Working notes on the odds behind card and table games
Entries filed under table games, newest first.
House edge, hold and return to player describe three different quantities that are routinely used as if they were one. Separating them makes published figures much easier to read.
Filed under: Odds and probability, Table games — permalink
The difference between the two common roulette wheels is a single extra pocket, and the whole edge lives in it. The payouts are identical; only the denominator changes.
Filed under: Table games, Odds and probability — permalink
Basic strategy is a lookup table produced by exhausting every dealer outcome, not a feel for the shoe. It answers one narrow question, and it answers it completely.
Filed under: Card games, Table games — permalink
Baccarat offers three bets, and the commission on one of them exists precisely because it wins slightly too often to be paid at even money.
Filed under: Card games, Table games — permalink
The odds bet behind a point is the rare wager paid at its true mathematical price, which makes it a useful reference point for reading every other bet on the layout.
Filed under: Table games, Odds and probability — permalink