I’ve heard it described many ways. Some people say it’s “A place to have fun” others say its “Disneyland for adults”. No matter what you think a casino is, keep this in mind. A casino is a business. BIG BUSINESS!! Bob Stupak, the former owner of Vegas World Casino, told US and World Report, “Its our duty to extract as much money from the customer as we can and send them home with a smile on their face.”
So, how does the casino go about extracting money from you? Do they Cheat you?
NO!
How the Blackjack Rules Affect the House Edge. The second condition you must consider is the set of rules used on the game. Some rules, notably those that offer the player more options, are favorable to the player, assuming the player applies the correct strategy. Blackjack Rules House Advantage The loophole in this strategy, which gives the house its advantage, is that the player and dealer have an equal chance (33.15%) of busting—but when the player busts, he always loses, even if the dealer’s hand also busts. The odds of winning are shown in the table below. Online Blackjack House Edge Assuming standard rules and a player who knows how to make the right decisions in every circumstance using basic strategy, you can expect a payback percentage of around 99.5% to 99.6% for online blackjack. That means an online blackjack house edge or around 0.4% to 0.5%, which is very small. That sounds great, right?
They don’t have to cheat because except for Blackjack and Video Poker, every Casino game has a built-in profit on every bet. This is known as the House Edge or Casino Advantage.
Every bet you make has a certain probability of winning or losing. If you bet on the flip of a coin, the probability of heads or tails is 50-50. This would be an even money bet. If you bet a dollar and was paid a dollar when you won, you would be paid TRUE ODDS. However, if the casino only paid you 95 cents every time you won instead of a dollar the House edge would be 2.5%. Simply put, The house edge is the difference between the true odds and the odds that the casino pays you when you win.
Look at this It shows the Casino’s advantage for different casino games. All are fixed except for Blackjack and Video Poker. These two games actually can have a positive payback depending on the skill of the player and the rules or payback table.
Look at the game of Roulette. You will see that the house edge is 5.26% for the double zero game. This is how we figure the edge. In the game, there are 36 numbers plus the 0 and 00. The odds of you winning is one in 38 or 37 to 1. If you win the casino pays you 35 for your dollar bet. You keep your original dollar and are paid an additional $35 returning $36. The difference is two dollars (38 minus 36). Divide the $2 by 38 which is the true odds and you come up with the house edge of 5.26%. So you could actually cover all the numbers on the layout and still lose money. These are great odds for the house but not for you. Games like Roulette, Craps, Big Six a have a fixed percentage because one roll or spin will never change the outcome. There will always be 38 numbers on a roulette layout and 12 numbers on a pair of dice.
Blackjack Rules House Advantages
Blackjack is in a different category because every time a card comes out of the shoe, it changes the makeup of the cards remaining. The advantage can shift from player to house depending on which cards have been played and the Skill in which you play your cards. Video Poker also is based on skill. If you play the perfect strategy, there are actually some games that have a positive return based on their pay table.
From the above chart, you can see why a casino does not have to cheat to make money. Does that mean you will lose every time? No of course not. If you did you wouldn't keep coming back. However, in the long run, the casino will win on negative expectation games.
Until Next time remember:
Luck comes and goes.....Knowledge Stays Forever.
Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games and there are plenty of variations to be found both at land-based and online casinos. One very exciting variant of the game of 21 is In-BETween Blackjack which includes a very interesting side bet.
Blackjack Advantage Play
If you have ever played Red Dog, then you will have no issue grasping what is the specific rule that applies to In-BETween Blackjack. Much like the former one, the later one includes a bet for the difference between the values of two cards and a third one ranking between them. If you want to know more about the game, its rules and payouts, then keep on reading.
How to Play In-BETween Blackjack
For the most part, In-BETween Blackjack is played like any standard version of the game. It does include however a side bet which can award pretty good payouts. Players have the chance to place their money on the outcome of the dealer’s first card ranking between the two cards of the player. There is also a bonus payout if the three cards happen to be Three of a Kind.
This is a very simple side bet that players can make on blackjack but many expert gamblers claim that it provides much better odds than other side bets. Usually, players can easily spot a side betting section on the blackjack table felt which is usually marked just with the word ‘IN’ or ‘In-BETween’. This is where the special bet is placed before the game begins and it must be made after the player has placed his/her main stake. Since it is a side bet, players can also opt for making a wager only on the base game and spare themselves the additional risk.
Once the bets are made, the player receives two cards facing upwards and the dealer draws two cards, first of which is revealed. If the side bet is won, the player receives a payout and the game proceeds to the standard blackjack action.
If, for example, the player gets 3 and 8 and the dealer’s face-up card is anything between 2 and 7, the player will win the side bet. When determining the spread for the side bet, the Aces always carry a high value. There is also another way to enjoy extra pay and that is when both the player’s initial cards and the dealer’s card are of the same value.
Rules and Payouts on In-BETween Blackjack
As it was previously mentioned, this is a standard game of blackjack which simply adds the opportunity of making a special side bet. This means that there is nothing unusual about the rules of In-BETween Blackjack.
The game is usually played with 4 to 8 decks, comprised of the usual 52 playing cards. The dealer is obliged to always hit when holding 16 or less, however, a hand totaling to 17 requires the dealer to stand. Players will be able to make use of the usual betting options like splitting and doubling down.
The payouts on this side bet vary as the size of the spread may be different. That means that the less the difference between the two player’s cards is, the bigger the payout is when the bet is won. When there is a one-card spread, the payout for a successful in-between bet is 10 to 1. A two-card spread promises a payout of 6 to 1, while a bigger spread of three cards pays 4 to 1. All other spreads offer even money if the side bet is won. In addition to winning the in-between bet, there is also a chance of enjoying a special payout of 30 to 1 if you draw a pair and the dealer shows the same card.
House Edge on In-BETween Blackjack
When you are making this side bet on blackjack, you should always be aware of the advantage of the house. This will allow you to determine what are your actual chances of winning. The house edge changes, depending on the number of decks used in the game. Using just a single deck will result in a house edge of 10.50%, while the advantage is lowered to 7.80% when there are two decks in the game. A blackjack variation with four decks will bring the house advantage down to 6.00% and a six-deck variant will give the house an edge of 5.40%. Lastly, a blackjack game with this side bet that uses eight decks will have a house edge of 5.10%.
As you can see, if you are chasing the payouts for the side bet, then you are advised to play a version with more decks. Having more decks in the game means that there will be more options for the dealer’s card to fall between your two cards which will reward you with a bonus payout.