Player choices make a difference in blackjack, regardless of whether you're playing online blackjack or in a live casino. That's one of the keys to the game's long-standing popularity.

The most obvious choices that make a difference come in blackjack strategy. Do you hit or stand. Should you double down? Should you split a pair? 

Basic strategy can be your guide to those options, but there are choices beyond playing strategy that make a difference in your chances to win or lose.

 Is it better to play at a crowded table or an empty one? Are fewer decks always better for players? Those are among the choices players face in addition to blackjack strategy once the game is underway.

Let's explore some of the decisions blackjack players must make.

Is It Better to Play at a Crowded Table or an Empty One?

Some players love the social experience of playing at the same table as others. Some like to go solo and neither interact with anyone but the dealer nor fret over whether bad decisions by others will affect their hands.

Never mind that bad plays by others help you just as often as they hurt you and are best ignored. The times they hurt gall some players enough they'd rather avoid the issue.

But an important factor is speed of play. When there are fewer players at the table, the game moves faster. It takes less time to deal the cards, play the hands and settle the bets.

Jim Kilby, in his highly regarded text "Casino Operations Management," listed average hands per hour at 52 at a full seven-player blackjack table, 60 with six players, 70 with five, 84 with four, 105 with three, 139 with two and 209 with a single player. Those are averages, variables with dealer speed and the time it takes players to make decisions.

In online casinos, where dealing and settling bets is nearly instantaneous, the game moves even faster. It's possible for a player to reach 500 hands per hour.

Faster games favor whoever has the mathematical edge on the game. That's the house in nearly all cases. Some skilled card counters who have an edge benefit by a faster game, but for most players, more hands per hour mean more bets, bigger risks and on average, larger losses.

In live casinos, your average losses per hour are lower if you play with more players. When playing online, it's in your best interest to slow the game down and take some time over your decisions. 

Are Fewer Decks Always the Better Choice?

If all other rules are equal, the house edge is lower when fewer decks are in play. That's mainly because blackjacks are more frequent with fewer decks. Players are paid 3-2 on blackjacks in better games or 6-5 in games to avoid. There is no such bonus payoff for the house. The house collects only your original bet if the dealer has a blackjack.

Why are blackjacks with fewer decks more common? Imagine this scenario. Your first card is an Ace and you need a 10-value card to make blackjack. In a single-deck game, 16 of the other 51 cards are 10-values, or 31.4 percent.

With six decks, 96 of the other 311 cards, or 30.9 percent, are 10 values. You make the blackjack more often in the single-deck game.

However, blackjack comes with a set of mix-and-match rules, and a six-deck game can have a lower house edge than a single deck game if it has more favorable rules.

If a single-deck and a six-deck game each have the dealer hit soft 17, allow double downs on any first two cards, allow double downs after splitting pairs and allow Aces to be split only once with one card dealt to each Ace, and allow other pairs to be split up to three times to make four hands, the house edge against a basic strategy player is a negligible 0.008 percent in the one-deck game, but much larger at 0.62 percent with six decks.

However, if the single-deck game restricts double downs to two-card totals of 10 or 11, does not allow doubles after splits, and allows pairs to be split only once, the house edge climbs to 0.45 percent. And if the six-deck game has the dealer stand all 17s, including soft hands,  the edge drops to 0.40 percent.

Players must look at the full set of rules in play. In isolation, fewer decks give you a better game, but other rules can make it worth your while to play with more decks.

Is it Better to Play a $5 Table Where Dealer Hits Soft 17 or $10 Table Where Dealer Stands on All 17s?

Whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17 is one of the most important of the mix-and-match rules described above.

Having the dealer hit soft 17 adds about 0.22 percent to the house edge against a basic strategy player. You can see that in the previous section where the six-deck game described has a 0.62 edge if the dealer hits soft 17 and only 0.4 if the dealer stands.

But is it worth risking more money to get the better rule? 

At a full seven-player table moving at 50 hands per hour, a $5 bettor risks an average of $250 per house, while a $10 player risks $500.

In the six-deck game with a 0.62 percent house edge, average losses for the $5 bettor would be $15.50 per hour.

The $10 bettor at the table where the dealer stands on all 17s faces a lower edge at 0.40 percent, but with the higher wager total, average losses come to $20 per hour.

The lower house edge gives the $10 bettor an improved shot to win,  but the difference in house edge isn't enough to negate the bigger bets. The house edge matters, but so does your bankroll and your bet size.

Does it Help to Play More Than One Hand at a Time?

For card counters who have an edge over the house, playing multiple hands when the count is strongly positive can be beneficial in good times.

For basic strategy players or average players, playing multiple hands doesn't dent the house edge at all.

If you keep the total wager of playing two hands at the same size as your normal one-hand wager, your average losses will be the same either way. Averages and odds on two $10 bets are the same as on one $20 bet. 

If you bet more by making multiple bets, then your average losses will be higher than if you stayed with one bet. You may like the feeling that playing multiple hands might smooth out volatility and give you more shots to win per deal, but that doesn't change the math. 

Things are different for a card counter, but average players who like to play multiple hands must be careful not to boost their overall bets and overextend their bankrolls.

As most casino gamblers know, the odds of winning one of winning a jackpot with six, even, or eight figures is almost infinitesimal. Those eye-popping payouts may make plenty of headlines, but like the lottery the odds are extremely long.

And winning on those major progressive machines comes with even longer odds and can cost players even higher amounts to wager. The house has an edge in most games, but even more so when it comes to slot play in a live casino.

“Each game you play at a casino has a statistical probability against you winning,” Investopedia notes. “Slot machine odds are some of the worst, ranging from a one-in-5,000 to one-in-about-34-million chance of winning the top prize when using the maximum coin play.”

But people do win – and some actually have the good fortune of winning a jackpot more than once. Elmer Sherwin may be one of the best examples of completing a double jackpot. In 2005, the 92-year-old World War II veteran chalked up his second mega jackpot after winning $21.1 million on a Megabucks at Cannery Casino in North Las Vegas.

In 1989, Sherwin also scored a $4.6 million payday on a Megabucks machine at the Mirage in Las Vegas. Winning that second jackpot had fulfilled a lifetime goal.

“I'm glad I finally hit,” Sherwin said. “I've been trying to do it again.”

