Dear Mark: Once again, I lead off by writing
that I closely follow your column in the
Gazette Journal in Reno since moving here
nearly 4 years ago. In that time, I've not
read a blurb about the blackjack table
adjunct, Royal Match. No doubt this is to
put more money into action on the table for
the casino, and accordingly it probably is
bad odds for the player. But is it? I don't
seem to have much luck with it. “EW” T.
The Royal Match is an optional side bet in
blackjack that concerns the first two cards
dealt to the player. For example, if you
make this alternative wager and your first
two cards are suited, such as a five and
seven of spades, you are paid 5 to 2. If it
is a Royal Match, (a suited king and queen)
that bet pays 25 to 1. The final outcome of
your blackjack hand has no bearing on this
side wager, since the matched hand is paid
immediately, well before the standard
blackjack hand is played out.
The casino’s advantage on a Royal Match bet
depends on the number of decks used.
Surprisingly, the more decks in play, the
better the odds for the player. If playing
on a six-deck shoe game, the casino
advantage is 6.67%. On an eight-deck game,
the house edge is slightly lower at 6.46%.
For the player, it gets progressively worse
the fewer decks there are in the game. For
four decks, the house advantage is 7.08%,
for two decks it climbs to 8.33%, and on a
single deck game it’s 10.86%. You can lower
the casino advantage on the single deck game
considerably if you find a paytable where a
non-royal match pays 4 to 1 versus 5 to 2,
but you’ll take a bit of a hit on an elusive
royal match that pays lower, like10 to 1.
The casino’s advantage with these rules is
3.77%.
Here’s the deal, EW. You’ll never find a
side bet offered by the casino that is a
better bet than the basic game it decorates.
These pseudo-whoopee side bets typically
carry a house edge that ranges anywhere from
3 to as high as 76%.
True, EW, the Royal Match bet has a casino
advantage lower than many of the side wagers
offered by the casino, but it’s still a bad
bet, being that it’s well over this
columnist’s mandated two percent tops house
edge on any casino bet you make.
Dear Mark: Would you please explain what
straddle means in poker? Glen S.
Some Old Timers of the game of poker will
undoubtedly correct me as to what the true
definition of straddle is. They believe it’s
the second of two forced blinds, usually put
in by the player two positions to the left
of the dealer. They call these two bets the
blind and straddle.
Today’s player believes a straddle bet as an
optional (voluntary) blind bet with the
purpose of increasing the stakes of the
game, made by the person to the left of the
big blind, and before that player receives
his or her cards. Usually equivalent to two
big blinds, straddles are only used in games
played with blind structures and are
normally not permitted in tournament play.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: “The two things
you need to be successful in poker are,
first, find the muck, and second, don’t play
your own money.” -- David "Devilfish" Ulliott
