Winner Winner
April 9,
2010
Dear Mark: I
was wondering, do you have any idea where
the phrase “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”
originated from? Why do people shout it out
when playing? Johnson T.
“Winner Winner Chicken Dinner” is
occasionally yelled out on the casino floor
to suggest a positive gambling result. Its
origin, the way I’ve heard it told, was that
years ago every casino in Las Vegas had a
three-piece chicken dinner for $1.79. Your
typical wager back then was $2, so if you
won your bet you had enough for a chicken
dinner.
Speaking of cheap eats,
don’t we all long for those 99˘ breakfast
specials or $3.49 prime rib buffets? I still
believe that a trip to a low-cost chow line
is the casino’s best way of encouraging
repeat business. But I digress.
Dear Mark: I recently played video
blackjack on a Game King machine and did
well using the standard rules for hit, stay,
double down, etc. I'm wondering how this
machine differs from the table game aside
from the speed of play. I completed 6-7
hands per minute. Are there any
advantages or disadvantages? Mike H.
Manufactured by IGT, Game King
offers different pay table variations and
rules for different casinos, so an iron-clad
all-port answer’s impossible, and a literal
answer would be difficult, but, here are
some generalities that might help.
Single-player video blackjack games are
usually dealt from a single electronic deck,
which is reshuffled after every hand. The
advantage of a video blackjack machine over
a live game is the low minimum bankroll
requirement needed to play. The video
machines also lack the intimidation factor
of the live game, and one makes a dandy
practice companion for working on perfect
basic strategy.
One of the
benefits of a Game King machine is that it
permits late surrender, meaning that if the
dealer does not have blackjack, the player
may surrender half the bet after the first
two cards are dealt as an alternative to
playing out the hand. Single-deck basic
strategy, which you should use since the
deck reshuffles after every hand, recommends
only surrendering on a hard 16 against a
dealer's 10 or Ace.
Also,
always play an even money amount because
machines that do pay 3 to 2 for blackjacks
typically do so only when an even sum has
been wagered. Don't short-change yourself
out of the correct payoff by betting an odd
amount. Which leads me the biggest
disadvantage you’ll find on a lot of video
blackjack machines. Never play on a machine
that offers even money for a blackjack.
Most casino video blackjack machines
have altered the payoffs for blackjacks and
pay even money on natural 21s instead of the
true value of a blackjack (3 for 2). The
loss of that bonus is going to cost you an
additional 2.3 percent. Considering that
blackjack has a house advantage of less than
0.5 percent over a basic strategy player
like yourself, you would be giving away a
considerable amount percentage-wise. This
one slight variation can easily turn a
winning visit into a losing one.
Hopefully, Mike, you are taking full
advantage of those splits and double downs.
Those, along with 3 for 2 blackjacks can put
the happy jingle in your pocket. Do not
shortchange yourself in these situations.
When your strategy card says to double or
split, do it.
Just as you would
at a live blackjack game, make sure that you
get rated for your play. Always use your
Player's Card when playing video blackjack.
The added cash-back when using your Player's
Card can turn a session from red to black.
Finally, with any game that has a
built-in advantage, and video blackjack
does, the more hands you play, the more the
machine will chip away at your bankroll. Yet
your speed (hands per hour) of play,
alongside your use of basic strategy
shouldn’t be much of a factor.
If for instance, Mike, you are a quarter
player playing a buck a hand, a
back-of-the-envelope calculation of
multiplying each bet ($1), by the house edge
if you play a strong basic strategy game
(0.5%), then multiplying that result by the
number of bets you will make in an hour
(420), tells me your estimated losses will
be $2.10 every 60 minutes. Now that’s some
pretty cheap entertainment.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: “Blackjack
was just me against the house, but poker
came with personalities that ranged from
racist scum bag to snake-like vermin.”
--Cat Hulbert, Outplaying the Boys
