dice and ran his $200 into $9,700 and then headed to Las Vegas. He stopped at Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel and won another $36,000, betting $1,000 with $2,000 odds. He went back to Binion's and won another $300,000 at the Horseshoe and by the third day, had won a total of $980,000 from a low of $200.[14]
Personal life[edit]
Karas currently resides in Las Vegas. His family lives in Greece. Karas stays in touch with his family by phone, and tries to travel back to Greece at least once per year. He brought his mother, Mariana, to Las Vegas for six-month visits when he was on his winning streak.
Karas's story was documented in Cigar Aficionado by American author Michael Konik[3] and also was featured, along with Stu Ungar, in an E! documentary special called THS Investigates: Vegas Winners & Losers.[15] Konik also wrote an article about Karas which was featured in a book about Las Vegas gamblers called The Man With the $100,000 Breasts.[4]
He was interviewed, along with poker player Tony G, by Tiffany Michelle during the 2008 World Series of Poker. He was also a featured player on ESPN's coverage of the 2008 WSOP.[16]
Cheating[edit]
Karas was arrested on September 24, 2013 after being caught marking cards at a San Diego casino's blackjack table by the Barona Gaming Commission. He was arrested at his Las Vegas home and extradited to San Diego to face charges of burglary, winning by fraudulent means and cheating. He was found guilty and sentenced to three years probation.[11]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis'. Nevada Gaming Control Board. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
- ^ abcdTom Sexton (2008-02-11). 'Sexton's Corner, Vol. 31: Archie Karas, The World's Biggest Gambler'. Poker News. Archived from the original on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ abcdeMichael Konik (2008). 'Tables of Dreams'. Cigar Aficionado. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ abcHoward Schwartz (2008-06-21). 'Archie Karas, The Greatest Gambler'. Poker Works. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^Paul McGuire. 'The Return of Archie 'The Greek' Karas'. Bluff Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-02-20.
- ^Tom Sexton (2008-02-18). 'Sexton's Corner, Vol. 32'. Poker News. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ abcTom Sexton (2008-02-25). 'Sexton's Corner, Vol. 33'. Poker News. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^Tom Sexton (2008-03-03). 'Sexton's Corner, Vol. 34'. Poker News. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ abTom Sexton (2008-03-17). 'Sexton's Corner, Vol. 36'. Poker News. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
- ^Tom Sexton (2008-03-10). 'Sexton's Corner, Vol. 35'. Poker News. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ abEmma Lacey-Bordeaux (2013-09-29). 'Legendary gambler Archie Karas accused of marking cards in San Diego casino'. CNN. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
- ^Tom Sexton (2008-04-14). 'Sexton's Corner, Vol. 40'. Poker News. Archived from the original on 15 April 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ abTom Sexton (2008-04-14). 'Sexton's Corner, Vol. 37'. Poker News. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^Tom Sexton (2008-03-31). 'Sexton's Corner, Vol. 38'. Poker News. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^Karas, Archie (2008-06-13). THS Investigates: Vegas Winners & Losers (documentary). USA: THS.
- ^Archie Karas in 2008 WSOP on YouTube
External links[edit]
I'm writing a series of blog posts about casino games and the good and bad strategies for playing those games.
Craps is one of my favorite casino games, so I've been looking forward to writing this one.
And the beautiful thing about craps is that it's a game of pure chance. The best strategy is just to choose the bets with the lowest edge for the house and have fun.
But I'll have some things to say about some of the strategies and systems that other writers promote, too.
They're mostly bad craps strategies.
Here's the Only Craps Strategy You Need
When you're dealing with an entirely random game – like craps – the only strategy that matters is choosing the bets with the lowest house edge and having fun.
I'll have something to say about shooters and whether they have control over the outcomes later in this post, but for now, let's just agree that games like craps are purely chance.
In other games that are entirely random, like slot machines, you don't even really need to decide which bet to place. It's chosen for you before you sit down.
When playing craps for real money, you have a handful of good bets you can make, but most of the bets on the table are bad. Just skip the bad bets, and you're all set.
The Bests Bets at the Craps Table
The best bets at the craps table are the pass line bet and the don't pass bet.
The come and don't come bets are also great wagers.
I always advise casino gamblers to try to limit their gambling to games where the house edge is lower than 2% — preferably 1.5% or lower.
The house edge for the pass and come bets is the same, 1.41%, which means they qualify.
The house edge for the don't pass and don't come bets is even lower, 1.36%, but the 0.05% isn't worth worrying about. Most people prefer to root for the shooter to succeed.
The other bet to think about at the craps table is the odds bet. This is a bet you can only place after making one of the 4 bets I already mentioned and when the shooter has set a point.
This is one of the only bets in the casino that has no house edge. It's a break-even bet, but it can be expensive.
It can also drive the effective house edge on the money you have in action down to almost nothing.
Here's how that works.
