18 + 18 = 38 in roulette? Not really.
I am an avid roulette wheel player and I have hit upon a way to win at roulette. Here is my secret formula. There are 36 numbers plus the 0 and 00, making 38 numbers altogether. If you covered every number, you would break even. What my system does is to divide the numbers on the wheel. Half the wheel is 18 numbers.
You cover 0-2-14-35-23-4-16-33-21-6-18-31-19-8-12-29-25-10-27. The other half of the wheel is 1-13-36-24-3-15-34-22-5-17-32-20-7-11-30-26-9-28-00. You cover 18 numbers & you win every time. The payout is 35-1. You come out ahead $15.00 dollars to the good. Your thoughts? Luther R.
Your basic assumption that you can cover all (or half) the numbers and break even is miscalculated, Luther. That miscalculation will lead inevitably to the demise of your system — in blinding totality. Please note: half the wheel is not 18 numbers, but 19.
In roulette, the odds of hitting any number are 1 in 38, or 1 to 37. If you were paid according to true odds, you would keep the original bet and win $37 for every $1 that you wagered. But a straight single-numbered bet pays only 35 to 1. This makes the casino payout $2 short of true odds. That $2 per 38 spins is called the house edge, or as stated in last week’s column, a “hidden tax.” Your system in no way disarms this 5.25% (or 5.26¢ per dollar played) levy.
Dear Mark,
I have a question regarding the house edge on blackjack. I play in a friendly poker game and occasionally one of the players chooses blackjack when it’s his turn to choose the game. We only play for 25¢ – 75¢. I personally don’t like the fact that he chooses a game where he has an inherent edge and was wondering if there were rules for a single deck that caused neither the player or the house to have any edge. Chris W.
The built-in house edge in blackjack is based on the fact that the casino (your kitchen-poker friend in this case) doesn’t play out his hand when you bust. This canny twist gives your kitchen table amigo a more-than-decent advantage, especially if your blackjack skills are rudimentary. But with keen play (perfect basic strategy) and decent playing conditions, the house edge can be cut to damn near zilch (0 to +0.5%). Your buddy’s edge increases further if he does not pay you the bonus for a blackjack, won’t allow you to double down without restrictions, surrender, split and re-split your cards, etc.
Bottom line: I would recommend saying adios if he restricts any of those level-playing field rules, or if your game is not in tip-top shape.
Dear Mark, In craps, does a bet on the 6 and 8 essentially carry the same Sbobet odds? I always bet on the 8, but noticed that many other players also bet the 6 in almost equal frequency, especially if the point is 8. Bill A.
The casino advantage on either bet, placing the 6 or 8, is the same, 1.5%. The pass line bet advantage, without odds, is slightly lower at 1.41%. What you observed were gamesters betting the “backside” of the six. Meaning that any way you make an “eighter from Decatur,” (2-6, 6-2, 3-5, 5-3, 4-4), on the front-side, a “sixie from Dixie” can be made on the “hind-side” (1-5, 5-1, 2-4, 4-2, 3-3). Also, if the point is a square pair (8), most players will automatically place the kissin’ cousin, a pair-o-treys (6).
Gambling thought of the week: “They can keep their comps, a room to me is just one double-down.” Sal Sagev (spell it backwards)