Some slot players recently at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, have ramped up the jackpot winning as well. Over the last year, several players have recorded multiple jackpots, some cashing in for even more than two. Here’s a look at some of these players who have really cashed in.

Slot-Playing ‘Caesars’

Caesars Palace was unveiled in 1966 with plenty of fanfare. The property offered the best of the best for casino visitors from dining to shows to suites and more. The property has hosted some huge events over the years, including an attempt by daredevil Evel Knievel to jump his motorcycle 141 feet over the casino’s signature fountains. That didn’t end well.

 Caesars has also been known for matches featuring some legendary boxers, including Muhammed Ali, Marvin Hagler, and Sugar Ray Leonard. The property has also hosted tennis matches with players like Jimmy Connors as well as the Caesars Palace Grand Prix.

The name Caesars Palace was meant not only to showcase the Roman theme, but also meant to allow players to live and feel like caesars themselves. And some recent slot machine players were probably feeling like Roman royalty after hitting multiple jackpots over the last year.

On March 26, one lucky player recorded a $125,000 jackpot at 9:30 p.m. Less than two hours at around 11 p.m., this same gambler chalked up another jackpot of $383,500. At about 12:30 a.m., Lady Luck smiled on the slot player again for another $159,250. The three- hour winning streak saw the slot fan walk away with $667,750.

Even More Multiple Jackpot Winners

A winning run like that couldn’t possibly happen again, right? Wrong. Recent history has seen even more players cash in several times on trips to Caesars Palace, an unlikely run of paydays at the property.

In August, another Caesars visitor recorded a staggering number of jackpots – a total of 10 over two days for a haul of $2.1 million. The winning began on Aug. 18 with five jackpots totaling $1 million. The lucrative vacation continued the next day with five more jackpots for another $1.1 million. Most players would be pretty excited about seeing double-digit payouts for a total of $2.1 million. The experience made for quite a Las Vegas getaway.

These two fortunate reel spinners no doubt had some wide smiles on their faces, but weren’t the only Caesars multi-winners over the last year. 

In July, a player took down three slot jackpots in a single day between slots and video poker. Over a Friday and Saturday, this player’s slot play brought a $100,000 payday. If that weren’t enough, this winner also played some video poker and grabbed two more payouts of $200,000 and $100,000 for a smooth total of $300,000.

In March of this year, Caesars saw yet another double-jackpot winner – scoring $165,000 on the first win and an even better $545,000 at a different machine just a few hours later. This was quite a day, with winning to the tune of $710,000.

Cashing In

Most gamblers would be envious of these kinds of trips to the casino. But these winning streaks are highly unlikely, especially considering it’s already highly unlikely to win these types of major scores.

Slot manufacturers are a bit secretive when it comes to the odds of cashing in on some of the game’s biggest jackpots, but the chances get up to one in millions.

“Progressive slots are a good example of high variance games,” Untamed Science reports. “The cumulative jackpots available can regularly exceed a million dollars, but winners only ever crop up every few months or even years.”

Some of those odds are as high as one in 100 million, according to some reports. This makes these types of multiple payouts at Caesars even more unlikely – the odds are just so stacked against a player finding these kinds of winnings. But a game’s random number generator keeps payouts at random.

While one game can see long periods of time between major payouts, others may pay out several jackpots over a shorter length of time. These slot winners just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

In the casinos, there are two things that are directly after you. You certainly know one of them. That’s the house edge. More, that’s the house edge in every game and almost every moment in every game. It waits for you and it wants to take you down. You know that or, at the very least, you should know that.

The casino has created a house edge that all players must go up against almost all the time in every game. That house edge undoes us almost all the time too. Certainly the longer we play, the more likely we will be behind. I know that, you know that, and almost all casino players must know that. It is a general rule we must fight against.

Indeed, we can learn the best strategies for whatever games we wish to play. Some of these strategies can be sophisticated and somewhat tough to learn, as the computer-derived basic strategy in blackjack can be. Or some strategies may be simple, as in just knowing what slot machines have a better chance of returning more money to us over time. (The non-progressives!)

With all that said, there is a second “they” that lurks in most (if not every) casino. This “they” is not some house percentage edge over you but a breathing, living, thinking, often nasty stalking human being, looking to take you down – or at least take your money and perhaps your health away too. And the “you” here is literally you. And it is not a game. It is the real deal. It is you.

This “they” can be found in every city and perhaps every town in America and the rest of the world too. Bad people going after good people (and you belong to the good people is my guess). 

Sadly, they can be found in casinos. Oh, yes, the casino is the house of money where plenty of people have plenty of money ripe for the pickings. 

The casinos know this. Those “they” know this too. Often the folks who don’t know this are the players who have come to the temple of chance to try their hand at turning the gambling world into their pot of gold.

I have asked many casino players if the fact that there can be crime in casinos a worry. Low-rollers don’t really consider it. (“After all, who wants my red chips?”) Medium rollers have some concern and high rollers without their own private security really know this.

But like walking down a city street, be it in the dark or even in the bright sunshine of a beautiful day, everyone should be aware and concerned about literally getting hit upon. Meaning getting hit in the pocket or purse or worse.

I’ve had 40 years in the casinos and I have heard about the various scams and tactics of some of the casinos’ multifarious criminals. I’ve even taken some courses some years ago to get a handle on this problem – and make no mistake about this, it is a problem. 

Some of these stories came from corrupt dealers but most of them came from that “guy over there following me” or that pretty woman who wants to talk to me in the elevator at my floor. There were even some “slight of hand” professionals, who could take your chips from your pockets without you knowing it. Magicians are not just in the theaters. 

Here are some examples of what can help you avoid trouble in the casinos and in your rooms and on the streets. It is not an exhaustive list but it will get you thinking about your safety and the safety of your valuable stuff where that valuable stuff is located – and, yes, please consider yourself valuable stuff too.

Your Room is Your First Defense

“Okay, let’s head for the casino!” she says.

“But first,” he says.

“Keep the set on in a way that makes it sound as if we are actually listening,” she says.

“Yep,” he says and increases the volume enough that it can be heard somewhat by anyone standing outside their door.

Sound coming from your room is a good thing. That placard that says “Silence: Room Occupied” or something to that effect should always be placed on the door when you are not in your room. This is a big help in letting people know someone is in that room, right this moment, even if someone isn’t.

