Heading into the casino, you will be surrounded by a vast array of games, some more tempting than others. While there are players out there who swear by roulette, others profess that blackjack presents the best odds for success. But, how do you know : Blackjack or Roulette ? Are some games luckier than other? What does it all come down to? Don't panic, we'll take you through it all.
Roulette odds
Roulette, even though it might be not as popular as Blackjack, has a separate fan base of players who prefer live casino roulette specifically. Live roulette is a pure game of fortune in which you'd see the dealer spinning the roulette wheel just like you probably have seen in distinguished casinos. Blackjack and roulette are two of the most popular games in any casino. Apart from attracting casual gamblers, both games also have staunch enthusiasts who make it a point to get a few games in at either the blackjack or roulette table regularly. A software generator drives Diamond Video Blackjack, with computer-generated animation shown on two LCD displays. No human assistance is required for simulating the traditional table game. The game is composed of a vertical screen that shows trends, game information, and gameplay, with or without a Virtual Dealer. A software generator drives Diamond Video Blackjack, with computer-generated animation shown on two LCD displays. No human assistance is required for simulating the traditional table game. The game is composed of a vertical screen that shows trends, game information, and gameplay, with or without a Virtual Dealer.
Every spin of the roulette wheel is an independent event, where future results are not impacted by previous events.
The odds in roulette quite simply never change. Once the ball travels around the wheel and lands on a number, it will have no recollection of what it did the next time the croupier flings it around the wheel. This is because every spin of the roulette wheel is an independent event, where future results are not impacted by previous events.
Regardless of whether the ball has landed on the number 7 the last three times, it's just as likely the ball will land on the number 7 again, and again, and again. The odds of landing black will always be 18/37 (or 38 if playing American roulette), and likewise landing on red. Furthermore, the odds will always be 1/37 for landing a straight.
Understandably this sounds insane, as much so as the fact that the sequence 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is just as likely to come up when playing the lottery as any other sequence, but it is all true. There are some people that will not be told though, and insist on using systems such as the Martingale system; lowering their wagers based on previous results. Anybody who adopts this system is quite frankly throwing their money down the drain.
For a moment though, imagine that a brand new roulette wheel was released, which removed numbers once they'd been hit. This would change the odds of every spin. Removing the number ‘7' for example would mean the new odds for landing the number ‘8' are 1/36, instead of 1/37. And while this isn't particularly useful for roulette players, it certainly is for those who play blackjack.
Read our explanation of roulette odds to learn how to master them.
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Read more about American Roulette, a game designed by Netent!
Blackjack Odds
In the above example we determined that reducing the amount of numbers on a roulette wheel increased the odds of landing on any remaining numbers. And whilst this cannot occur in roulette, it certainly can in blackjack. Once a card has been dealt, (before the cards are re-shuffled once every 25 hands or so), there is no chance you will receive that card again. As such, the odds of receiving other cards have been increased.
This is essentially what card counters do. They measure how many high cards and how many low cards are in the deck and change their bets accordingly. Known as a heuristic system, they estimate how favourable the deck is at any given time.
Deck composition strategies (or card counting) in blackjack
To help you get your head around this, look at it this way. Hitting natural blackjack is the best way to hit the big money, and so it's beneficial to have aces and 10s in the deck.
Say you land an ace, the amount of aces in the deck has been reduced and so, you now have less chance of landing a natural blackjack. With no aces in the deck, the odds of landing a blackjack is zero, and the house edge increases considerably. The same holds true for 10s, but not in exactly the same way.
The amount of 10s is much higher than aces, so finding a happy medium between the two works. With an even amount of 10s and aces in the deck, the odds of landing blackjack increase and as such, the card counter increases their bet.
Blackjack or Roulette : Pure chance over strategy
One crucial thing that makes blackjack different to roulette is how the house edge can be manipulated in the card game. In roulette, the house edge will always be fixed at 5.26 percent (American roulette), or 2.70 percent (European roulette). Nothing whatsoever can change this. Nothing. On the other hand though, there are multiple decisions you can make in blackjack that affect the house edge.
We explore a few of these elements in our other tips articles, but it generally comes down to specific play in situations. This is also known as ‘basic play', or ‘basic strategy', which provides the mathematically optimal way to play in any situation that comes up. We've covered that here, so make sure you check it out. By using our strategy guide, you can play with a house edge between 0.5 – 1%.
If you want to play with these kinds of odds, stick to blackjack. These odds are not possible with roulette.Of course, roulette can be a lot of fun, so if you don't want the hassle of playing with a strategy then opt for roulette.
If you want to play with these kinds of odds, stick to blackjack. These odds are not possible with roulette.
LadyLucksGames available in most casinos are commonly called casino games. In a casino game, the players gamble cash or casino chips on various possible random outcomes or combinations of outcomes. Casino games are also available in online casinos, where permitted by law. Casino games can also be played outside casinos for entertainment purposes like in parties or in school competitions, some on machines that simulate gambling.
Categories[edit]
There are three general categories of casino games: gaming machines, table games, and random number games. Gaming machines, such as slot machines and pachinko, are usually played by one player at a time and do not require the involvement of casino employees to play. Tables games, such as blackjack or craps, involve one or more players who are competing against the house (the casino itself) rather than each other. Table games are usually conducted by casino employees known as croupiers or dealers. Random number games are based upon the selection of random numbers, either from a computerized random number generator or from other gaming equipment. Random number games may be played at a table or through the purchase of paper tickets or cards, such as keno or bingo.
Some casino games combine multiple of the above aspects; for example, roulette is a table game conducted by a dealer, which involves random numbers. Casinos may also offer other type of gaming, such as hosting poker games or tournaments, where players compete against each other.
