OT: RE: Re: Wheel and deal

[Baker, John]

Actually, an odds bet in craps has no house edge.  An odds bet can be placed only after a pass or come (or don't pass or don't come) bet.  However, a few casinos, such as Casino Royale in Las Vegas, allow small pass or come bets and large odds bets, making the house edge essentially nonexistent for players who consistently bet the minimum initial bet and the maximum odds bet.  (Presumably the casino would change its minimums and maximums if this strategy were widely followed.)  Blackjack can actually have an edge to the gambler, when the gambler counts cards, but casinos have taken steps to make this difficult.
 
Of gambling "devices," the Big Six wheel has probably the largest house edge:  11 - 24%, depending on the bet.  Edges in slots vary but are generally 2 - 18%.  Roulette's edge is 5.26% for the American double-zero wheel and 2.7% for the European single-zero wheel (also used in a few American casinos).  I believe keno, which can have a house edge of up to 66% on some bets, is generally considered to be the game with the largest house edge.
 
However, Wilson's larger point is correct:  The house controls the odds and can always create a game that has even worse odds.
 
 
John Baker

________________________________

From: American Dialect Society on behalf of Wilson Gray
Sent: Sun 2/18/2007 2:12 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Wheel and deal



Different strokes for different folks, Fred, since *all* gambling odds
favor the house.

-Wilson

On 2/17/07, Fred Shapiro <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Fred Shapiro <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Wheel and deal
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, Wilson Gray wrote:
>
> > I'm with you, Doug. According to urban legend, the roulette wheel is
> > the gambling device whose odds most favor the house. If this legend
> > lies within eyesight of fact, it's unlikely that wheeler-dealer could
> > have acquired its current meaning from reference to professional
> > gamblers in the Old West.
>
> Just a minor nonlinguistic point: I believe slot machines are the gambling
> device whose odds most favor the house.
>
> Fred

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