Dealer Edge

Dealer Edge

Many blackjack players know what "the book" says to do in adverse situations. But they sometimes honor their intuition over the laws of the universe anyway. For instance, they'll stand rather than hit 12 versus two- or three-up. Certain solid citizens flout the rules of Basic Strategy under favorable conditions as well. An illustration is hitting in lieu of doubling 11 versus 10-up, thinking the dealer too strong to put extra money on the line.Hands on which blackjack buffs tend to go their own ways are typically close calls. The chances of one such option "working" better than another in a specific instance don't differ much. The "cost" of breaching Basic Strategy in these cases is also usually low. And it's not even a real loss, but a theoretical forfeiture.Pretend you bet $10 and get 12 versus a two-up. You're the underdog no matter what you do. Hitting, the statistically projected damage is around $2.50. Standing, it's about $2.90. Basic Strategy says hit, to save 40 hypothetical cents. No big deal. If the butterflies in your stomach are less agitated by doing so, you may be better off standing and letting the dealer's hand decide your fate, instead of drawing and sweating an instant bust or reaching 17 through 20 and still being clobbered. Minimizing expected loss, as opposed to personal anxiety level, on a particular round is one take on the question. Another is selecting a strategy, and adhering to it, by considering its bearing on the edge the casino gets over a period of time.With a $10 initial bet the statistical penalty for violating Basic Strategy by standing on 12 versus two-up, standing on 13 versus three-up, and hitting 11 versus 10 up is roughly $0.40, $0.20, and $0.60, respectively. When you make these decisions consistently, their effect on the overall edge in the game goes further and involves how often the hands are expected to occur. Players see 12 versus two- or three-up on the average of 7.5 per 1,000 playable hands each; it's 13.6 out of 1,000 for 11 versus 10-up. The corresponding increases in edge are the sizes of the penalties multiplied by their probabilities of occurrence. The products are 0.030 percent for 12 versus two-up, 0.015 percent for 12 versus three-up, and 0.082 percent for 11 versus 10-up. The drop dead edge a casino gets in a six deck blackjack game with doubling allowed on any two cards, resplitting pairs, and doubling after splitting is about 0.46 percent. The three indicated departures from Basic Strategy add 0.127 percent to this value, bringing it to 0.587 percent. Assume that in a representative session, you make 200 bets averaging $10 each. Were you to follow Basic Strategy to the letter, the casino would expect to earn $9.20 from your action. The theoretical "take" with the three departures would be $11.74, an additional $2.54.On an absolute scale, the 0.127 percent gift you're giving the house, the $2.54 for the 200-round session with $10 average bets, is hardly a bankroll buster, dollar-wise. It also barely alters your ultimate session prospects. For instance, on a $100 buy-in, the likelihood you'll still be in action after 200 rounds with perfect Basic Strategy is 44.9 percent. These three frequently encountered deviations only cut that chance to 44.4 percent.For all practical purposes, in the limited number of rounds a person plays in a casino visit of reasonable duration, common violations of Basic Strategy have minor impact. Still, the edge for optimal play is small and the illustrated changes represent an increase of over 27.5 percent of the advantage the bosses are willing to accept. Add a few more "errors," such as standing on soft 18 when Basic Strategy is either to double or hit, and edge increases by 50 percent. Mix in insurance whenever the dealer shows an ace and you more than double the minimum edge.How far are you willing to go before you decide to teach those butterflies in your belly some arithmetic? Or, at least, to calm them with this couplet by the punter's poet, Sumner A Ingmark? Though benefits lost are incremental, The peril is not coincidental.

There is no such thing as a roulette strategy as it is a game of chance where the house odds are the same no matter what bet is placed. The player only has to place the bet and the croupier does the rest. The only time the house odds deviate from the norm is on the special line bet where the house odds actually increase. The only way a player can increase his chances of winning is to pick a table that has less of an edge. This can be done, as there are three varieties of roulette that can be played. So the best chance of winning is to play in Europe where the house odds are lower. In America roulette is normally played on a double zero wheel and this gives the house a 5.26% edge over the player. In Europe however the single zero wheel game is played where there is no 00 number and this lowers the house odds to a 2.7% edge, this version of the game has recently been introduced to some American casinos. If you play in some European casinos like Monte Carlo there is also the a variation of the game called 'en prison' which can lower the house edge to 1.35%. This version works by when the zero is the winning number the house doesn't claim all of the players wager instead the player is given the option of losing half their wager or waiting for the next turn an if the number comes up next time the player gets the original wager back. This explains why the game of roulette is far more popular in Europe than the United States.