Of course, someone can knock but that will not usually happen. There are many fish in the casino ocean. Why take the chance on your room that has television sounds coming from it?

If you are a known high roller, the area of the casino where you are lodging will (must!) have plenty of security in that area. That is a self-defense position by any casino protecting a high-rolling player. 

Down We Go!

Guys and ladies, you are now heading down to the casino. Where do you keep your buy-in money? Please not your purse, ladies. Don’t even keep your room key there. Guys, no, no, not in your wallet! Keep your money loose in the top pocket of your shirt – your buttoned top pocket of your shirt! Make the bad person have to face you or at the very least have to reach around you to try to get that money.

Make everything “they” have to do be something of a chore. Nobody likes chores. Nobody. Even bad people don’t like chores. The more chores a thief has to do, the worse it is for the thief.

And what about that elevator? You came down in it and you’ll have to go back in it to get up to your room. You might have a lot of money with you when you go back up.  So, what about it? Simple, if you are the least suspicious of anyone about to get on the elevator with you – do not get on the elevator! You owe no one an explanation for why you aren’t going back up. Just step out and forget about the people in the elevator.

Going down can be a bit of a burden. If someone is on the elevator and he or she looks suspicious, don’t get in. Going down isn’t usually a problem because most people don’t go down to stop at any floors. They are usually going down to play or eat, etc. Still, be aware.

Oh. And be aware that some thieves work as teams; many pick pockets do.

Charge Your Credit Card and/or Room

You do not have to pay cash for very much in a hotel or casino. As much as possible, everything should be on a credit card – and, if you can, make sure your credit card has your picture and place on the back of it and you want the vendor to have you prove you are you. Any thief seeing this can’t usually charge your credit card. 

At the Table 

If you have discipline, having a credit line at the tables is usually a good thing – but you have to be disciplined and in control of your emotions. Too many players will drain their credit line if things have been going against them. So many players will even take money out of their credit cards – no, no, no to that too; the interest rate is ridiculous doing something such as this. 

Do not buy into a game with loads of money if you don’t actually play loads of high-valued chips during your session. No point in doing that. I mean the dealers will usually call out what you just bought in for.

“Hey, everybody, Janet just bought in for ten thousand dollars!”

“Oh, yeah, Ralph her besotted husband just bought in for ten thousand one dollars!”

“Announcement! Announcement! Any thieves in the area please come to table 111 and see if you can strike up a friendship with these two! They are a little lax in handling their money.”

Don’t Be a Slobbering Drunk Jimbo

A lot of people enjoy a drink or two at the casinos. Fine. I do. 

But some casino patrons are under the impression that they must get so drunk they can’t remember their room numbers. They are asking for trouble, not just from their livers either, because drunks can be easy marks for the fast-moving casino sharks looking to take a quick bite out of them.

You impress no one by putting a lot of money up that you aren’t actually going to play with. Keep it with you. Someone walking by a table or walking into the high roller room wants to see the chips piled high. Better still, they want to see you coloring up to larger denomination chips to take to the cage for cash. They will love that you are tipsy. You see, you being tipsy is actually topsy for them.

As you are carrying your loads of chips – which are almost spilling out of your hands – get to the cage fast! Someone wants to talk to you?

“Sir, sir, can we have a conversation?”

Pass ‘em by. Better still, never, ever be afraid to call security because they are there not only to secure the casino but they are there to secure you.

Winning Money is Fun

Okay, you’ve won some money. To a normal person, you have won a lot of money; maybe you actually have won a lot of money and maybe you are carrying those high denomination chips – loads of them to the cage; what do you do? 

If you want to go back to your room – maybe it is a fine high-roller suite reserved for the best of the best players (meaning players who spend a lot of money) – that elevator better not have anyone on it that looks suspicious or presses your floor number after you do. If so, vacate the elevator. Now go to security and ask for a security guard to escort you to your room.

Some patrons of casinos worry that if they don’t get on an elevator with that “other” person, they are making that other person feel bad. Okay, so what? 

If you are alone in the elevator, feel free to go up. A lot of people is usually a better thing too. Stand with your back against the wall if you can.

Indeed, having security escort you to your room is not a sin. Losing a load of money to a thief is a sin – and the thief should have true justice for his crimes.

Dressing Up or Dressing Down?

I love fine restaurants. That I do. They are rewards for me for doing my work or not doing my work and rewarding myself for taking some time off from the labors of making a living, or gathering with friends and beloved relatives and always and always with my wife the Beautiful AP.

Therefore, if you enjoy fine dining, good for you! Dress up, head to the gourmet restaurant at your favorite casino, in fact, go to your favorite restaurant at your favorite casino. Enjoy fine wine. Enjoy the whole experience. Yum, yum, yummy!

When dinner is finished, sign the check over to your room, give a good tip to the wait staff, and then head back to your room and change out your dinner clothes. That’s right. You aren’t going to be trodding the casino floor in your fine dinner wear are you? That’s a sign that says, “Hey, everyone, I got some bucks so that I can afford these clothes!”

Advertising ourselves is not the best example. If you look really good, you might look good enough to go after. Sharks are sharks, right?

Now, I do understand that many casinos and hotel bars and nightclubs exist for people to meet each other. For that, I do not have the best recommendations. I met my beautiful wife when we starred in plays together. I wasn’t a good bar patron. I was, however, a decent actor.

Thankfully, she fell in love with me ... and I forgot the changing of the clothes! Sorry about that.

Dress down for casino play. You don’t have to light up the casino; it’s bright enough already. Dress in a way that makes you look as if you don’t have enough money to waste robbing you. Sharks want meat so try not to look as if you are human chum.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

We all hope to hit it big at the casino. For most of us, winning a few thousand dollars would be the dream come true. Then there are those who lived the dream writ large. They won millions instead of thousands, and the payoffs were life changing. Making these victories even more special, they got snagged in single sessions, not over the course of multiple nights spent grinding it out.

What does it take to rack up a jaw-dropping win? Sometimes, you need strategy and a knowledge of the game you’re playing. Always, there looms the unpredictable luck factor, which invariably plays a key role in massive payoffs at the tables. And finally, since one never knows when luck will strike, there is something to be said for putting up the money and being game to go for it.

Here are some of our favorite big winners, people we salute for their abilities to keep wagering and to not quit until they got to where they wanted to end up. 

