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John Grochowski Gaming Guru  Reduce the House Edge at Roulette19 March 2023
By John Grochowski 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 than single-zero roulette? ANSWER: A rule such as Atlantic City's half back rule would need to be in effect on a double-zero wheel but not on a single-zero wheel for the two-zero version to have a lower house edge. Even then, the house edge would be lower only on bets with even-money payoffs: odd or even, red or black; or 1-18 or 19-36. With the half back rule, the house takes only half your money if the ball lands on one of the zeroes. Imagine you've wagered $10 on black. You lose $10 if the ball lands on a red numbers, but only $5 if the ball lands on 0 or 00. That cuts the house edge on from 5.26 percent to 2.63 percent on double-zero wheels. If in effect on a single-zero wheel, it trims the edge from 2.7 to 1.35 percent. So if a casino has the half-back rule with two zeroes but not with one, the house edge on even-money payoff wagers is 2.63 percent on the double-zero wheel and a slightly higher 2.7 percent on single-zero wheels. The half-back rule does not affect the edge on other bets. Columns, dozens, single numbers, two-number splits and other wagers retain a 5.26 percent edge with 0 and 00, or 2.7 percent with just one 0. One bet, the five-number basket on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3, carries a hefty 7.89 percent edge. There is no such wager on a single-zero wheel. QUESTION: My wife and I were on a casino vacation and found some Rock, Paper, Scissors slot machines. They were busy when we passed by so we never did play, but we watched for a little while before moving on. It looked like the Rock, Paper, Scissors part wasn't even a bonus event. It was going all the time. We didn't see any reels spinning. Did they really make that the whole game? ANSWER: Yes, they did. Rock, Paper, Scissors Instant Win debuted at the Circa casino in Las Vegas late in 2022. It's part of an Activ-Play series of games from Aruze Gaming that emphasizes player interaction. You are participate in play rather than watching reels spin for most of the game. Others in the series so far are Go Go Claw Cash Grab and Go Go Claw Gold Bar. Both are based on arcade claw games. You position a virtual claw on screen to grab either gold bars or spheres holding credit awards. In Rock, Paper, Scissors, you choose a bet size and push play to start an animated hand rapidly fluttering among rock, paper and scissors symbols. Then you choose one of three buttons featuring white-gloved hands, one in a fist to denote rock, one flat-palmed to show paper and one with two fingers in a "V" sign to indicate scissors. Once you've made your choice, a random number generator tells the animated hand to stop on one of the signs. Bets are decided by rules of the age-old game: rock breaks scissors, paper covers rock, scissors cut paper. If you tie, the game keeps your bet but increases the potential prizes for the next play. If you've chosen the winning sign, a light flashes around a segmented wheel. When the light stops, it indicates how much you win. 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. 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)
Jackpots26 February 2023
Big jackpots are rare, special events that live forever in players' memories. Most of readers' jackpot tales I've relayed have been of back-to-back bonanzas, those incredible close encounters of the winning kind. What about jackpot size? I reached out to slot and video poker players who have contacted me in the past to ask about their biggest payday. ... (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 |