How the Odds Bet Changes the House Edge for the Better
If you're betting on the pass line and the shooter sets a point, you can expect to lose $1.41 for every $100 you bet. That's on average and in the long run.
If you're playing at a casino that only allows you to place an odds bet at 1X the size of your pass line bet, you can put another $100 into action.
Your expected loss remains $1.41, though, which effectively cuts the house edge in half, from 1.41% to 0.71%.
If you're able to bet 2X your original bet on the odds bet, you can lower that even further to 0.36%. (You have $300 in action, but your expected loss is still only $1.41.)
The more you're able to bet on the odds bet, the lower the house edge for all the money you have in action becomes.
It's clear why betting on the pass line and taking the most odds that you can is an effective strategy. With the odds bet, you can get the house edge in craps lower than 0.5% at least some of the time at the table, making it an even better game than blackjack.
Biggest Craps Win In Vegas
And what's more, you don't have to memorize basic strategy to get the low house edge at craps.
You just need a big enough casino bankroll to make the right bets, and you need enough sense to avoid the bad bets at the table – of which there are many.
Any Strategy that Involves Placing ANY Other Bets at the Craps Table Is a BAD Craps Strategy
There's a reason gambling experts measure bets according to their house edge. That's because it's the single best indicator of how good or bad a bet is.
The house edge is a statistical estimate of how much money you'll lose as a percentage of your original bet over the long run.
If the house edge is 1.41%, the casino expects to win an average of $1.41 every time you bet $100.
If the house edge is 16.66%, the casino expects to win an average of $16.66 every time you bet $100.
Which bet looks like the better bet for the casino?
And which one looks like the better bet for the gambler?
It shouldn't be hard to make the distinction.
Even the best of the bad bets on the craps table are inferior to the 1.41% or 1.36% you can get from the pass, don't pass, come, and don't come bets.
And trust me on this:
You can have PLENTY of fun sticking with the basic bets at the craps table.
Betting Systems Where You Raise and Lower the Size of Your Bets Are Bad Strategies
The classic example of this kind of betting system is the Martingale System, where you double the size of your bets after each loss. When you do this repeatedly, you eventually win back the money you've lost along with a profit of one unit.
The problem with a system like the Martingale is that you'll eventually run into a big enough losing streak that it will wipe out all those small profits and then some.
Most people underestimate how quickly a bet's size gets when doubling after every loss.
They also overestimate how likely they are to avoid long losing streaks.
If you double a $5 bet once, that's $10.
But if you run into a losing streak of 8 bets in a row, you're looking at having to bet $640 to make up for your losses.
Also, every roll of the dice is an independent event. The odds don't change based on how many times you've won or lost in a row.
You might think the probability of losing that 8th bet is lower than the likelihood of losing the first one, but the truth is that the dice have no memory. They have the same 6 sides, no matter how many times you've lost in a row.
Each bet in craps is an independent event, and any betting system will assume that the odds are changing based on how many times in a row you've won or lost.
Money Management Strategies Don't Hurt Anything, but They Won't Improve Your Odds of Winning, Either
Money management strategies involve having strict gambling discipline about how much of your bankroll you're willing to risk before quitting the game. They also require you to stop when you've won an arbitrary amount of money.
Money management techniques are often used in conjunction with betting systems.
Here's an example of a money management strategy in craps:
You decide your bankroll for the session is $250, and you're playing for $5 per roll of the dice.
Your stop-loss limit is $100, so, if your bankroll drops to $150, you must quit the craps session and go do something else.
Your win goal is $250, so once your bankroll gets up to $500, you must quit the game and go do something else.
This kind of strategy might increase your chances of walking away from the game a winner.
But that's only because a lot of gamblers will just keep playing until they've lost their entire stake. They just don't generally have a lot of sense about that sort of thing.
The Jury's Out on Dice Setting or Dice Control
I've seen multiple reputable gambling writers express interest and some belief that some craps shooters can influence the probability of specific outcomes. I'm skeptical – in the extreme – but I'll give it an appropriate amount of credence.
Biggest Craps Win In Las Vegas
The idea is that you hold the dice a specific way – 'setting' the dice – then throw with a minimum amount of force – just enough to hit the back wall and eliminate most of the rolling action.
A controlled shooting expert doesn't have to be perfect. Instead, they're trying to be like someone who's playing darts. They improve the probability enough to change the negative expectation on a bet to a positive expectation.
You can buy books and videos explaining how to get an edge at craps this way, but I can't imagine the amount of practice and record-keeping required to have any confidence in your ability to change the odds.
Imagine if you spent 1000 hours trying to learn how to control the dice and coming up short. Maybe you just don't have the knack for it.
That doesn't sound like a good deal to me.
I'd rather learn to count cards in blackjack.
Can You Win At Craps
Conclusion
Those are the best and the worst of the strategies I know of for playing craps in the casino. I know plenty of people who would disagree with every recommendation I've made, but the math behind the game doesn't lie.
The best strategy is to stick with the bets with the lowest house edge and have as much fun as you can.