Media Baron & Casino Crusher

Kerry Packer holds the crown for being one of the biggest and most prolific gamblers in the world. The Australian billionaire’s  winningest night of all? A 1997 run he had at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He is said to have played blackjack for $200,000 per hand, covering six spots at a time. So, each of the dealer’s hands had $1.2 million on the table with Packer giving himself six opportunities to win or lose.

During this infamous streak, he clearly won more than he lost. In fact, the wins are so large that it is unclear exactly how much he ultimately took down. While it’s reported to be as much as $40 million, a pal who was there has claimed that the total is closer to $26 million. Whatever the case, the sum was jaw dropping. And not just for him. When all was said and done, Packer reportedly tipped the MGM crew $1 million. Clearly, it was a good night for everyone – except for the holders of purse strings at MGM Grand.

It’s Never Too Late to Score Millions

While it’s easy to believe that gambling is best enjoyed by young people, Johanna Heundl is an exception to that rule. 

She proved her mettle in 2002 while celebrating her 74th birthday in Las Vegas. Like almost everyone visitor to Sin City, she figured that she would take lady luck for a spin.

Heundl did it via a progressive slot machine at Bally’s, laying out $100 to try winning the $3,000 progressive. But that didn’t work out. Her money got drained. Rather than quitting and heading off for eggs or pancakes or whatever, Heundl ponied up another 100 bucks. 

Things were not looking good on the rebuy until, some $70 in, she hit a jackpot that far exceeded $3,000. Heundl was thrilled with what she believed to be a $2 million payday. When staff strolled by, though, she found out that she was wrong.

In fact, her payout was $22.6 million. Clearly, it was the greatest birthday present imaginable and nobody complained about her being late for breakfast.

Squeezing Tropicana

The professional gambler Don Johnson has won tons of money and reaped loads of comps from casinos around the world. But his most stunning win has got to be the one that he engineered at the Tropicana in Atlantic City. 

As with Packer, Johnson excelled at blackjack. He found his edge by demanding advantageous rules: a hand-shuffled six deck game, re-splitting Aces, dealer stands on soft 17 and a 20 percent discount on losses. 

All of that, combined with incredible luck – as Johnson has acknowledged to me – allowed the blackjack whiz to fleece the Tropicana out of nearly $6 million over the course of an on-fire 12-hour-long session in 2010.

For obvious reasons, Johnson was unenthusiastic about the world getting wind of his massive takedown. But that became impossible after bosses at the casino made public that its poor financial showing for a particular quarter was due to the win of a player named Don Johnson.

The revelation gave Johnson notoriety in the gambling world, but it also led to casino managers handling him with care and, eventually, not providing him with the rules he needed to keep winning. But Johnson doesn’t mind all that much. Blackjack was just a side hustle for him. He makes his real money handicapping horse racing, and that continues to go strong.

Clocking the Wheel

In his book “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk,” the world-class sports bettor Billy Walters writes about clocking roulette wheels. 

He put together a team of people who traveled to casinos around the United States and found biases on the wheels. After all, they are mechanical devices and prone to mechanical glitches. Recognizing the wheels with specific biases that resulted in certain numbers hitting more often than they would if the game was completely randomize, he set out to win millions of dollars.

Among his biggest scores: nearly $4 million, aced during a 38-hour session at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, which was then owned by Steve Wynn. Walters bet $2,000 per spin on the same five numbers: 7, 10, 20, 27 and 36. He managed a magnificent profit at a game that statistically comes out on top against gamblers. Of course, though, with his hard-earned knowledge, Walters was not exactly gambling.

Putin’s Prize

This, strictly speaking, is not a gambling win, but it did come down in a Vegas casino, it did happen in a single session and it is too juicy to not include among our favorites. 

In 2018, the Russian UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov successfully defended his lightweight title in a match against Conor McGregor. According to UFC President Dana White, Nurmagomedov was on his way to the dressing room when he received a call from Vladimir Putin. The Russian strong man, according to White, “gave him and his father like $20 million worth of property in Russia.” As far as we’re concerned, that’s a heck of a Vegas win.

Maybe Putin was impressed by Nurmagomedov post-victory tactics: He jumped into the crowd and mixed it up with a teammate of McGregor. 

And while the real estate windfall is nice, it’s hard to keep from wondering what Putin might have done if Nurmagomedov had lost the match.

Roulette is a game with an amazing number of bets. These bets are all about the numbers, their colors, the types of numbers they are, where those numbers exist in conceptual terms (such as high/low, columns and such). It is a game where you can get lost in the numbers. You can also lose your money. 

Players can find themselves swamped with bets and swamped with losses on those bets. The more bets a player makes the more you have a chance to win those bets but the more (the very, very more) chance you have of taking a beating. 

In the world of gambling, less is best for the player. That is a good dictum to remember.

Just to give you an idea of how dangerous multiple betting can be. Check out the inside numbers on the roulette table (let us use the double zero wheel of 0 and 00). You have numbers 1-36 and you have the 0 and 00. You have a one in 38 chance of hitting any one of those.

The payment for a hit is 35-to-1. The true payment should be 37-to-1 as there are 38 numbers. Short changing the payoffs will give the casino the advantage. That gives the house a pretty substantial edge of 5.26 percent. Translated into cold hard cash that is an expected loss of $5.26 for every $100 wagered. The more a player bucks that edge, the better chance the player will be behind.

Now, change the above scenario to this one: the player decides to bet 19 of the 38 numbers. Wow! That gives the player a 50-50 chance to win a bet. Hooray! Unfortunately, the player will still lose 18 bets on which he or she wagered and also lose 19 bets on the numbers not wagered upon. Yes, those bets will keep having the house edge removed.  

The end results? You guessed it. The house edge will still ring supreme and so much more money will be lost because of the immense number of bets the player made. Put this firmly in your brain – less is more!

Numbers Count

Players will no doubt notice that many casino games will give the player a chance to bet on many different and many multiple propositions. The game of craps offers many possible bets and most craps players will make such bets – to their chagrin.

Roulette, just like craps and some other games, can open the player up to desiring maximum coverage of as many numbers and propositions as possible. Sadly, these players are offering themselves up to be hammered. The players don’t actually think that; they think they will win more with more bets. Sounds good but is it really?