There are many system hustlers in Las Vegas right now, pushing their plans on unsuspecting gamers like ourselves. For example, I could show you how placing the red and two far columns covers almost all of the board. With this setup you're in a good position to make a hit on almost every spin. The only numbers not covered are the six blacks in the first column. The problem is, you'll end up losing more on your losing bets than you'll recover from your winning bets, in the long run. Most systems are the same, intriguing at first, but disappointing in the long run. Systems are by far the biggest way gamblers try to beat roulette, and it is likely the worst approach. The simple mathematics behind the game must convince a large number of players that the edge is somehow subject to influence, but it is the simple math that makes it just not so. The only way to beat roulette is to either develop a good way to cheat (read, take advantage of any unintentional casino mistakes - or develop a highly sophisticated team cheating setup) or get lucky.Since we don't have much control over the latter variable, maybe we can look at the first. The idea of cheating a Las Vegas casino may not be on first on most people's list of favorite things to do, but everybody is a bit curious about how it could realistically be accomplished. Roulette is one of those games that gives the occasional opportunity.The most exploitable opportunity to beat roulette by cheating the casino is to learn how to identify a dealer's signature. The idea of a dealer's signature is that the roulette dealer may become so methodical in their actions, that they throw the marble with the same intensity on each spin. Granted the intensity and spin of the marble as it leaves the dealer's hands is only one variable in many that contribute to where it comes to rest, but if it is isolated there may be a pattern that emerges. This pattern is your best bet to beat roulette.There are a number of players worldwide who firmly believe they have encountered a dealer's signature, if only for one night. To try and identify a signature, discreetly stand in a position where you can see the ball leave the dealers hand. Take note of where it is on the wheel when it exits. Then pay attention to where to ball lands (taking note of any extremely random bouncy balls, exclude those from your experiment) Specifically try to measure how far around the wheel the ball has traveled. For each spin see if it has traveled around approximately the same amount each time. If it has you may identify a small pocket of numbers in one corner of the wheel that the dealer hits consistently, relative to where they let the marble go. Perhaps a dealer will consistently have the ball land three quarters of the way around the wheel from where it is let go. You simply watch until the dealer let the ball go, then you place bets on the group of numbers that fall that far around thewheel.

You begin by placing a bet on the table. You will then receive two cards face up. The dealer will receive one card face up and one face down. The down card is called the "hole card" and will remain face down until you have completed your play.

If the dealer up card is an Ace, the insurance option will be offered. You may accept or decline this offer (see Insurance for details.) The dealer will then check for Blackjack (if the dealer's up-card is a 10-value card, the dealer hand will be checked without revealing the hole card.) If the dealer has Blackjack, play ends and your wager is lost, unless your hand also contains a Blackjack (resulting in a "push" or tie)

If there is no dealer Blackjack and you have a Blackjack, the dealer will not take any hits. You automatically win US$1.50 for every US$1 of your original wager.

If no Blackjack is present, you must decide whether to keep your hand as is ("stand"), or take additional cards in an attempt to increase the value of your hand. The decision to take an additional card is called a "hit" or a "draw." There is no limit to the number of hits you can take. If you "bust", by going over 21 while taking a hit, you lose and play is over. When you are done taking hits, you must "stand" and await the results of the dealer's hand.

Now it is the dealer's turn. First, the "hole card" will be revealed. If the dealer's hand totals 17 to 20, the dealer must stand. If the value is 16 or less, the dealer must take hits until the value of the hand is 17 or higher. If the dealer "busts" while taking additional cards, the dealer hand automatically loses.

If the value of your hand is closer to 21 than that of the dealer, you win an amount equal to your original bet. If the dealer's hand is better, you lose your bet. If the hands are of equal value the deal is a push and your money is returned.

After each game has been played, the used cards are shuffled back into the deck.

Dealer Player Hand | Dealer Table | Dealer Hand Game | Dealer Hand | Dealer Come Bet