Common casino games[edit]
Notable games that are commonly found at casinos include:
Table games[edit]
| Gaming machines[edit] | Random numbers[edit] |
House advantage[edit]
Casino games typically provide a predictable long-term advantage to the casino, or 'house', while offering the players the possibility of a short-term gain that in some cases can be large. Some casino games have a skill element, where the players' decisions have an impact on the results. Players possessing sufficient skills to eliminate the inherent long-term disadvantage (the house edge or vigorish) in a casino game are referred to as advantage players.
The players' disadvantage is a result of the casino not paying winning wagers according to the game's 'true odds', which are the payouts that would be expected considering the odds of a wager either winning or losing. For example, if a game is played by wagering on the number that would result from the roll of one die, true odds would be 5 times the amount wagered since there is a 1 in 6 chance of any single number appearing, assuming that the player gets the original amount wagered back. However, the casino may only pay 4 times the amount wagered for a winning wager.
The house edge or vigorish is defined as the casino profit expressed as the percentage of the player's original bet. (In games such as blackjack or Spanish 21, the final bet may be several times the original bet, if the player double and splits.)
In American roulette, there are two 'zeroes' (0, 00) and 36 non-zero numbers (18 red and 18 black). This leads to a higher house edge compared to European roulette. The chances of a player, who bets 1 unit on red, winning is 18/38 and his chances of losing 1 unit is 20/38. The player's expected value is EV = (18/38 × 1) + (20/38 × (−1)) = 18/38 − 20/38 = −2/38 = −5.26%. Therefore, the house edge is 5.26%. After 10 spins, betting 1 unit per spin, the average house profit will be 10 × 1 × 5.26% = 0.53 units. European roulette wheels have only one 'zero' and therefore the house advantage (ignoring the en prison rule) is equal to 1/37 = 2.7%.
The house edge of casino games varies greatly with the game, with some games having an edge as low as 0.3%. Keno can have house edges up to 25%, slot machines having up to 15%.
The calculation of the roulette house edge is a trivial exercise; for other games, this is not usually the case. Combinatorial analysis and/or computer simulation is necessary to complete the task.
In games which have a skill element, such as blackjack or Spanish 21, the house edge is defined as the house advantage from optimal play (without the use of advanced techniques such as card counting), on the first hand of the shoe (the container that holds the cards). The set of the optimal plays for all possible hands is known as 'basic strategy' and is highly dependent on the specific rules and even the number of decks used. Good blackjack and Spanish 21 games have house edges below 0.5%.
Traditionally, the majority of casinos have refused to reveal the house edge information for their slots games and due to the unknown number of symbols and weightings of the reels, in most cases it is much more difficult to calculate the house edge than that in other casino games. However, due to some online properties revealing this information and some independent research conducted by Michael Shackleford in the offline sector, this pattern is slowly changing.[1]
In games where players are not competing against the house, such as poker, the casino usually earns money via a commission, known as a 'rake'.
Standard deviation[edit]
The luck factor in a casino game is quantified using standard deviations (SD).[2] The standard deviation of a simple game like roulette can be calculated using the binomial distribution. In the binomial distribution, SD = √npq, where n = number of rounds played, p = probability of winning, and q = probability of losing. The binomial distribution assumes a result of 1 unit for a win, and 0 units for a loss, rather than −1 units for a loss, which doubles the range of possible outcomes. Furthermore, if we flat bet at 10 units per round instead of 1 unit, the range of possible outcomes increases 10 fold.[3]
- SD (roulette, even-money bet) = 2b√npq, where b = flat bet per round, n = number of rounds, p = 18/38, and q = 20/38.
For example, after 10 rounds at 1 unit per round, the standard deviation will be 2 × 1 × √10 × 18/38 × 20/38 = 3.16 units. After 10 rounds, the expected loss will be 10 × 1 × 5.26% = 0.53. As you can see, standard deviation is many times the magnitude of the expected loss.[4]
The standard deviation for pai gow poker is the lowest out of all common casino games. Many casino games, particularly slot machines, have extremely high standard deviations. The bigger size of the potential payouts, the more the standard deviation may increase.
Poker Blackjack Roulette
As the number of rounds increases, eventually, the expected loss will exceed the standard deviation, many times over. From the formula, we can see the standard deviation is proportional to the square root of the number of rounds played, while the expected loss is proportional to the number of rounds played. As the number of rounds increases, the expected loss increases at a much faster rate. This is why it is impossible for a gambler to win in the long term. It is the high ratio of short-term standard deviation to expected loss that fools gamblers into thinking that they can win.
It is important for a casino to know both the house edge and variance for all of their games. The house edge tells them what kind of profit they will make as percentage of turnover, and the variance tells them how much they need in the way of cash reserves. The mathematicians and computer programmers that do this kind of work are called gaming mathematicians and gaming analysts. Casinos do not have in-house expertise in this field, so outsource their requirements to experts in the gaming analysis field.
Blackjack Roulette Online
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'Michael Shackleford is the wizard of odds'. Observer. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^Hagan, general editor, Julian Harris, Harris (2012). Gaming law : jurisdictional comparisons (1st ed.). London: European Lawyer Reference Series/Thomson Reuters. ISBN978-0414024861.
- ^Gao, J.Z.; Fong, D.; Liu, X. (April 2011). 'Mathematical analyses of casino rebate systems for VIP gambling'. International Gambling Studies. 11 (1): 93–106. doi:10.1080/14459795.2011.552575. S2CID144540412.
- ^Andrew, Siegel (2011). Practical Business Statistics. Academic Press. ISBN978-0123877178. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
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