[Please note: On the new triple-zero wheels – 0, 00, 000 – the house edge is 7.69 percent. Yikes! The casinos are promising players of that game that they will get more in comps! That means literally the casino expects the players to lose more money and some of that money – the players losses – will come back to them as comps.] 

Now, more bets, more wins might sound logical but it is, as I wrote, wrong. The more bets going up against the house edges, the more losses will accumulate. You just can’t escape the long-term implications of that truth. You might call that “the empty-pockets and purses truth.” The more bets; the more losses. That is the unvarnished truth.

Yes, you can win at times with a lot of bets but those times will not carry you through to ultimate victory. Fewer bets risked will mean your bankroll will probably not be devasted. More bets? Bigger bets? You know what will occur.

That scenario we have to avoid. But maybe we can have it both ways?

Working Around The Many Bets Syndrome

Some players do want more than one bet on the layout because they think this increases their chances to win in the long run. We now know it doesn’t as we can readily see. 

Because of this delusion, they will bet more than one number straight up. Instead of betting say $10 on a single number, they will bet $50 on five numbers or a $100 on 10 numbers thinking erroneously that this really helps them.

We can get around this. We can bet more than one number but still not increase the house edge on us. I’ll make that crystal clear – we will have more numbers working but our losses will average the same over time. That is not bad at all. At least I do not think that it is bad. 

Split bets

Take two red chips (equals $10) and bet on a line between two numbers. Now those two numbers are your two numbers. You aren’t paying any more money to get those two numbers – betting on the line between them increases your chance to win but does not put you more in danger over time. This is casino logic, yes, but it means something good in this usage. The key? You are not betting more. If you aren’t betting more, you can’t lose more.

One more example. Look at those two green numbers (0 and 00). You can bet both of them at once just by putting your $10 between them on the line. Yes, two numbers can be wagered. You want a couple of bets? Then splitting to two numbers helps.

More More-Number Bets

There are many more “more-number” bets at roulette. You aren’t just stuck on the splits. No sir. You have the opportunity to bet plenty of numbers with just one small bet. That’s right. You can increase your winning chances. Splits can be for more than two numbers as well. Few players do this but just ask the dealer if you want to split up a bunch and he or she will explain how to do this.

[Please note: By increasing your numbers wagered, you are reducing payouts on wins but there will be more wins, perhaps plenty more wins. And what will the house edge be? Yes, that’s right; it will be 5.26 percent on the total amount of money you bet over time. Sadly, you can’t usually escape that – except in some enlightened casinos but more of that later.]

Columns

These bets are based on 12 numbers. They are called the columns. Look at the number 1 and go down the numbers directly under it. Now look at number 2 and do the same thing. Now look at 3 and down the column you go. These three 12-numbered columns can be separate bets incorporating a dozen numbers each.

You can place a bet at the bottom of any of those three. Indeed, you can even bet on two of the columns. If you are somewhat nutty you could bet all three. That, of course, would be somewhat ludicrous.

The winning column bet pays 2-to-1. However, those green zeroes do not fit into any column. If you wish to bet either of those along with a column or two that would take a separate bet on each or both of them split. Don’t bother doing that. It will cost you more.

The Dozens 

Okay, you don’t have to bet a “column” to be able to bet a dozen numbers at once with just a single bet.  Here’s another way to bet a dozen numbers with just one wager.

On the outside of the layout farthest from the dealers are the dozens bets. They are set off with a small box on the outside edge of the numbers. There are three dozens you can bet on: 1-12; 13-24; and 25-36. Most roulette tables will have each of these dozen bets in their own boxes numbered (you guessed it): First Dozen, Second Dozen, and Third Dozen.

The payout for hitting a dozen box is 2-to-1. Again, you have to bet the green zeroes as a separate bet if you want to cover those numbers. Nah! I don’t recommend doing this. One bet is the best bet. Always keep that in mind when you play roulette in the safest way.

The Even-Money Bets

I have saved what I consider to be the best bets at roulette for last. These will close the show as they say in, well, show business. I only bet them and I ignore all the other bets when I play the game.

Why is that? My chances of hitting an outstanding (meaning a miserable losing streak that seemingly goes on forever spin after spin) are quite small when I play the even-money bets. Oh, yes, I can lose playing this way and I will over time be a loser playing the even-money bets but I won’t get knocked out in the first round. I can usually last.

Why is that? 

First “even-money” does not mean the bets are 50/50 propositions between player and casino. Each bet, the high/low, the red/black, and the odd/even, will win for the player 18 times (nice) but will lose 20 times (not so nice). 

Yes, the house edge is again 5.26 percent – nuts! – because the casino wins more and the player wins less. We can’t seem to shed the house edge can we? In a little while we might be able to reduce it somewhat. Hold on for that. It’s one of the best things some casinos do for the roulette even-money players!

I ignore all the other bets when I play roulette. I want to last and my bankroll certainly lasts playing this way. It has for 40 years!

A Present for the Players

And, and, and – here is some good information for some of you. Some casinos give the even-money players a benefit for playing those even-money bets. It is called surrender on the double-zero wheel.

Here is what the benefit means. If the 0 or 00 hits, you will only lose half your even-money bet. This is a great gift (and it is a gift!) because now the house edge on players who only bet even-money bets is reduced in half. Correct. Now you only face a 2.63 percent house edge – a much lower house edge than before. 

[Please note: The casino usually doesn’t have a sign indicating this fact on their game. Indeed, please note that the casinos don’t have signs explaining the house edges on any of their games, table games, slot games, etc. Yes, we know what certain rules mean in terms of a house edge at this or that game but the casino won’t broadcast those. Tables don’t have any indication on any game what that game returns in terms of percentages going against the player. These you must find by reading websites such as this or my books or articles and books by other serious casino writers. That’s how it is, folks, players who lack knowledge is not good for players. It’s good for casinos.]

Now, to discover whether the house has surrender you must ask them thusly: “Do you have surrender on the even-money bets where you give back half the bet when a zero or zero-zero shows?” Most will say, “No,” but some will say yes. Those are the roulette games you should play.

And What About Those Other Roulette Games?

The most common roulette game across America has been the double-zero game (0, 00). However, there are also two other roulette games, one good, one absolutely awful. The awful one is being shoved into casinos because it has an outrageously high house edge. I’ll save that horror for last.

