Casino Player September 2022

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Casino Player America’s Premier Gaming Magazine print • mobile • online VOLUME 33 • ISSUE 4 P R E S I D ENT & CH I E F E X E CU T I V E OF F I C E R Derek James P UB L I SH E R & E D I TOR I A L D I R E C TOR Lisa Robertson-Dziedzic P R O D U C T I O N D I R E C T O R Diane Stevens-Gillan S E N I O R E D I T O R S Sean Chaffin

PLAYERS TALK

BLACKJACK AT SEA Just returned from a cruise.As I walked through the casino, I noticed that the blackjack tables were paying 2 to 1.If a $100 bet on a 3 to 2 game pays $150 for a blackjack, and a $100 bet on a 6 to 5 game for a blackjack pays $120, what does a $100 bet on a 2 to 1 game pay for a blackjack? thanks —Gary Woodland Park, CO Donald Schlesinger responds: It would be astounding to me that blackjacks would pay 2 TO 1, as this would confer an advantage to every basic strategy player on the ship! I’d be willing to bet that, even worse than 6 to 5, this ship was paying 2 FOR 1, which is to say even money on naturals—obviously, a disaster. So, because I don’t think the cruise was planning to give away money, I’d say that $100 black jacks were going to pay $100 and not $200, which would be the payout for 2 TO 1. Video Poker RNG Out of the possible 2,598,960 hands in a 52-card deck,do video poker manufacturers program all of these combinations into the RNG? Does it also include all possible combinations of royal flushes?Thank you. —Gary L. Via the Internet All combinations that are possible with a phys ical 52-card deck are possible in video poker with an electronic 52-card deck.The 2,598,960 possible five-card hands in which card order doesn’t matter stems from the ways the cards in a 52-card deck can be arranged.Video poker games are programmed with all 52 cards, with each having an equal chance of ap-

pearing, so the chance of any specific five-card hand appearing on the deal is 1 in 2,598,960. The possibilities are an easy calculation. There’s a 1 in 52 chance of any card being dealt on the first card, but the remaining cards then have a 1 in 51 chance of being dealt as the second card, then 1 in 50, 1 in 49 and 1 in 48. So the number of possible five-card hands dealt in any specific order is 52*51*50*49*48, or 311,875,200. But card order doesn’t matter in video poker As far as you and the machine are con cerned, Ace-King-Queen-Jack-10 of the same suit and Jack-King-10-Ace-Queen are the same hand. Any five-card hand can be arranged in 120 different orders, so we can divide the 311,875,200 possible hands by 120. That leaves 2,598,960 possible hands in which order does n’t matter. Online Blackjack I’ve started playing blackjack online, maybe an hour or so twice a month. I live in New Jersey where it’s legal, and it’s been a nice way to play while staying home more and avoiding viruses. The first few times I played, I approached it just like live games.Then it hit me.There was no reason not to have a basic strategy chart right next to me. I wasn’t slowing anyone else down. No dealers were going to look at me funny. This has been a big help for me. I can just glance to my right and have the play. That’s a good solution for a quick look at hands where you’re shaky at strategy. Another way with more detail would be to set up a tab with theWizard of Odds black jack hand calculator at https://wizardo fodds.com/games/blackjack/hand-calculator/. You can click to set up the rules you’re fac ing such as number of decks and split and dou ble down conditions. When you’re in a troublesome hand, you can click card images to reflect the hand, then enter to show possible plays and average outcomes. Using a chart is faster.The calculator will give more specifics and pick up on differences in hand composition. Royal Payout If your chances of drawing a royal flush in video poker are around 1 in 40,000,why is the payoff for a five-coin bet only 4,000?Wouldn’t equal be more like 40,000 coins paid per coin bet, or 200,000 for five coins? —Anonymous Via the Internet

Karrie L. Zukowski C O P Y E D I T O R Lon Rozelle

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C O N T R I B U T I N G W R I T E R S

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