Figuring Your Taxes in
Baccarat
14 April 2006
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
Is there an easy way to figure out the
commission in baccarat when betting the banker
hand? Secondly, why do they charge a commission
in the first place? David F.
Here's a nifty little trick I used to figure out
the commission when I dealt the game. Divide the
winning bet by two, and then scratch the zero.
For instance, you make a $60 bet on the banker
hand and it wins, paying even money. Half of the
$60 win is $30, drop the zero, and your
commission is $3.
As for why a commission, David, it's because the
player hand is always played out first, causing
the banker hand to win 50.7 percent of the time,
versus the player hand at 49.3 percent, ties
excluded.
To roadblock the gung ho gambler from forever
betting the banker hand and being in receipt of
a 1.4 percent advantage, the casino taxes all
winning banker wagers at a rate of five percent.
It is due to this commission, charged on your
winning wagers, that the casino holds a 1.17
percent edge over the banker hand, and a 1.36
percent advantage over all player bets, ties
included.
Still, even if the casino levies a slight
percentage from your winning loot, the banker
and the noncommissioned player hand are two of
the best bets on the casino floor. Both are fun
and profitable, and isn’t that, David, what
gambling should be all about?
Dear Mark,
I see the jackpot for the Mega Millions is now
over 200 million. What are the odds of hitting a
prize for that lottery? Jimmy K.
Was that "a" prize, Jimmy, like "just any", or
the "Big Kahuna?" Either way, the odds of
winning the Mega Millions jackpot are
approximately one in 176 million. The odds of
winning any of the Mega Millions prizes are
approximately 1 in 40.
Dear Mark,
It seems the consistent recommendation in
blackjack is to always split 8s. But if the
dealer is showing a strong card, does it make
sense to put more money on the table with the
dealer in a strong position? Bill S.
I am sure, Bill, that most readers will warm to
your point; it has a certain healthy smell of
horse sense about it, but not quite enough.
Watch closely. With two 8s against a dealer 10
card, the good common sense your momma raised
you with tells you that splitting this hand just
creates two losers. It probably seems that every
time you've split 8s it in the past, sure, you
might occasionally get two 10s, but then the
damn dealer flips over his card and it's always
a 10 card in the hole. But actually, what you're
really doing when you split 8s is breaking up a
16, the worst possible hand you can have in
blackjack.
Here's the arithmetic, Bill, based on a
kazillion computer simulations of 8s against a
dealer's10. If you split 8s, you will lose $44
for every $100 wagered. If you were to just hit
the hand, you would lose $51 for every $100 bet.
You may not necessarily always put extra jingle
in your pocket by splitting 8s, but you will
lose less money over the long run if you split 'em.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: One day a chump,
the next day a champion. What a difference a day
makes in tournament poker. --Mike Sexton
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