The single-zero wheel (0) is known as the European/French wheel. There are 37 numbers 1-36 and just that one zero. The house edge is 2.7 percent. Pretty good, right?

It has all the bets on the American double-zero game (0, 00) with one exception the “five number bet,” a crummy bet with an insane house edge. 

On the even-money bets, if that (0) shows, the casino might merely lock up the bet for the next spin. That bet is not a loser. This (called en prison) also reduces the house edge in half – to 1.35 percent, one of the best bets in all of the casino.

And now for the worst roulette game being introduced into the casino – the triple-zero games (0, 00, 000). The house edge is a ridiculous 7.69 percent. Yuck! 

If you find that is the only game being offered then just bet half the spins. There is no law that says you must bet every single spin of the roulette wheel. Protect yourself.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

We all need to get away. And if you’re like me, you want to go to one of the world’s top gambling cities, a place where legal gaming tops the menu. Casinos make great bases out of which to vacation. Of course, there is the clang of slot machines, the tumble of dice and the divvying of cards at the blackjack table. 

Just as importantly, though, when you are in a great casino there is so much to do. The world’s best casinos function as self-contained hotspots. 

They come complete with top-notch restaurants, luxurious spas, round-the-clock room service, usually a fabulous swimming pool and some iteration of top-flight entertainment. Then, of course, there is the gambling and the fact that casinos tend to be located in cool cities.

Wishing you pleasant travels, here is a list of the five greatest gambling cities in the world and why you should visit them. 

LAS VEGAS

Las Vegas, situated on the edge of America’s Mojave Desert, has long reigned as the king of gambling locales. 

Taking into account the number of casinos there, it ranks as the biggest casino city in the world. Las Vegas has more than 170 casinos and over 90 casino hotels – that is, places to stay where gambling is on offer. It’s also a place with different gambling neighborhoods to accommodate the budgets and lifestyles of visitors. 

Everywhere features non-stop games and great sports betting. The sports books all have giant TVs and comfy seats that make it a pleasure to hang out and watch the basketball or football or whatever-kind-of-ball unfold with wagers that make it all the more exciting.

Most famously, there is the Vegas Strip, with the fanciest hotels, highest stakes gambling and best-known restaurants. Top places to stay at on the Strip include Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas, Cosmopolitan and Fontainebleau.  

Fontainebleau is the newest, it boasts terrific restaurants such as Mother Wolf and Papi Steak, a private club on the top floor and a cool nightclub called Liv. 

Bellagio has the famous fountains, its own clutch of great dining spots and a poker room where pros like to play. Cosmopolitan skews a little younger and splashier with the semi-private Talon Club for high rollers. 

Created by taste-maker Steve Wynn, Wynn Las Vegas is known for posh accommodations, mega high limits, a poker room of its own and great entertainment with resident performers like the magician David Blaine. 

A more suburban experience is to be had in the neighborhood known as Summerlin, where Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa rules the roost. It’s a Strip-quality casino with easy access to hiking and more rural explorations. 

Downtown Vegas is an older precinct where the best place, for my money, is Circa. A great feature there is Stadium Swim, a pool that never closes, which essentially functions as an outdoor sports book with games being shown on a giant screen. Barry’s Downtown Prime is a phenomenal, subterranean steakhouse and Saginaw’s Delicatessen serves the best pastrami in town.

If you love gambling, Las Vegas is a place that you must visit.

 MACAU

A ferry ride away from Hong Kong, Macau is often referred to as Las Vegas of the East. The name is justified, considering that Macau is the biggest gambling city in Asia.

In fact, in terms of gambling revenue, it often outshines Las Vegas. There are 24 casinos on Macau Peninsula, which is the original gambling hub there, and 17 in a second gambling ‘hood, referred to as the Cotai Strip. 

Visitors to Vegas will recognize familiar names in Macau. The city boasts outposts of Wynn, MGM Grand and Venetian. 

Similar to what is found in Las Vegas, Macau’s joints offer 24/7 action on the casino floor and all the sports betting you can desire. 

Native casinos include the old school Lisboa, Macau Palace (on the water, it  is often described as a “floating casino”) and City of Dreams with its Michelin-starred restaurants, four hotels and high-energy vibe.

One thing unique to Macau is the overriding love of playing baccarat. That game rules in the casinos. It’s not unusual for baccarat tables to roll out for as far as the eye can see.

When visiting Macau, make like a local, sip from a glass of milky tea and buy into a game of baccarat. From there, your only decision will be whether you should wager on the banker or player.

MONTE CARLO

If you’ve seen the James Bond movies “Never Say Never Again” and “Golden Eye,” you would naturally be thirsting for a visit to Monte Carlo. 

Besides being a top gambling destination, it ranks as one of the world’s most luxurious destinations (regardless of the gaming). Yachts crowd the waterfront, Michelin-starred restaurants warrant a visit and the casino gambling experience is as opulent as it gets. The must-play spot there is Casino de Monte Carlo. 

The elite gambling den opened in 1856 and still retains a sense of old-world elegance with high-stakes blackjack, baccarat, craps and roulette among the games of choice. 

One thing unlikely to repeat from the old days: in 1913, the ball in a roulette game is said to have landed on black 26 times in a row. Millions of francs were blown, as bettors wagered on the streak being broken. It finally was, of course, but, by then, the casino had loaded up on winnings. 

If you gamble high enough, angle for a comped room at Hotel de Paris, in close proximity to Casino de Monte Carlo and dripping one-of-a-kind elegance.

SINGAPORE

Everyone knows that Singapore is a great food city, but it is also one of the top gambling cities in the world. 

Marina Bay Sands there is fantastic for more than gambling, and clearly appeals to players who believe that bigger is better. The largest gambling resort in the world, Marina Bay Sands houses 2,500 rooms, enough swimming pools that you will never get bored of paddling around and an outpost of Universal Studios for the kid in all of us. 

But of course, we are there for the gambling and there is no shortage of that. 

The gaming floor boasts more than 600 table games – including craps, blackjack and baccarat, with every variation and side-bet that you may desire – plus 2,300 slot machines. And when you get hungry from all the action, check out eateries from celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck, Gordon Ramsey and Daniel Bolud. 

LONDON

With all there is to do in the capital city of England, you might not think of casino gambling as being a key attraction. But, in fact, London counts itself among the world’s greatest gambling cities and the place is completely poker crazy. 

