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Reason #5 why the Wizard likes Bovada:
Intelligent Bonuses
Many online casinos offer huge signup bonuses, but there’s a catch. Buried in the fine print is that play on the most popular games doesn’t count towards earning the bonus. It’s common for play on blackjack, baccarat, roulette, craps, and video poker to be excluded. In many cases, only slots count.
And that’s if you can even find the terms and conditions. Many casinos put their 100% bonus in big flaming letters but make you hunt all over their site to find the rules.
Bovada allows play on all games to count towards the wagering requirement. It’s that simple. Just no opposite betting. All casinos ought to be as easy as Bovada about this. The bonus offer itself is simple too: on your first deposit, they’ll give you an extra 10%. If you deposit $100, you’ll wind up with $110 in chips or tokens.
Finally, in the unlikely event that Bovada feels you’ve been abusing their bonuses they won’t seize your winnings like most other casinos will. In the worst case scenario they will politely tell you that they will not be offering you any future bonuses, but you are welcome to keep playing and keep everything you have made already.
Money Wheel
Last Update: July 2, 2011
Introduction
The Money Wheel was launched at the Jackpot Casino in Red Deer, Alberta, in June 2011. It is a variation of Big Six, which is the game with the large vertical wheel, usually found near the entrance of casinos and usually dealt by an attractive female dealer. What makes the Money Wheel different is 56 stops instead of 54, and some of them are multipliers. The house edge is also much lower than Big Six, as my analysis below will show.
Rules
- The player may bet on $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, or $40.
- All bets are paid on a "to one" basis according to the odds of the bet itself. For example, a bet on $5 would pay 5 to 1.
- Four positions on the wheel will multiply any win, known as a Lucky Lucky. Two Lucky Lucky spots multiply the next win by 2x, one 3x, and one 5x. If "Lucky Lucky" sounds familiar, it is because Lucky Lucky is also a blackjack side bet, both invented by the owner of the Jackpot Casino.
- If the wheel stops in any Lucky Lucky, then all bets will remain in place. No new bets will be allowed. The outcome of the next spin will determine the winning wager, as usual, but the odds will be multiplied by 2, 3, or 5, depending on which Lucky Lucky the wheel stopped in the previous spin.
- In the event the wheel stops in a Lucky Lucky twice in a row, then all wagers will lose.
- The following table shows how the wheel is apportioned.
Let's look at an example. The player bet $20 on the $5 spot. The wheel lands in the 3x Lucky Lucky. The next spin it lands in $5. The player would win $20×$5×3=$300.
| Money Wheel Distribution | |
|---|---|
| Stop | Number on Wheel |
| $1 | 23 |
| $2 | 15 |
| $5 | 7 |
| $10 | 4 |
| $20 | 2 |
| $40 | 1 |
| 2x Multiplier | 2 |
| 3x Multiplier | 1 |
| 5x Multiplier | 1 |
Analysis
The following table shows the possible outcomes for the $1 bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 6.12%.
| $1 Bet Analysis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| 5x Lucky Lucky win | 5 | 23 | 0.007334 | 0.036671 |
| 3x Lucky Lucky win | 3 | 23 | 0.007334 | 0.022003 |
| 2x Lucky Lucky win | 2 | 46 | 0.014668 | 0.029337 |
| Standard win | 1 | 1288 | 0.410714 | 0.410714 |
| Loss | -1 | 1756 | 0.559949 | -0.559949 |
| Total | 3136 | 1.000000 | -0.061224 | |
The following table shows the possible outcomes for the $2 bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 6.25%.
| $2 Bet Analysis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| 5x Lucky Lucky win | 10 | 15 | 0.004783 | 0.047832 |
| 3x Lucky Lucky win | 6 | 15 | 0.004783 | 0.028699 |
| 2x Lucky Lucky win | 4 | 30 | 0.009566 | 0.038265 |
| Standard win | 2 | 840 | 0.267857 | 0.535714 |
| Loss | -1 | 2236 | 0.713010 | -0.713010 |
| Total | 3136 | 1.000000 | -0.062500 | |
The following table shows the possible outcomes for the $5 bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 10.71%.
