Assume a single zero wheel.
Two $25 wagers are made, both column bets. Columns are chosen arbitrarily. This covers 24 of 37 possible numbers, or 65% of the board. Any column win gains $25, of course if the 3rd column hits, or the zero, it's a $50 loss.
Is this a viable wager to consider?
You bet 2 X $25. At best you can win 2x25 back for a $25 gain. This will happen 24/37 of the time (assuming that single zero wheel of course). So your expectation becomes:
e = 24/37 * 25 - 13/37 * 50
e = 16.22 - 17.57
e = -1.35
You lose $1.35 every spin. House edge = 1.35 / 50 = -2.7%/ Since we know the house odds for the game is closer to -2.6%, the slight difference comes from my rounding things to the nearest penny in the above.
You can bet however you want, in any amount you want, but you will find the same house advantage applies to your total bet each time you play a spin of the wheel...
There is at least one bet I forgot about since I don't play roulette myself. The "5 number bet I've seen on 0/00 wheels" I don't know if there is an equivalent on the single-0 wheel, but the house edge is higher on this bet (often called a sucker bet btw). May be irrelevant for your game, I don't know.
You lose $1.35 every spin. House edge = 1.35 / 50 = -2.7%/ Since we know the house odds for the game is closer to -2.6%, the slight difference comes from my rounding things to the nearest penny in the above.
The EV for most bets on a single 0 roulette wheel is 1/37 = -2.70%
I had assumed my -2.7 was the result of the rounding. I forgot that the -5.28 / -2.64% stuff comes from 38 pockets, not 37...
Would have been OK had I stopped after computing the EV, and avoided relying on memory for the "expected house edge that's published everywhere". :)
Roulette is not my game, I was more curious about the columns wager. When my BJ, craps of VP game tanks, I may give the columns thing a shot. I may just bet red for grins to pass some time away and see what happens.
I think the house edge on a double zero wheel is 5.26% and single zero is 2.26%. Just seems to me that with 65% of the probable outcomes covered, it might be fun for a while.
If I do it, I'll post at some point how good or bad the outcome was.
Thanks.
I may just bet red for grins to pass some time away...
You would be better served outside the casino taking in some sun. Promotes vitamin D within the body and may even help to kill some bacterial and viral infections.
skin cancer is neither pretty nor healthy. It can also be fatal.
There may well be sunny days, but you won't be doing any sun-tanning. Most sun you're gonna catch is as you dash between casinos.
Have no fear, I am not a big advocate of roulette, just thought it might be a kick.
Less cancer in construction workers than office workers. They also retain more hair. Why?
If you are willing to spend $1.35 per spin for entertainment, then there are much better options available. Assuming 30 spins, or roughly $40 an hour, you could:
1. Enter a Texas Hold'em tourney. There should be a number of tourneys that average out to less than that amount per hour, even assuming that you have absolutely zero chance of winning.
2. You could see a movie, which is a much better deal, or a show, or a sporting event, or go out for a decent dinner.
3. You could always get a really cheap hooker.
Just want to throw out some other options for your entertainment dollar. All of the above sound like more fun to me than staring at a Roulette wheel, but to each their own.
Don't play holdem, don't do many movies, and sure as hell don't need a hooker. I do enjoy Outback though, but don't think I'll sacrifice my gaming coin to order a bloomin onion. But thanks for the concern and options. :-)
This is all for fun, nothing serious. I still think I'll give it a shot, that is if I get bored at my favorite games.
Roulette just seems so darn boring. Craps is more of a party game with all the yelling, etc.
forget the roulette wheel and have a good barbeque dinner with some good friends.
Hell, you can't go wrong with that, right?
:-)
Regards,
drumz1
You must understand that most of us here are very serious about our time and money. The best AP's on this site have no desire to gamble any $ when we have no advantage. So please forgive us for trying to keep you and others who come to this site, from being a gambling degenerate. You must realize that about 99% of the people playing games in casinos should really find something else to do with their time and $. It is a bad habit for those kind of players.
Given you came to this site and asked a question, we will give you honest truthful answers. If I do not give you good advice, there are others here that will let you know it. Therefore, if you are going to gamble, why not spend a little time to learn how to do it right. You are at the best place in the world right now to begin the learning process.
Better than all this Drumzy, how about we get a bunch of barbeque and we get out on that White River and just float, fish, and eat?
I wonder how that "scenery" is doing though since the Katrina thing. I am still amazed the water got 10 feet high there. Kinda manager you wouldn't mind working for!!!
Gimme a call and tell me about that Reno thing.
Regards,
WC
If you're willing to play a game with a known house advantage of 2.7%, you might as well approach the game attempting to gain an advantage somehow, some way.
Instead of randomly picking two out of three columns, why not see if you have any luck trying to "time" the drop of the ball onto the wheel? You'll want to learn the order of the numbers as they appear 'round the wheel, then see if you can key-in on a third or a fourth of them depending on the speed of the ball on the wheel and the wheel's location. See how good you can get at identifying which croupiers have a consistent "throw". At least, you'll actually be "studying" some potentially profitable aspects of the game.
Even if you have no luck with it, you're still operating under the premise that what you're practicing might be profitable for someone incredibly skilled at it. At it is, you might as well just stay up in your room and pitch pennies against the wall.
You must understand that most of us here are very serious about our time and money.
And just what is it that makes you think I'm not serious about my time or my money? I posted a rather mundane question about a roulette wager that I thought might be fun to try once in a while.
The best AP's on this site have no desire to gamble any $ when we have no advantage. So please forgive us for trying to keep you and others who come to this site, from being a gambling degenerate. You must realize that about 99% of the people playing games in casinos should really find something else to do with their time and $. It is a bad habit for those kind of players.
Wow, from a simple question, you've discerned that you are going to save me from being a "gambling degenerate". Pretty harsh words for someone of whom you have no remote clue! I'll accept an apology any time you think you're up to it.
Given you came to this site and asked a question, we will give you honest truthful answers. If I do not give you good advice, there are others here that will let you know it. Therefore, if you are going to gamble, why not spend a little time to learn how to do it right. You are at the best place in the world right now to begin the learning process.
FYI, I've been coming to BJ21 for a bit over 7 years I believe. And, most of that time I was a GC member. There was a time when I was a pretty good KO player, playing green to low black. I've been RFB at several Vegas and south coast casinos. Please don't get so patronizing in your words that you have to sound so condescending. I didn't see the sign that said you were annointed as the board spokesman. And, I'll take whatever answers are offered, and discern for myself whether they have merit or not.
This is about having a little fun with a diversion from BJ, VP and craps. Do all the games you play have a positive right off the top?
If you have a problem with my roulette question, or any other time you see me post, I have a suggestion for you. Don't open the post! Not trying to be confrontational here, but I think you went off the deep end over such a microscopic question!
This thread is great evidence that APs tend to be very evangelical. I am plenty guilty myself (see 6:5 thread below). I'll try not to judge here and will just ask a simple question. What is it about Advantage Play that stirs up such passion? We end up blasting each other over arguments about a tenth of a percent advantage and other minutia. We also immediatly attack anyone who wants to place a bet just for fun.
I think that it has something to do with the fact that we are constantly hiding our skills while at the table. The internet turns into an outlet for all of our pent up frustaration at not being recognized for our hard work.
