Reason #3 why the Wizard likes Bovada:

Excellent Odds

In my opinion many online casinos are too stingy when setting the odds on their games. They think they will make more money that way but I believe they are misguided, because when players lose too quickly it’s not fun, and those players might not come back.

Bovada is one of the few casinos that understands this. They offer generous odds to let you play longer and get you a better chance of winning. Among their generous offerings are Full-Pay Jacks or Better returning 99.54%, six other video poker games paying over 99%, single-zero roulette, and my favorite, Pick ’em Poker, returning 99.95%!

Kudos to Bovada for not being afraid to give their players a good gamble.

More about Bovada

Visit Bovada

Ask the Wizard #2

Edition Date: Feb 12, 2000

What do you find to be the best method for counting cards in blackjack? When you play do you count the cards? And lastly would you even bother trying to count cards in a six deck game?
— Tyson from Omaha, Nebraska, USA

There is a trade off with card counting strategies between power and ease of use. I personally recommend Stanford Wong’s high-low count. There are more complicated strategies out there that are marginally more powerful but much more difficult to use. Personally I used to count cards but in my current position I don’t want to make any enemies so I don’t any more. Six deck games are indeed worth counting if the rules are favorable and at least 75% or so of the cards are dealt. In Las Vegas Blackjack Diary

by Stuart Perry the author spent most of his time playing 2 and 6 decks games, as opposed to single deck.

You are playing a three-coin slot machine. You only are playing two coins at the time. The jackpot is hit. If you had been playing one coin, or if you had been playing three coins, would it still have gone off at that point?
— Ronald from Maryland, USA

If you had put in one or three coins the outcome would likely have been entirely different. The machine is constantly drawing random numbers and the numbers that were drawn at the moment you spin the reels determine the outcome. So if you had played fewer or more coins you would have spun the reels at a different moment and thus the outcome would have been different.

Are there any casinos in Vegas besides Mandalay Bay where the dealer stands on a soft 17? I ran a shoe of spanish 21 at MGM. Don’t see any advantage with the tens missing. Especially on double downs.
— Jim from North Olmsted, Ohio, USA

As far as I know the vast majority of shoe games in Vegas stand on soft 17. Usually the dealer will hit a soft 17 in single deck and double deck can go either way. It is complicated to explain why a ten rich deck is beneficial to the player but I do mention that in my blackjack section. However a ten rich deck is very beneficial when doubling on most hands, like 9 to 11, because you want a big card. Any good card counter can tell you that if 1/4 of the tens were removed from the deck the odds are strongly in the dealer’s favor.

In video poker what are the odds of drawing a sequential royal flush? Not being dealt it, but getting it including a draw.
— Tony from Chicago, Illinois, USA

I’m not sure exactly but I can tell you that playing optimal strategy on a full pay jacks of better game you will average one royal flush every 40387 plays. There are 5!, or 120 ways to arrange the five cards and only two of them are sequential so the odds of a royal being sequential are only 1 in 60. So assuming no strategy adjustments you would get a sequential royal once every 2,423,263 plays. However it would be wise to be more aggressive going for the royal if you already had some cards in sequential place, which would increase the probability slightly. By how much exactly I don’t know.


