Dear Mark: Several weeks ago I wrote
to you to inquire about blackjack's Royal
Match bet and got your definitive answer
that I’ve summarized here in two words: bad
bet. Like most people who ask for advice, I
didn’t act on your info figuring I’d just
make the bet on the deal to limit the loss.
HA!
Yesterday, I sat at a blackjack
table at a local casino (Western Village for
you as a former Reno-ite). In those four
hours I never received the first two dealt
cards in suite while the bet was out. Royal
Match: I’m outta there.
It’s OK to hold me up to public
ridicule if you want to use this to
reinforce your point to your readers. But
please: Just don’t use my name—I’m already
suffering enough. Anonymous
Fortunate that you’re rich enough.
What I said was: ”The Royal Match wager, a
side bet in blackjack that is based on the
first two cards dealt to the player is a bad
deal, being over this columnist’s mandated
two percent tops casino advantage. By
ignoring the Royal Match offering, you keep
more of your hard-earned money in your
wallet for a longer time.”
What you read was only your
favorite words; like: Blah, blah, blah
ROYAL MATCH blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah SIDE BET, blah, blah, DEAL,
blah, blah, blah, blah, ADVANTAGE.
By the way, Willoughby, oops, I
wasn’t supposed to mention your name, but
next time keep a little something extra for
the Western Village’s Steakhouse, as it’s
one of my Top 10 picks as a best-kept secret
in the Reno/Tahoe/Sparks area.
Dear Mark: I am a novice Video
Poker player so here's my question.
Playing 5-card draw with jacks or better, I
draw a pair of 5s, a king, a 7 and a 2.
Do I just keep the pair of fives, or do I
keep the fives and the king? Jerry S.
A good decision on a live poker
game can be a bad one at Jacks-or-better
video poker. For instance, a kicker, a high
card with a pair, can be at times
advantageous to hold at your kitchen table,
but should always be discarded on a video
poker machine. Holding a kicker, to any
pair, Jerry, reduces your return by 5%.
I did write in a column years ago
that there was one scenario where you did
want to hold a kicker. There used to be a
time when the machine didn’t lock up as a
winner when four cards had the same face
value. For instance, you initially draw a
6-6-6-6-Jack. My advice back then was to
hold all five cards so that you wouldn’t
accidentally discard one of your
four-of-a-kinds. Today, most machines won’t
allow you the opportunity to do something
so… dummy me.
Dear Mark: What are you thoughts on
this roulette system? I wait for odd or even
to come up three consecutive times and then
bet the opposite on the fourth spin figuring
it’s due. Jenny T.
A roulette wheel has the same
recall abilities as a teenager you forever
yell at to turn off the lights when leaving
a room. None whatsoever.
Past results, Jenny, have no effect
on a future outcome. Regardless of what
happened on recent spins, on the next spin
there is a 47.37 percent chance the number
will be odd, a 47.37 percent that it will be
even, and 5.26 percent (the house edge) that
it will be neither (green 0 or 00).
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "To
be a professional gambler, to win year in
and year out, you have to be part
mathematician, part banker, part actor, part
martial artist...You have to be willing to
spend your life in casinos." Deke Castleman,
Whale Hunt in the Desert
