Ask The Wizard #116

That sounds like an excellent deal. With six decks in play, the dealer hits a winning blackjack with a probability of 2*(4/13)*(24/311)*(1-2*(95/310)*(23/309)), which equals approximately 4.53%. Therefore, receiving half of your bet back in such instances equates to a value of around 2.27%. Considering a house edge of 0.5%, this gives players a slight advantage of 1.77%. The strategy remains consistent with typical blackjack; it's unfortunate I missed this offer.

I configured my simulator to operate for a predetermined duration. After every 10,000 hands, the program checks the elapsed time and halts whenever the designated end time is reached, regardless of its current progress.

From what I gather, different makers of video poker machines have varied methods. At the very least, the cards drawn for the player are established when they press the button. Some providers also determine the draw cards at that moment, while others continue shuffling the remaining 47 cards until the player initiates the drawing of replacement cards.

Allow me to clarify what a class 2 machine is for those unfamiliar. It's a slot machine where outcomes are dictated by the drawing of bingo balls. If executed correctly (which often isn't the case), it operates similarly to a standard slot machine. During my visits to two casinos in Tulsa, the closest resemblance to video poker I found were 'pull tabs'. In this format, a player places a bet, presses a button, five cards appear on screen, and a voucher drops if a win occurs, which can then be taken to the cashier. While there’s a paytable for the five-card hand, I suspect the card dealing isn’t genuinely random; it's primarily a visual representation of your winnings.

I doubt that the acquisition has negatively impacted the craps experience at Binion’s Horseshoe in Vegas. Although they previously offered 100x odds, they discontinued that long before federal marshals intervened earlier this year. Currently, the best craps odds can be found at Casino Royale, located between the Venetian and Harrah’s, which still offers 100x odds.

No, that's not correct. Dealers are only instructed in fundamental techniques, and nothing to that advanced level. In fact, if a dealer had that sort of control, they could simply enlist an accomplice to place bets where they knew the ball would land, resulting in significant financial gains.

Yes, you are misunderstanding a key factor. A Come bet can win on the first roll 22.22% of the time and lose 11.11% of the time. Therefore, you are neglecting the added value that comes with the possibility of winning on that first roll of a Come bet. However, if you had prior knowledge that the first roll would hit a point number, then your calculations would be accurate.

The restriction on splitting aces raises the house edge by approximately 0.18%. The optimal play is to double down only when facing a six; otherwise, it's best to hit.

Absolutely. You would need to evaluate the possible totals from 2 to 12 and calculate the chances of rolling each total twice. Therefore, the answer would be (1/36).²+(2/36)²+(3/36)²+(4/36)²+(5/36)²+(6/36)²+(5/36)²+(4/36)²+(3/36)²+(2/36)²+(1/36)²= 11.27%.

The gameplay mimics the authentic experience closely. Casinos utilize shuffling machines that are reputed to be quite proficient. Similarly, my program reshuffles the deck after every hand as well.

Assuming the games are independent, the probability of losing both would be 90% multiplied by 70%, which equals 63%. However, since you indicated that the likelihood of losing both is actually 65% (which exceeds 63%), this suggests a correlation between the events. Given that the probability of losing both is 65% and just losing the second game is 70%, the chance of winning the first game and losing the second must be 5%. By applying the same reasoning, the probability of losing the first game and winning the second should be 25%. This leaves only 5% chance of winning both games. Hence, the overall probability of winning exactly once is 25% plus 5%, equating to 30%.