Reason #4 why the Wizard likes Bovada:

One-Stop Shopping

Bovada offers the triple crown of gambling: casino, poker, and sports. Many other casinos have tacked on poker as an afterthought, and many poker rooms have tacked on a casino as an afterthought, and the lack of attention shows, sometimes painfully. And very few of these sites let you make sports wagers.

But Bovada doesn’t just offer all three, they do each one well, and everything’s integrated. It’s easy to play all three off one deposit, off just one account.

Another nice thing about Bovada is that you don’t need a separate account to play casino games with fake money. In fact you do not even need an account for that at all, you can just click over there and play. Finally, Bovada usernames are only six or seven characters long making them possible to remember. By contrast some competitors’ usernames are extremely long and cumbersome.

Visit Bovada

Ask the Wizard #20

Edition Date: Jul 18, 2000

Dear Mike, In baccarat game, the odds for Banker, Player and Tie are 45.843%, 44.615% and 9.543% as mentioned. Can you please clarify on how you arrive at 1.064% and 1.228%, please?
— Steven from Miri, Malaysia

The expected player return per unit wagered on the banker is .45843*.95 + .44615*-1 = -.01064. The player’s loss is the casinos gain. Thus the house edge is -1*-.01064 = .01064 = 1.064%. Likewise the expected return on the player bet is .45843*-1 + .44615*1 = -.01228, thus the house edge on the player bet is 1.228%.

Are there any states, other than Nevada, where it is legal to bet on professional sports such as baseball and football?
— Roger from Bloomington, Indiana

I’m quite sure that Nevada is still the only state in which you can bet on all major sports.

What is the weakness in playing roulette #’s to repeat, within about 50 or so spins, using the law of unequal distribution? I’m sure there is one, just not sure of what exactly it is. Thank you.
— Colin from Staten Island, New York

There is no advantage or disadvantage in playing any number for any reason on a fair roulette wheel. I checked my statistics books and could find no mention of the "law of unequal distribution." Perhaps you were referring to the Law of Probable Dispersal, which states "Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed." This still won’t help you in roulette.

What is the average number of rolls (throws?) till a shooter "sevens out"? I know that a 7 will appear every 6 rolls, but with come-out 7-11s and craps, plus the possibility of shooters making multiple points, I think the average number of rolls may be higher than expected. Is there any mathematical reference material on this?
— Grshooter from Kansas City, Missouri

See the November 28, 2004 Column for the answer to this question.

I have never seen any tips on blackjack where the dealer is dealt only one card. This seems to be a totally different game than regular blackjack. When you take a hit, you are taking what would be the second card of the dealers hand. A lot of online casinos have this game. Do you have any suggestions as to the best way to play these games? Thank you.
— Darrell from Coos Bay, U.S.

It doesn’t matter which card the dealer takes. What is important is whether the player can lose more than their original wager if the dealer has a blackjack. For example at Starnet casinos if the dealer has a 10 up and the player has an 11 and doubles the dealer can draw and ace afterward for a blackjack and the player will lose both the original bet and the double. To adjust for this European no-peek rule the player should be more conservative about doubling and splitting when the dealer has a potential blackjack. My site has the exact basic strategy to follow for various major brands of online software.


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Reason #4 why the Wizard likes Bovada: One-Stop Shopping Bovada offers the triple crown of gambling: casino, poker, and sports. Many other casinos have tacked on poker as an afterthought, and many poker rooms have tacked on a casino as an afterthought, and the lack of attention shows, sometimes painfully. And very few of these sites let you make sports wagers. But Bovada doesn’t just offer all three, they do each one well, and everything’s integrated. It’s easy to play all three off one deposit, off just one account. Another nice thing about Bovada is that you don’t need a separate account to play casino games with fake money. In fact you do not even need an account for that at all, you can just click over there and play. Finally, Bovada usernames are only six or seven characters long making them possible to remember. By contrast some competitors’ usernames are extremely long and cumbersome. Visit Bovada	Ask the Wizard #20 Edition Date: Jul 18, 2000 Dear Mike, In baccarat game, the odds for Banker, Player and Tie are 45.843%, 44.615% and 9.543% as mentioned. Can you please clarify on how you arrive at 1.064% and 1.228%, please? — Steven from Miri, Malaysia The expected player return per unit wagered on the banker is .45843.95 + .44615-1 = -.01064. The player’s loss is the casinos gain. Thus the house edge is -1-.01064 = .01064 = 1.064%. Likewise the expected return on the player bet is .45843-1 + .44615*1 = -.01228, thus the house edge on the player bet is 1.228%. Are there any states, other than Nevada, where it is legal to bet on professional sports such as baseball and football? — Roger from Bloomington, Indiana I’m quite sure that Nevada is still the only state in which you can bet on all major sports. What is the weakness in playing roulette #’s to repeat, within about 50 or so spins, using the law of unequal distribution? I’m sure there is one, just not sure of what exactly it is. Thank you. — Colin from Staten Island, New York There is no advantage or disadvantage in playing any number for any reason on a fair roulette wheel. I checked my statistics books and could find no mention of the "law of unequal distribution." Perhaps you were referring to the Law of Probable Dispersal, which states "Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed." This still won’t help you in roulette. What is the average number of rolls (throws?) till a shooter "sevens out"? I know that a 7 will appear every 6 rolls, but with come-out 7-11s and craps, plus the possibility of shooters making multiple points, I think the average number of rolls may be higher than expected. Is there any mathematical reference material on this? — Grshooter from Kansas City, Missouri See the November 28, 2004 Column for the answer to this question. I have never seen any tips on blackjack where the dealer is dealt only one card. This seems to be a totally different game than regular blackjack. When you take a hit, you are taking what would be the second card of the dealers hand. A lot of online casinos have this game. Do you have any suggestions as to the best way to play these games? Thank you. — Darrell from Coos Bay, U.S. It doesn’t matter which card the dealer takes. What is important is whether the player can lose more than their original wager if the dealer has a blackjack. For example at Starnet casinos if the dealer has a 10 up and the player has an 11 and doubles the dealer can draw and ace afterward for a blackjack and the player will lose both the original bet and the double. To adjust for this European no-peek rule the player should be more conservative about doubling and splitting when the dealer has a potential blackjack. My site has the exact basic strategy to follow for various major brands of online software.
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Ask the Wizard #20

Dear Mike, In baccarat game, the odds for Banker, Player and Tie are 45.843%, 44.615% and 9.543% as mentioned. Can you please clarify on how you arrive at 1.064% and 1.228%, please? — Steven from Miri, Malaysia

Are there any states, other than Nevada, where it is legal to bet on professional sports such as baseball and football? — Roger from Bloomington, Indiana

What is the weakness in playing roulette #’s to repeat, within about 50 or so spins, using the law of unequal distribution? I’m sure there is one, just not sure of what exactly it is. Thank you. — Colin from Staten Island, New York

Dear Mike, In baccarat game, the odds for Banker, Player and Tie are 45.843%, 44.615% and 9.543% as mentioned. Can you please clarify on how you arrive at 1.064% and 1.228%, please?
— Steven from Miri, Malaysia

Are there any states, other than Nevada, where it is legal to bet on professional sports such as baseball and football?
— Roger from Bloomington, Indiana

What is the weakness in playing roulette #’s to repeat, within about 50 or so spins, using the law of unequal distribution? I’m sure there is one, just not sure of what exactly it is. Thank you.
— Colin from Staten Island, New York