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September 14, 2004
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I would like to encourage your readers to continue to
utilize their favorite betting system. They all work. We've
never lost long term on any of them. Of course when I say
"we" I mean those of us who work in the casino. - Mark, A
casino manager
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Can you tell me the traditional Las Vegas colors for
$1,000, $5,000, & $10,000 chips? - Ray F.
To answer your question I turned to Barney
Vinson, author of Ask
Barney: An Insider's Guide to Las Vegas. He
replied, "The colors of large denomination checks vary
from casino to casino, just so they stand out more. At
Caesars, $500 checks are pink, $1,000 checks are yellow
and $5,000 checks are brown (they're called chocolates)."
If a person is playing one of the 5-cent ticket
machines, and while making a 9 line bet, a winning
combination comes up. . . if they had bet 1 line, or 45
lines instead, would that same combination of symbols have
come up, or does each type of bet and amount carry its own
set of combinations, probabilities, and house percentage
payoffs? In other words, if a person is betting 1 line for
several spins, and then when they feel that the machine is
about due to hit a combination pay off, they start betting a
few 45 lines. Is this a good strategy, or are they just
fooling themselves because the 1 line set of combinations,
and the 45 line set of combinations are two totally separate
things? Thanks Robert
For purposes of determining the game outcome the
slot machine does not consider how many lines you bet or
how much per line. The only thing that matters is the
exact nanosecond you pressed the spin button. Random
numbers drawn at exactly that time will determine the
outcome, since the machine is picking numbers even when
you're not playing.
Do multi-denomination video slot machines have only
one payback percentage for the physical machine, or does
each denomination have its own par sheet and payback
percentage characteristics?
Each denomination can be set to its own payback
percentage. On many IGT machines you can tell if they
change the return percentage by whether or not the
symbols on the screen change when you change the
denomination.
I live next to a local casino that doesn't use 50-cent
chips for the Surrender Option so I get back more than half
when a place an odd-numbered bet. In particular the
surrender value of a $3 bet is $2. What is the effect of
this rule and what are the strategy changes, if any? Thanks,
Gerardo
This is a great rule! Only losing one-third of
your $3 bet by surrendering adds 2.25% to your expected
return. You didn't tell me the other rules but if we
assume a house edge of 0.5% before the surrender rule
then the player edge afterward would be 1.75%. Here are
the hands you should surrender on based on a six deck
game (hit or stand on soft 17 doesn't matter).
- Player 6 against 10.
- Player 12 or 13 against dealer 9, 10, ace.
- Player 14 or 17 against dealer 8, 9, 10, or
ace.
- Player 15 or 16 against dealer 7, 8, 9, 10, or
ace.
The only hand you would normally split that favors
surrendering is 8,8 against a 10. This advice only holds
true for a $3 bet. The value of surrendering diminishes
as the odd-numbered bet gets higher.
What is the optimal strategy for the Plinko
game on the Price is Right?
From left to right the prizes are $100, $500,
$1000, $0, $10000, $0, $1000, $500, $100. I would need to
know the exact configuration of pegs on the board to do a
perfect analysis but just eyeballing the board (see link
above) I strongly feel the player should drop the puck
directly over the $10,000 prize. Although it is bordered
by two zeros all other prizes pale in comparison to the
top prize. So the player's strategy should be to maximize
the probability of the top prize by dropping it directly
above. To confirm to deny my hypothesis I did a search
and there are lots of links devoted to the study of this
game. This (www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v9n3/biesterfeld.html)
is one of the better ones, which agrees with my
conclusion. It states in part that the expected value of
dropping the puck in the middle is $2557.91, on either
side of the middle is $2265.92, and tapering off as you
move away further from the center.
How does a table game player go about getting
comped?
First get a player card, the same kind that go
in the slot machines, from the Player's Club desk. Then
when you sit down at a table game take out your player
card and give it to the dealer when you buy chips. The
dealer will hopefully alert the pit boss that you have a
player card and he will start to rate you based on your
average bet, length of play, and sometimes your skill
level.
I live in NJ about two hours north of Atlantic City.
Do you have an idea as to where the closest European
Roulette Wheel to someone in my part of the country is?
There are lots of single zero wheels in Atlantic
City. Most of the casinos there have them, but at a $25
minimum.
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