Ask The Wizard #91

I've received numerous inquiries about this, prompting me to include a section addressing it. In brief, the coupon has a value slightly exceeding 50% of its stated amount. For further information, please visit my blackjack appendix 14 for all the details.

With 32 teams participating across 17 weeks of the NFL season, the odds of winning any week are 1 in 32 multiplied by 31 multiplied by 30, which calculates to 29,760. Therefore, the expected value of each ticket amounts to $1000 multiplied by 17 divided by 29,760, equating to approximately 57.12 cents. Thus, the expected return is 2.28%, correlating to a house edge of 97.72%!

All blackjack professionals agree that the house edge tends to decrease as the number of decks diminishes, assuming all other factors remain unchanged. However, articulating why this happens can be complex. For instance, it’s valid to assert that you have an increased chance of drawing one small card alongside one large card in a single-deck game rather than in a multi-deck one. If we categorize small cards as those numbered 2 through 6, and large cards as any face card or ace, then the likelihood of drawing one of each in a single deck is calculated as 2 multiplied by (20/52) multiplied by (20/51), resulting in approximately 30.17%. In contrast, with 8 decks, the odds are 2 multiplied by (160/416) multiplied by (160/415), yielding about 29.66%. While stiff hands can lead to varying outcomes, players can choose to stand on such hands, whereas the dealer must act differently.

Indeed, there is. I recommend checking out Beejack. Although most casinos shuffle the deck after every single hand, not every one follows this rule. I am unsure of the practicality of using this tool, but if you decide to try it, I’d love to hear about your experience; it might interest me as well.

Caution: The link leading to Beejack was removed in 2014 due to potential virus concerns associated with that site. Please proceed with care.

I appreciate your kind words! To clarify, the dealer will typically ask you to confirm what action you wish to take. Generally, all decisions in blackjack should be clear, but this is an exception. If you’d rather not be questioned when it’s your turn, lifting your index finger signals that you want just one additional card, a gesture most dealers will automatically recognize. Interestingly, I learned just yesterday that in Bulgaria, you signify your intent to double by placing your extra wager behind your initial bet, while to split, you place it beside your original stake.

Another reader reached out to inform that in North Dakota, the state law has adopted the Bulgarian doubling and splitting regulations.

I've witnessed this rule applied at the Montreal casino too. Indeed, it's an excellent scenario for player collaboration, where the seated participant makes smaller bets and executes plays that benefit the larger back bettor. Basic Blackjack Stanford Wong's literature delves deeply into this subject. Numerous adjustments to the splitting strategy are recommended; for example, the seated player should always split pairs of twos, while the back bettor plays both hands only against a dealer showing a 4 to 6, or otherwise plays one hand. Following Wong's comprehensive strategy can lower the house edge by 0.2%.

While lacking additional context, if you have just lost the previous hand in blackjack, there is a marginally higher probability that more small cards have recently left the deck, making the remaining deck richer in higher cards and thus potentially lowering the house edge. However, I suspect this is a negligible effect. Nonetheless, it underscores that if you must utilize a betting strategy, one that escalates your bet following a loss tends to be more advantageous than one that increases your stake after a win. I am reluctant to document this assertion because I fear system marketers may misinterpret it as an endorsement of strategies, which I do not advocate.

This is termed a \"sticky bonus,\" a concept that isn’t exclusive to online casinos. When I visited Germany, I had to pay an entry fee of 20 Deutsche Marks, but if I purchased 100 Deutsche Marks in chips, they provided an additional 20 in sticky chips for free. A sticky bonus or sticky chip cannot be cashed out; however, any winnings accrued from using it are cashable. To dispose of sticky chips, you simply continue to wager until they are lost. With internet casinos, you need to continue cashing out your winnings while keeping the sticky bonus intact in your account, then return to play again.

Over the long term, sticky bonuses compel players to increase their betting frequency. The expected value derived from a sticky bonus approaches 100%, minus twice the house edge in games that have even-money payouts.