A long while back, and I believe it was your column, you cited an instance where a person walked up to a roulette table and placed a bet. The person walked away a winner. The point I want to make is that the croupier said that he had made the perfect bet. Would you tell us what that bet was? Fred R.
I am not quite sure, Fred, if it was in my column; these days the only thing I can remember is what I had for lunch yesterday (the burger basket special at Don’s Drive In in Traverse City), and sometimes the day before that (duh).
You question if there is such a beast as a “perfect” bet on a roulette table. Yes, but nobody can use it except Sasquatch on February 31. All wagers but one in the American game, have a 5.6% house advantage. And that one, the “five-number line bet (0, 00, 1, 2, and 3)” carries a casino edge well over 7%. It, Fred has the worst odds on the table. Therefore, unless you are Sasquatch and arrive aboard Nessie, all roulette wagers are flawed in favor of, guess whom, — ah! you guessed – the house.
But there is one wager, sometimes allowed, that could be considered the Best Bet on a roulette table. Some casinos, such as those in Atlantic City, have a special rule that allows only one half of the wager to be lost whenever the ball lands on zero or double zero (0, 00). This even-money outside bet is called Surrender. Surrender (or “en prison” in French) is allowed only on even money bets that pay off at 1 to 1 (Red/black, odd/even, 1-18/ and 19-36).
Here is an example on how this wager works. If you were to bet Red, and 00 or 0 came up, without Surrender, you would automatically lose you bet. If Surrender were available at the casino where you play, half of your wager would remain on Red through the next spin. It’s called Surrender because your bet is temporarily held hostage, or “en prison” if you like, awaiting the outcome of the next spin. This Surrender option cuts the house edge on even money bets to 2.63% on the American game, and down to 1.35% on the European. The European Wheel, having no double zero (00), is much more bettor-friendly than the American wheel.
So, Fred, two thoughts here: Look for the Surrender option when playing even money wagers in roulette; and, given the choice between the two wheels, always play the European single zero wheel. Make it three thoughts: The correct question is NOT what is the perfect bet, but the perfect move, the one you mentioned in your second sentence: walking away a winner. How many players do that?
Dear Mark,
Please settle a bet that I have. Isnšt there a crap game where you don’t lose when 2, 3, or 12 Sbobet rolls on the come out roll? My friend has never heard of such a thing. Stanley F.
Yes, Stanley, there is such a game and it is called Never Ever or Crapless craps. On this mutant version of craps, you do not lose on the 2, 3, or 12 on the come out roll. Instead, if the shooter tosses the 2, 3, or 12, it becomes the point, just as the 4, 5, 6, and 8, 9, 10 would. By the way, Stanley, you didnšt mention the 11, but if the shooter throws 11, it is not a natural. The 11, like all the other numbers mentioned, becomes the shooter’s point. The 7 on the come out is your only instant winner.
Crapless Craps is neither recommended nor worth the hullabaloo of playing, as the house edge on the pass line with these modified rules is a WOW 5.4%, about four times the typical crap gamešs 1.4% pass line edge.
Gambling quote of the week: It’s a strange thing, I haven’t won yet, but I feel and think like a rich man and can’t imagine being anything else. -Dostoyevsky, The Gambler
