 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! John Grochowski Archives
More Strategy Experts
|
John Grochowski Gaming Guru  Blazing 777 Blackjack26 March 2023
By John Grochowski Blackjack Bob isn't one for side bets. That doesn't mean he isn't interested, and over a late February lunch, he brought up one he'd spotted online. "The logo said 'Blazing 777 Blackjack,' but the dealer kept saying 'Blazing 7s,' Bob said. "I take it that's related to the slot machine." It is. Blazing 777 Blackjack was developed by Bally Technologies, which was merged into Scientific Games, which since has become Light & Wonder. Bally Gaming introduced the Blazing 7s progressive slot machine in the 1970s, and the "Blazing" brand has been a big asset to the company and its successors ever since. "Aha. So, it's been around a while," Bob said. "I don't recall seeing it live, but I spent some time in New Jersey over the holidays and played online. "It seemed simple enough. You want to see 7s in your first two cards and the dealer's up card. I wasn't about to play it. Regular blackjack is my game, and I'm not playing anything without knowing the numbers. I figured you could fill in the details." Most commonly, Blazing 777 is a $1 side bet, but it can be a $5 bet. Like its namesake slot, it includes a progressive jackpot. Casinos have options on pay tables. In two of them, one jackpot builds. In a third, three different-sized pots build separately. Let's call these pay tables 1, 2 and 3. Pay table 1: Three same-suit 7s, jackpot; three 7s same color but mixed suits, 10 percent of jackpot; three 7s of mixed suits and colors, 200-for-1; two 7s, 25-for-1; one 7, 2-for-1. Pay table 2: Three 7s of diamonds, Jackpot; three suited 7s in hearts, clubs or spades, 10 percent of jackpot; three same color 7s, 500-for-1; three mixed 7s, 200-for-1; two 7s, 25-for-1; one 7, 2-for-1. Pay table 3: Three 7s of diamonds, mega jackpot; three suited 7s of hearts, clubs or spades, major jackpot; three same-color 7s, minor jackpot; three mixed 7s, 200-for-1; two 7s, 25-for-1; one 7, 2-for-1. Bob jumped to the natural question "So what about the house edge?” It's variable, as it must be with any progressive jackpot. Let's use pay table 2 as an example as detailed by Michael Shackelford at wizardofodds.com. In a six-deck game, the fixed, non-progressive payoffs on one 7, two 7s, three mixed 7s or three same color 7s bring back to players 48.03 percent of everything they wager. On $1 side bets, each $1,000 in the progressive meter adds 0.52 percent to the average return. On $5 side bets, each $1,000 adds 0.10 percent to the return. So, with a $10,000 jackpot, the average return on a $1 side bet is 53.2 percent, while on a $5 bet the return would be 48.7 percent. For a break-even point with a 100 percent average return, the jackpot would have to reach $100,216.92 with a $1 bet or $500,084.62 with a $5 bet. Numbers vary with each pay table, but in any version, the jackpots have to be very large for the Blazing 777 house edge to sink as low as the less than 1 percent a basic strategy player gets on the main game. In a six-deck game, you'll average a winner 14.8 percent of the time, with 14.2 percent for one 7, 5.3 percent for two 7s, 0.3 percent for three mixed 7s, 0.07 percent for three same-color 7s and 0.0015 percent for three same-suit 7s. None of that surprised Bob. "Side bets are fine," he said. "If players want a shot at a big jackpot, that's their business. I'll just keep grinding it out for low payoffs but a low house edge." This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Reduce the House Edge at Roulette19 March 2023
QUESTION: You've written that six-deck blackjack games can be better than one-deck games if there are better rules on the six-deck game. I was wondering if the same might be true in roulette. I know the house edge is higher with two zeroes, but are there circumstances when it's better to play double-zero ... (read more)
Mom and Daughter Penny Slots12 March 2023
QUESTION: My 80-year-old mom loves the slots and she's been giving broad hints that she'd love a mother-daughter day at the casino. I used to go with her on park district bus trips, but our parks don't do that anymore. The result is that I haven't played in a few years, and I'm wondering what kind of budget I need if I'm going. ... (read more)
Blackjacked!5 March 2023
QUESTION: Blackjack offers insurance only when the dealer has an Ace face up, and it pays off when the dealer has a blackjack. Why not when the dealer has a 10-value face up? Regardless of whether the dealer has Ace up and 10 down or 10 up and Ace down, it's still a blackjack. ANSWER: The odds of the dealer having a blackjack are far different with a 10 up than with an Ace up. ... (read more)
Craps SystemsCraps players love systems, trying to mix and match bets in hopes of finding the magical formula that will beat the casino. Just about any system will work sometimes, and when a player wins with a system, it encourages another try, and another, and another. In the long run, of course, the casino comes out on top. ... (read more)Multi Strike PokerIt was a Friday morning in Joliet, and I'd been playing a little video poker aboard Empress II, waiting for the 11 a.m. opening of Empress I and its video poker room. Soon, if it hasn't already happened by the time you read this, Empress' new barge will open, ending such little scheduling inconveniences, but on this day, I found myself passing time with a little quarter Triple Play Poker. ... (read more)Comps - The BasicsA colleague of mine likes to refer to casino comps as "free stuff." And for those who know their basic strategy in blackjack, optimal strategies for certain video poker games and who know how comping systems work, the "stuff" really is free--the value ... (read more)Basic Strategy for Spanish 21In the last couple of weeks, we've looked at basic strategy in blackjack. Sit down at most blackjack tables in any jurisdiction, play basic strategy and you'll narrow the house edge to a half-percent or so, perhaps a little more or a little less depending on house rules. ... (read more)Single-Deck Basic StrategyThose whose casino memories stretch back far enough may recall a time when the standard "Las Vegas Strip" blackjack game was dealt from a single deck of cards, with the dealer standing on all 17s. That started to change in the 1960s as operators grew ... (read more)John Grochowski |
John Grochowski |
