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Gaming Guru  Sevens Wild17 June 2021
By John Grochowski QUESTION: I found a video poker game online called Sevens Wild. It's the same as Deuces Wild except the wild cards are 7s instead of 2s. I talked about it with a guy at the office who's a big video poker fan. He said I should stick with Deuces and that Sevens Wild had lower returns. I don't understand why that should be. If the pay tables are the same, shouldn't the returns be the same with wild 7s as with wild 2s? ANSWER: Given equal pay tables, payback percentages are lower on Sevens Wild than on Deuces Wild. The reason is that 7s are part of more natural straights than 2s. That makes deuces a more useful wild card in completing straights. You'll get more straights in Deuces Wild than in Sevens Wild. Think of it this way: 7s are part of straights that are 7 high, 8 high, 9 high, 10 high or Jack high. If a 7 is missing in any of those five hands, the straight can be completed only by one of four 7s in Sevens Wild, but by any of the 7s or any of the four 2s in Deuces Wild. Deuces are part of only two natural straights: Ace-2-3-4-5 and 2-3-4-5-6. If the 2 is missing, the straight can be completed only by a 2 in Deuces Wild but by a 2 or 7 in Sevens Wild. That's five hands missing a 7 that get extra chances in Deuces Wild, but only two hands missing a 2 that get extra chances in Sevens Wild. You have a similar effect wit straight flush hands, where wild 2s give you more chances than Wild 7s. When I was much younger, some casinos that had full-pay Deuces also had full-pay 7s with an identical pay table. Payback percentages with expert play were 100.8 percent on Deuces, but 99.6 percent on Sevens. Full-pay games are rare today, but let's compare Sevens to the Deuces Wild game nicknamed "Illinois Deuces. It's known for its 25-15-9-4-4-3 pay table, the payoffs per coin wagered on wild royals, five of a kind, straight flushes, four of a kind, full houses and flushes. On Deuces Wild, the return with expert play is 98.9 percent. On Sevens Wild, it's 96.8 percent. Play Sevens Wild only if the pay tables available to you are higher than on Deuces. QUESTION: You've written the commission gives the house an edge on the banker bet on baccarat, and that without it bettors would have an edge. But I played EZ Baccarat, and there was no commission. Everything went smoothly and I won a little money. ANSWER: In regular baccarat, the banker bet wins more often than it loses. The house has to charge a 5 percent commission on winning bets to get its 1.06 edge. EZ Baccarat changes the game just enough so banker doesn't win more hands than it loses, so no commission is needed. The change is minor. When banker wins with a three-card total of 7, banker bettors don’t get paid. The bet pushes, and bettors just keep their wagers. That’s enough to give the house a 1.02-percent edge. That edge is equivalent to giving the casino a 49.14-cent commission on a winning $10 bet instead of the usual 50 cents. That’s a close match in edge, and the casino gets more hands per hour in the bargain since it doesn’t have to take the time to collect commissions. Other than that change, the game is still standard baccarat. The house edge on player is unchanged at 1.24 percent. 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. Compromise13 June 2021
Life is full of compromises, and sometimes casino players compromise on the games they play. Maybe they compromise because they're with a group and want to be part of the gang. Maybe they compromise because of budgets or bankrolls. I've accumulated a few stories from readers who sometimes played games that weren't their favorites because of outside influences. ... (read more)
Deuces Wild VP and Roulette Advice10 June 2021
QUESTION: One thing I see a lot in Deuces Wild video poker is four of a kind and full houses paying the same amount. If you bet five coins you get 20 back. Sometimes you see full houses pay only 15, and I'm told four of a kind can pay 25, though I've never seen it. I know Deuces Wild odds can be lot ... (read more)
Some Dream Machines6 June 2021
Sometimes new features on slot machines capture players' imaginations from the get-go. Sometimes they take a while to grow on us.
A number of players have shared via email features they loved at first sight and those that took a while to accept.
ROGER: The wheels like in Wheel of Fortune were an instant hit with me. ... (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 |