There are more than 20 casinos, with the Hippodrome and the Empire, both in Leister Square, ranking among great places for a punt. 

On the other end of things, there are private casinos such as Crockfords (where Kelly Sun and Phil Ivey attempted to pull off their high-flying baccarat play via edge sorting before it all unraveled) and Crown London Aspinalls. They are designed for high rollers and operate on intimate scales.

Whatever you go for, though, you will surely have a blast in one of the world’s hottest casino destinations.

In this "Roulette Strategy Guide: Searching for Biased Wheels," you’ll learn about a well-known method that has been used to beat the game of roulette. 

Taking advantage of biased roulette wheels was a real prospect before casinos began using technology to track roulette outcomes. Searching for roulette wheels with biases, in land-based and online casinos, isn’t easy and finding one is a big challenge. But how do you go about finding a biased roulette wheel? 

And how do you bet on a roulette table that has a bias roulette wheel? Keep reading because as we unlock the mysteries of those elusive biased roulette wheels, the most important questions will be answered. 

Roulette is an Old, But Still Exciting Gambling Game

Casino goers have been fascinated with the game of roulette for centuries. The roulette wheel evolved from a simple spinning top developed in France in the late 1600s. By 1843 the first single green zero French wheel was in use.

Roulette gamblers and spectators watch the drama of pending bets unfold — all those casino chips placed on numbers on the roulette betting layout. 

All eyes are drawn to the little white ball spinning around the live roulette wheel. And then everyone seems to hold their breath and skip a heartbeat as the ball drops onto the roulette wheel and lands in a numbered pocket. 

Live roulette outcomes conclude by randomosity. The interrelating factors include the relationship between speed and momentum, obstacles, and conditions. 

Casino House Edge in Roulette vs. Biased Roulette Wheels

Everything about roulette is random right? And so, the game cannot be beaten because of the casino house edge which is 2.7% on a single zero roulette wheel.

Think again. When a roulette wheel has a bias, part of the random nature of roulette outcomes branches off into their own dominating ecosystem, and thus a statistical abnormality is flowered.

When a roulette wheel really has a bias, a player’s edge can be established—but only when the player wins. The percentage advantage for a player can vary depending on how bad the bias is for the casino. 

And any such edge cannot be pinned down since there’s no guarantee a bias will demonstrate itself when money is being staked at a roulette table. 

A roulette gambler trying to take advantage of a bias roulette wheel only needs to bet big on the right winning outcomes to profit from the bias. The numbers on a wheel he identifies as forming the bias will be the key to him beating roulette.

What are Biased Roulette Wheels?

One or more errors can contribute to forming a bias roulette wheel. Such as physical defects, wear and tear, chips, indentations, scratches and unlevel surfaces. 

When a roulette wheel has a bias, game outcomes tend to favor certain numbers — I believe no more than seven numbers. A bias only needs to be slight for a roulette player to gain a substantial winning advantage.

There’re two main ways a roulette wheel is damaged enough to cause bias. Before I get into that, it’s important to understand the journey a roulette ball makes before landing on a number.

The Process of Live Roulette Games: How Games are Decided?

Live dealer started roulette games are decided randomly. The following five factors go into determining how a roulette game will conclude:

1. The area on the ball track on the bowl of the wheel, in relation to the numbered pockets, at the moment the dealer releases the ball.
2. The speed of the spinning ball.
3. The speed of the wheel (that turns in the opposite direction to the ball).
4. The most random factor is the moment the ball leaves the track – possibly colliding into one or more deflectors then falling onto the wheelhead and possibly changing direction if rolling up and off from the rotor cone, bouncing and hitting one or more of the pocket dividers.
5. And so, a roulette game will conclude with the ball finally settling in one numbered pocket.

Each of the numbered pockets will go through phases where they peak as outcomes above other numbers. This is normal within the allowable variance pertaining how randomness operates in live games.

The greater the number of recorded live outcomes, the more likely different numbers will take over the top ranking positions. But when a roulette wheel has a bias there will exist sticky numbers that remain in top ranking positions.

The Casino House Edge on Roulette Games 

Casinos rely on the law of large numbers – safe in the knowledge that – small winning and losing streaks even out over many thousands of roulette outcomes. So, in the long-run, the house will profit from gamblers staking money on roulette games.

A roulette wheel could have a bias, but if no roulette player knows about it, the casino won’t lose money. 

Taking Advantage of a Biased Roulette Wheel

If a roulette player is aware of a bias roulette wheel he could take advantage. Depending on how much he stakes on roulette outcomes, and how much of a bias there is, he could win lots of money from a casino.

If a gambler discovers a biased roulette wheel they should act fast to try and win as much money as they can from it before the casino fixes the errors.

Have Gamblers Profited from Biased Roulette Wheels?

Over the years various people have exploited biased roulette wheels to beat the house at its own game. They won a lot of money gambling on roulette numbers that hit significantly more times than is normally expected. 

In the late 19th Century, English engineer Joseph Jagger famously won big at the Casino de Monte-Carlo over several consecutive days. Jagger hired six people to note down roulette outcomes of six roulette wheels. 

He then analyzed the data and identified the numbers on one biased roulette wheel that provided him with an excellent opportunity. This inside knowledge gave Jagger the confidence to bet big on those numbers. 

It proved to be a powerful advantage over the house that made him rich. Jagger won about two million francs — about £8million in today’s money, allowing for inflation.

Is it Still Possible to Win on Biased Roulette Wheels?

As methods improved in roulette wheel manufacturing and tracking roulette outcomes, identifying biased wheels has become extremely difficult. 

Noticeable physical exploits are now rare especially when roulette wheels are maintained by casino engineers.

However, since Jagger’s day there are numerous accounts of gamblers who took advantage of bias roulette wheels in modern times. Some of these big roulette winners are listed below.

• In 1950, Helmut Berlin.
• In the 1960s, Dr. Richard Jarecki.
• In the 1990s, Gonzalo Garcia-Pelayo.

Truth be known, there still could be roulette players who profit from biased roulette wheels in casinos. Operating under the radar, they choose not to win big in one session which is why they don’t make headlines.

Even though casinos track roulette outcomes, biases can still develop before a casino notices or has the errors repaired. The bottom line is that the stats taken from a roulette wheel should prove a bias before a casino acts. 

