Triple Zero Roulette and Slots versus Video-Poker Comps

8 August 2021

By Frank Scoblete

QUESTION: What’s this about a triple-zero wheel at roulette? Are there rules to make the house edge more reasonable at this game or is this just adding more house edges to my favorite game? Please speak!

ANSWER: I’ve got good news and bad news for you. The bad news is the fact that the game is not going to be easier to beat. The house edge is going to rise still more against the player. The good news is the fact that as of now you won’t be finding this game in many, or maybe any, casinos. It will remain a game played to earn money for churches and other charitable foundations.

The game’s house edge is figured the same as single-zero (0) and double-zero (0, 00) roulette. There are 36 numbers, 1-36. There are three zero pockets (0, 00, 000). The total number of pockets in which the ball can land are 39 but the payout is still 35-to-1 as it is in the traditional single- and double-zero games.

Since the house is not paying fair odds, which would be 38-to-1, and is instead keeping three winning units, the edge comes to (hold your breath!) 7.69 percent. That level of percent is more in league with a slot machine than a good table game.

What does 7.69 percent mean in terms of a player’s overall expectation? It means the expected loss is $7.69 per $100 wagered. Now that is a long run calculation. We all know games can go back and forth in the short run. But the more a player plays the closer that player will start to discover the house edge is coming near or somewhere near that negative expectation. A sad but true fact.

Now the question I have is simple: Will the casinos jump on the chance of putting this game in? Maybe they will make these tables have a very low minimum wager so that small-money players will want to tackle it. I am hoping that isn’t so. It is tough enough to beat the traditional roulette games and I really don’t think we need a new, more dangerous, one added to the mix.

Time will tell.


QUESTION: Who decides what level of comps a player gets? I play video poker and my wife plays slot machines. We did an experiment. We both played the exact same amount of money in our respective machines and then we went to find out what our comps would be. Surprise! She received more comps than me! What’s going on? Do the casinos favor the women?

ANSWER: For almost all slot players, a computer decides what level of comps a player receives. Since most slot machines have higher, and often far higher, house edges than do video poker machines, your wife is getting a better return because the computer figures that over time she will lose more money to the house.

You get a better game at video poker, or at least most video poker, and your comps will reflect that fact. The computer doesn’t care if a man or a woman plays the machines. It is only interested in the percentages.

Frank Scoblete’s web site is www.frankscoblete.com. His books are available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books, at libraries and bookstores.