Gambling related articles
32
Red Australia
From
Jonathan
W
May 2013.
Blackjack and roulette are the statto's choices
If you love playing casino games online with a view
to actually making it pay - then either roulette or
blackjack are usually the smart statistician's choice,
based on the chances of winning.
With blackjack, card
counting can really help stack the odds in
your favour. The most common versions forms of card
counting are based statistics that demonstrate that
high cards (aces, 10s and all picture cards) benefit
the players more than the dealer. Low cards, on the
other hand, and most notably the fours, five and sixes
help the dealer while harming the players.
Therefore, a relatively high concentration of cards
with a value of ten and cases in any deal increases
the players' chances of hitting Blackjack, which pays
out at 3:2 (unless, of course, the dealer also has
a blackjack hand).
There is an enduring myth that card counters have
an ability to count entire decks, or sometimes up
to six decks of cards to benefit themselves. This
myth was further popularised by the "Rain Man" movie
in which Dustin Hoffman's character Raymond counts
six decks, though card-counters in real life have
been able to beat the house steadily.
Of course, such super-human ability wouldn't help
in online versions anyway, as the deck is a new one
each time and each card has a one in 52 chance of
being dealt before the game starts. But blackjack
is still the statistician's natural choice in online
casinos as, though the odds are stacked 21-20 in the
house's favour, the judgement element outweighs the
statistical probabilities of winning versus other
games. Roulette comes closest with just the zero giving
the house its edge, but of course, there's no judgement
element here.
Incidentally - if you ever read or hear about "statistically
proven strategies to win at roulette" or similar nonsense
that involves doubling up etc., please ignore it;
no such thing can possibly exist in statistical reality.
If you play long enough, you will gradually lose out
according to the laws of probability due to the house
edge.
Of course, the other way in which online casino players
can firmly stack the odds in their favour to begin
with is by taking full advantage of the ever increasingly
generous introductory bonuses on offer - as well as
the loyalty bonuses etc., or recommend a friend type
offers. Then, by playing a steady system based on
probable outcomes - the player really does have a
statistically good chance of coming out ahead. But
the best game to concentrate on then is blackjack
- and it pays to follow a card-counting strategy based
on probable outcomes. This may take some real self-discipline
so it's always wise to set yourself rules and goals
and not to veer from them. In particular, never, ever
bet more than you can afford to lose - this is just
a fun thing remember. But do choose the games with
progressive jackpots as this makes the whole thing
a lot more fun!
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