Ask The Wizard #46

First there are combin (6,3) gives you 20 different combinations to select three dice for the ones. The other three dice can show any of five outcomes. Therefore, the total combinations would be 20 times 5,³=2500. The overall combinations possible when throwing all the dice are 6⁶=46,656, meaning the chance of rolling exactly three ones is 2500/46656=0.0536. If you need assistance with the combin function, refer to my probabilities in poker section.

I believe the term '10/7' refers to double bonus. As my video poker cheat sheet indicates, the return on that game when betting five coins is 100.17%. However, if a $5 bet feels steep, you can utilize my video poker analyzer to assess the return on a single-coin wager. Just input 250 for a royal flush. The calculator defaults to 4,000; change it to 1,250. Hit 'analyze,' and you will find that the return is 99.11%.

Hence, playing five quarters in the 9-6 Jacks or Better game is significantly more beneficial.

You can come close to developing an optimal strategy for virtually any video poker game by relying on my video poker strategy maker .

No, and honestly, I'm not interested in knowing more about it. I believe all betting systems are effectively useless.

Since your previous message, I looked into one variation of California no-bust blackjack . However, that set of rules has since vanished. It appears that every casino in the Los Angeles area has its own specific rules, and keeping up with them is quite challenging. Even with the playing fee involved, it generally isn’t a worthwhile bet unless you’re the banker. Apologies for not being able to provide more assistive information.

I sought insight from my friend Larry Drummond, who is a craps dealer and previously managed the website for Next Shooter to aid with this inquiry. Larry may be straightforward in his approach, but he possesses valuable insights on less accessible issues related to craps. He mentioned, \"Comps for craps differ from one casino to another and even vary between boxmen. Players should establish rapport with the boxman. The boxman is responsible for setting the player’s average bet and monitoring how long a player remains at the table. Consistent betting habits make it easier for the boxman to track action for comps. If a player bets $52 or $54 across after establishing a point with a $5 flat bet on the Pass Line, is that considered an average of $57 or $59? Or is it simply a $5 average accompanied by multiple individual bets? The answer is that it depends on your relationship with the boxman and how frequently you visit that specific casino.\"

In a follow-up email, Larry added, \"Additionally, the odds on Pass Line and Come bets are often not factored into the average for comps. The same applies to laying odds on the Don’t Side, as this should generally balance out over time. However, if an astute boxman wants to appease someone placing large bets on any 7—the worst bet on the table—they might include the odds and lays in their calculations to keep that player coming back. Feel free to phrase this advice in a more reader-friendly manner for your site. Furthermore, a savvy boxman will maximize comps if they notice that a player is 'betting for the boys.'\"

I hope you appreciate this; I dedicated an entire day to addressing this question. Please check my new video poker appendix 1 for the solution. There isn’t a straightforward method to calculate the risk of ruin using just variance; it's essential to consider the specific returns for each hand along with their respective probabilities.

Here are the values assigned to each rank for calculating the Player bet, which comes from my blackjack appendix 2. The true count is determined by dividing your running count by the number of remaining decks.

I demonstrate that if the true count exceeds 17,720, the Player’s house edge decreases to 1.06%, making it a comparable option to the Banker bet. When true counts exceed 17,720, the Player bet becomes the superior choice.

I can't help but mention that sometimes, simply heading over to a blackjack table can offer a much lower house edge using basic strategies.

Thank you for your kind words. While I don't have immediate statistics for eight decks, in a four-deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17, I calculate the player's advantage, given that the first card is an ace, to be 51.66%. In Basic Blackjack by Stanford Wong, he mentions the player's edge in a six-deck game with the dealer standing on soft 17 is estimated at 50.5%. Occasionally, a Las Vegas promotional book will have a coupon redeemable as an ace for the first card in blackjack. Wong also discusses the type of scenario you encountered in his writings.

In assessing probability, I prefer to take the number of combinations in which the desired outcome could occur, then divide it by the total possible combinations. First, review the combin function in my probabilities in poker section. The ways to achieve a four of a kind correspond to the number of single cards remaining in the deck, which is 48. The number of combinations for achieving three of a kind (excluding full house configurations) involves multiplying the chances of drawing the third card, which is 2, by the number of ways to obtain two additional unrelated cards, calculated as 2*combin(12,2)*4²= 2,112. The overall ways the cards can appear on the flop equate to combin(50,3)=19,600. Thus, the probability of landing a four of a kind stands at 48/19600=0.0024, while the chance for obtaining a three of a kind is 2,112/19,600=0.1078.