| $5 Bet Analysis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| 5x Lucky Lucky win | 25 | 7 | 0.002232 | 0.055804 |
| 3x Lucky Lucky win | 15 | 7 | 0.002232 | 0.033482 |
| 2x Lucky Lucky win | 10 | 14 | 0.004464 | 0.044643 |
| Standard win | 5 | 392 | 0.125000 | 0.625000 |
| Loss | -1 | 2716 | 0.866071 | -0.866071 |
| Total | 3136 | 1.000000 | -0.107143 | |
The following table shows the possible outcomes for the $10 bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 5.61%.
| $10 Bet Analysis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| 5x Lucky Lucky win | 50 | 4 | 0.001276 | 0.063776 |
| 3x Lucky Lucky win | 30 | 4 | 0.001276 | 0.038265 |
| 2x Lucky Lucky win | 20 | 8 | 0.002551 | 0.051020 |
| Standard win | 10 | 224 | 0.071429 | 0.714286 |
| Loss | -1 | 2896 | 0.923469 | -0.923469 |
| Total | 3136 | 1.000000 | -0.056122 | |
The following table shows the possible outcomes for the $20 bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 9.44%.
| $20 Bet Analysis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| 5x Lucky Lucky win | 100 | 2 | 0.000638 | 0.063776 |
| 3x Lucky Lucky win | 60 | 2 | 0.000638 | 0.038265 |
| 2x Lucky Lucky win | 40 | 4 | 0.001276 | 0.051020 |
| Standard win | 20 | 112 | 0.035714 | 0.714286 |
| Loss | -1 | 3016 | 0.961735 | -0.961735 |
| Total | 3136 | 1.000000 | -0.094388 | |
The following table shows the possible outcomes for the $40 bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 11.35%.
| $40 Bet Analysis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| 5x Lucky Lucky win | 200 | 1 | 0.000319 | 0.063776 |
| 3x Lucky Lucky win | 120 | 1 | 0.000319 | 0.038265 |
| 2x Lucky Lucky win | 80 | 2 | 0.000638 | 0.051020 |
| Standard win | 40 | 56 | 0.017857 | 0.714286 |
| Loss | -1 | 3076 | 0.980867 | -0.980867 |
| Total | 3136 | 1.000000 | -0.113520 | |
Strategy
The lowest house edge is on the $10 at 5.61%. My advice is to bet on that only.
Comparison to Big Six
The following table compares the Money Wheel to four versions of Big Six, also known as the Wheel of Fortune. As you can see, the average house edge is much lower on the Money Wheel compared to American Big Six. You would have to go to Australia to get a better average bet on a vertical wheel. The best single bet anywhere, including Australia, is the $10 at 5.61% house edge on the Money Wheel.
| Money Wheel to Big Six Comparison | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bet | Money Wheel | Big Six Las Vegas |
Big Six Atlantic City |
Macau | Australia |
| $1 | 6.12% | 11.11% | 11.11% | 7.69% | 7.69% |
| $2 | 6.25% | 16.67% | 16.67% | ||
| $3 | 7.69% | 7.69% | |||
| $5 | 10.71% | 22.22% | 22.22% | 7.69% | 7.69% |
| $10 | 5.61% | 18.52% | 18.52% | 15.38% | |
| $11 | 7.69% | ||||
| $20 | 9.44% | 22.22% | 22.22% | 19.23% | |
| $23 | 7.69% | ||||
| $40 | 11.35% | 24.07% | |||
| $45 | 14.81% | 11.54% | |||
| $47 | 7.69% | ||||
| Average | 8.25% | 19.14% | 17.59% | 11.54% | 7.69% |