Ask The Wizard #105

I appreciate your kind words. In scenarios where the dealer must hit on a soft 17, using a 4-8 deck strategy in a double-deck game adds 0.012% to the house edge. Conversely, applying a double-deck strategy in a six-deck game increases it by 0.008%. I took the inquiry a step further to consider a more extreme example, specifically when a dealer stands on a soft 17 in a single-deck game, which adds 0.038% to the house edge when using incorrect basic strategy.

According to Cecil Adams The term has its roots in the dining establishments and soda fountains of the 1920s. Initially, it referred to a state of being out of a specific item but eventually evolved to mean evicting a customer.

P.S. Back in December 2004, another reader provided yet another perspective regarding that term. inspirationline.com It allegedly traces back to a restaurant called Chumley’s located at 86 Bedford Street in Greenwich Village, New York. Originally, it served as a caution for patrons to exit the premises when law enforcement was approaching and later morphed into the phrase meaning to dispose of something.

Absolutely, the odds remain consistent. Drawing seven random cards from a total of 52 results in the same probabilities, regardless of the method employed in pulling them or the people sharing the cards.

(12/52)*(11/51)*(10/50)*(9/49)*(8/48) = 0.00030474, or about 1 in 3282.

The reasoning here is that if the dealer draws to make a 22 while you hold 21 or less, your hand will push. This significantly benefits the dealer and should deter you from increasing your wager by doubling or splitting your cards.

I have a personal policy of refraining from counting cards in Las Vegas. Living here, I prefer not to create animosity with potential clients, which allows me to enjoy blackjack in all but two local casinos. However, during a trip to Reno and Lake Tahoe last January, I was instructed not to play blackjack at four different casinos.

The likelihood of getting a four of a kind in a single hand is calculated as 13*48/combin(52,5) = 0.0002401. If we assume you can engage in 120 hands over two hours, the chance of getting exactly two four of a kinds can be computed as combin(120,2) multiplied by 0.0002401.²× (1-0.0002401)¹¹⁸= 0.000400095 = 1 in 2499.41.

On the whole, 50 and 100 play machines are notorious for having poor payout tables and should be skipped when possible. Nonetheless, if you encounter a favorable pay table, consider what you typically play on a single machine and then scale that down for 50 or 100-play. For instance, if you generally play $1 on single-line machines, then opt for 2-cent 50-line or 1-cent 100-line games.

No, some might claim it would take an infinite number of losses to actually go broke in this scenario, which is unfeasible. The fact remains that the probability of 0.5 approaches zero without actually reaching it. If an infinite series of losses occurred, you would end up losing $2. Hence, the expected outcome of this tactic amounts to 1 - $2, equaling $1 - 1, which is 0. A more refined understanding reveals that as your bankroll grows, the expected value continues to remain at zero. Consequently, the limit of the expected value approaches zero as the bankroll stretches towards infinity. In simpler terms, boosting your bankroll doesn't enhance your chances, even if it reaches unlimited proportions.^infinityExceptions to basic strategy exist. However, in this case,^infinityPeter Griffin posits that the player ought to stand on 4+4+4+4 against an 8 in a single-deck game. Is he incorrect or did you perhaps miss this specific play?^infinity * 0.5^infinityGriffin is indeed right. The expected value for hitting stands at -0.552613, while the expected value for standing is -0.535787. There are some plays I haven't listed because they're either exceedingly rare or improbable.

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