What casinos don't want you to know

23 February 2013

By Henry Tamburin

Some things the casinos love to tell players (like who hit the jackpot on their slot machines). However, other things they would rather not say (“don’t ask, don’t tell”). What are their secrets? Read on to find out what they would rather you not know.

Single-deck blackjack

Wow! Many casinos are bringing back those good ol' single-deck blackjack games. They even advertise them on their marquees. In fact, you’ll see those games packed with players because they know that single deck games have historically offered blackjack players better odds.

Well here’s the rest of the story. Unfortunately, in most of those single-deck 21 games, they have one tiny rule change – they pay 6 to 5 on a blackjack. No big deal, you say. How about an 8-fold increase in the casino’s advantage! That is a big deal.

How can that be? Normally the casinos pay 3 to 2 or 7 ½ to 5 for a blackjack. This means if you bet $5 and get a blackjack, you’ll be paid $7.50 (that assumes the dealer doesn’t have blackjack). However, in a 6 to 5 blackjack game, your blackjack will get you $6, a buck and a half less. Moreover, you’ll be short-changed on your blackjacks about once in every 21 hands or about 4 times every hour on average. This adds about 1.4 percent to the house edge and makes this game far worse for a basic strategy player than a standard single- or multi-deck blackjack game. Shame on the casinos for not telling players this!

Roulette electronic scoreboards

You’ve probably seen these electronic displays on roulette tables. The device automatically records the last 20 or so winning roulette numbers for everyone to see. It seems the casinos are doing you a favor; namely, to help you find overdue numbers (or maybe certain numbers that are hitting more often).

Guess what? That device has as much chance to help you find winning roulette numbers as a crystal ball does. The roulette ball doesn’t have a memory and it doesn’t know or care what numbers just hit. The only one profiting from that that device is the company that manufactured it and the casinos for not telling you it’s worthless.

99 percent slot paybacks

You see those fancy marquees above certain slot carousals touting “99 Percent Payback.” What they don’t tell you, unless you read the fine print, is that these machines pay “up to 99 percent.” That “up to” means that you don’t know which machine or how many machines for that matter has been programmed to pay the advertised 99 percent payback (or return). Worse is that you don’t know what the other machines in the carousel are programmed to pay out. Good luck.

Betting systems

Casinos love players who think they have a betting system to beat them. In fact, if you are willing to wager a sizable chunk of cash using a betting system, give them a call. They’ll come running to pick you up with a limo, put you up in a first class suite (comped of course), and wine and dine you as long as you play your system in their casino.

Are the casino bosses worried that maybe this sucker (oops, I mean player) will break their bank? Hardly. Casinos are built on math, not luck, and because they have the math on their side, they can’t lose in the long run. Betting systems were invented hundreds of years ago. They didn’t work back then and they don’t work today. However, the casinos prefer not to tell the system player this. Now you know why.

Henry Tamburin is a blackjack and video poker expert. He is the host of the smartgaming.com website and the editor of the Blackjack Insider newsletter.