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Reason #3 why the Wizard likes Bovada: Excellent Odds In my opinion many online casinos are too stingy when setting the odds on their games. They think they will make more money that way but I believe they are misguided, because when players lose too quickly it’s not fun, and those players might not come back. Bovada is one of the few casinos that understands this. They offer generous odds to let you play longer and get you a better chance of winning. Among their generous offerings are Full-Pay Jacks or Better returning 99.54%, six other video poker games paying over 99%, single-zero roulette, and my favorite, Pick ’em Poker, returning 99.95%! Kudos to Bovada for not being afraid to give their players a good gamble. More about Bovada Visit Bovada	Ask the Wizard #2 Edition Date: Feb 12, 2000 What do you find to be the best method for counting cards in blackjack? When you play do you count the cards? And lastly would you even bother trying to count cards in a six deck game? — Tyson from Omaha, Nebraska, USA There is a trade off with card counting strategies between power and ease of use. I personally recommend Stanford Wong’s high-low count. There are more complicated strategies out there that are marginally more powerful but much more difficult to use. Personally I used to count cards but in my current position I don’t want to make any enemies so I don’t any more. Six deck games are indeed worth counting if the rules are favorable and at least 75% or so of the cards are dealt. In Las Vegas Blackjack Diary by Stuart Perry the author spent most of his time playing 2 and 6 decks games, as opposed to single deck. You are playing a three-coin slot machine. You only are playing two coins at the time. The jackpot is hit. If you had been playing one coin, or if you had been playing three coins, would it still have gone off at that point? — Ronald from Maryland, USA If you had put in one or three coins the outcome would likely have been entirely different. The machine is constantly drawing random numbers and the numbers that were drawn at the moment you spin the reels determine the outcome. So if you had played fewer or more coins you would have spun the reels at a different moment and thus the outcome would have been different. Are there any casinos in Vegas besides Mandalay Bay where the dealer stands on a soft 17? I ran a shoe of spanish 21 at MGM. Don’t see any advantage with the tens missing. Especially on double downs. — Jim from North Olmsted, Ohio, USA As far as I know the vast majority of shoe games in Vegas stand on soft 17. Usually the dealer will hit a soft 17 in single deck and double deck can go either way. It is complicated to explain why a ten rich deck is beneficial to the player but I do mention that in my blackjack section. However a ten rich deck is very beneficial when doubling on most hands, like 9 to 11, because you want a big card. Any good card counter can tell you that if 1/4 of the tens were removed from the deck the odds are strongly in the dealer’s favor. In video poker what are the odds of drawing a sequential royal flush? Not being dealt it, but getting it including a draw. — Tony from Chicago, Illinois, USA I’m not sure exactly but I can tell you that playing optimal strategy on a full pay jacks of better game you will average one royal flush every 40387 plays. There are 5!, or 120 ways to arrange the five cards and only two of them are sequential so the odds of a royal being sequential are only 1 in 60. So assuming no strategy adjustments you would get a sequential royal once every 2,423,263 plays. However it would be wise to be more aggressive going for the royal if you already had some cards in sequential place, which would increase the probability slightly. By how much exactly I don’t know.
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Ask the Wizard #2

What do you find to be the best method for counting cards in blackjack? When you play do you count the cards? And lastly would you even bother trying to count cards in a six deck game? — Tyson from Omaha, Nebraska, USA

You are playing a three-coin slot machine. You only are playing two coins at the time. The jackpot is hit. If you had been playing one coin, or if you had been playing three coins, would it still have gone off at that point? — Ronald from Maryland, USA

Are there any casinos in Vegas besides Mandalay Bay where the dealer stands on a soft 17? I ran a shoe of spanish 21 at MGM. Don’t see any advantage with the tens missing. Especially on double downs. — Jim from North Olmsted, Ohio, USA

In video poker what are the odds of drawing a sequential royal flush? Not being dealt it, but getting it including a draw. — Tony from Chicago, Illinois, USA

What do you find to be the best method for counting cards in blackjack? When you play do you count the cards? And lastly would you even bother trying to count cards in a six deck game?
— Tyson from Omaha, Nebraska, USA

You are playing a three-coin slot machine. You only are playing two coins at the time. The jackpot is hit. If you had been playing one coin, or if you had been playing three coins, would it still have gone off at that point?
— Ronald from Maryland, USA

Are there any casinos in Vegas besides Mandalay Bay where the dealer stands on a soft 17? I ran a shoe of spanish 21 at MGM. Don’t see any advantage with the tens missing. Especially on double downs.
— Jim from North Olmsted, Ohio, USA

In video poker what are the odds of drawing a sequential royal flush? Not being dealt it, but getting it including a draw.
— Tony from Chicago, Illinois, USA