Though a casino may not do anything about an existing bias – they may not have noticed or acted on – until a player begins to win a lot of money. Most casinos don’t have roulette wheel engineers on site.

Spotting a Biased Roulette Wheel

Earlier I wrote there’re two main ways I believe a roulette wheel can be damaged enough to cause bias. A biased wheel should not be so obvious otherwise the casino would withdraw it from the gaming floor. This is why casinos now use technology to detect and fix errors. 

But it’s still possible for a roulette gambler to pick-up on errors before the casino makes changes.The issues leading to a bias roulette wheel are as follows:

1. Bearing related – Wear and tear and imbalance damage can be caused by over use and dealers leaning on the wheel. This kind of bias on a roulette wheel will affect a sector of the wheel.
2. Metal divider issues – Finger rings worn by dealers and the pressure applied to turning the wheel causes damage. 

This kind of bias on a roulette wheel will favour particular numbers. And these numbers are not necessarily contained in one area of a roulette wheel.

You see, the older a roulette wheel has been in use, the more likely it is prone to bias. In my view, it’s the roulette croupiers/dealers who start live roulette games who cause biases in roulette wheels. 

This is because they lean on wheels and cause damage to dividers as they speed up wheels and slow the rotation of wheels. 

I believe biased roulette wheels do exist and most of them have evolving bias. What I mean is that the bias that exist now on one roulette wheel will change over time. The imperfections of existing biases can worsen, and new sub-biases could develop. 

In the same way stone steps become worn by millions of people stepping on them over hundreds of years, the appearance of the damage changes overtime. 

In this respect, casino dealers really do leave their signatures on roulette wheels. But we can’t spot a bias roulette wheel without identifying those winning bias roulette numbers.

How to Know if the Casino has Moved a Roulette Wheel

Firstly, it’s important to make sure that you know how to identify a particular roulette wheel. Don’t try and inspect it when it’s in use. When the dealer is standing beside a roulette wheel operating games he’ll keep the wheel turning. 

It’s difficult to inspect a moving wheel. Go and inspect the wheel early morning or late at night. But whatever you do, don’t make it obvious that you’re inspecting the wheel. Most casinos don’t bother covering their roulette wheels when they are not in use. 

Stand close to the wheel and pretend to be talking on your phone. Don’t lean on the wheel or on the table — just stand beside it.

Look at the wheel then look away. Do this a few times to note three different areas of the actual wheel — not the bowl — that have certain significant marks or scratches that can’t just be dusted away. But whatever you do, don’t ever touch any part of a roulette wheel. And don’t take any pictures of a wheel using your phone. 

Casinos have more security cameras per square foot than the Bank of England. They only need a small excuse to ban you if they think you’re up to something.

Leave the area, and while still fresh in your mind, make a note on a piece of paper or on your phone where the marks/scratches are in relation to the numbers on the wheel. And make sure you’re out of sight of the casino’s cameras that can zoom in on your notes.

If the casino moves a roulette wheel you’ll know how to find it. And whatever you do, don’t tell a soul in the casino. Once you tell someone a secret it’s no longer a secret. If the word gets out you are tracking outcomes, and the casino gets wind of it, you’ll be booted out.

Anyone is allowed to note down outcomes and casinos even provide scorecards. But they don’t like people gathering too much information trying to search for bias roulette wheels. 

How to Identify Winning Biased Roulette Numbers

Identifying a biased roulette wheel: Option 1: 

It’s not enough to spend a couple of hours tracking 100 or 200 spins of a roulette wheel. A small sample like that could look biased, but that would be the result of normal variance within that limited dataset. 

Identifying a biased roulette wheel: Option 2: 

You can record many thousands of outcomes on many wheels. But this will take one person years and there’s no guarantee you’ll discover a biased roulette wheel. If roulette outcomes favored one or more numbers constantly, casinos would take measures. 

Trying to find a biased roulette wheel by analyzing many thousands of outcomes can take time. And the information isn’t dependable because in flux swings in popular numbers will render a suspected bias to be superficial or short lived. 

Identifying a biased roulette wheel: Option 3: 

An easier way would be to capture the four or five hot and cold numbers on display. If you did this for three or up to six months, certain hot numbers may emerge. This is not to say there’s any long-term bias, but the data would give you a promising idea of what is going on. 

And if you noted these results twice in a day, i.e. early evening and late evening, you’d have some useful information that could form a valuable picture overtime.

If you can show the progression of change in hot and cold numbers. Meaning if certain hot numbers stayed hot overall for longer than others then you might be onto something. 

Of course, this is assuming the casino doesn’t move wheels around the gaming floor. You would need to ensure the data relates to the same wheels you are monitoring. 

Is it Possible to Discover a Biased Roulette Wheel Online?

Assuming the roulette wheel is live, i.e. dealer started and it’s the same wheel being used then it’s still possible to discover a bias. Of course, it’s always going to be easier to discover and profit from land-based roulette wheels with biases. 

Trying to profit from online biased roulette wheels will be a challenge. Because a player’s profit and loss are monitored in real time, there’s only a small window of opportunity to win big wagering in online roulette games (read this article for even more roulette strategy advice). 

Betting on Biased Roulette Wheels

Would it be easy to win money betting on a roulette wheel that has a bias? If there truly was a bias on a roulette wheel that had not been noticed by a casino or the error rectified, then in theory a roulette player should be able to win big. 

But the roulette player seeking to take advantage would need to work out when to stake bigger bets on the bias numbers. 

A roulette player would need to know roughly when the numbers are likely to hit. It’s one thing discovering a slight bias and another thing knowing when to place bets and how much to risk on those roulette games.

Q&A Roulette Strategy Guide: Searching for Biased Roulette Wheels

Has anyone ever found a way to beat roulette consistently?

From 1843 to the present, people have been trying to beat roulette consistently. Individuals such as, Joseph Jagger, Helmut Berlin, Dr. Richard Jarecki and Gonzalo Garcia-Pelayo did win big exploiting physical defects on bias roulette wheels. But the casino house edge on roulette remains.

Do biased roulette wheels still exist?

Physical roulette wheels are not perfect. Biases can develop on roulette wheels due to flaws and damage. Although biased roulette wheels exist, they are not easy to find in land-based casinos and are even harder to find in online casinos.

How do you know whether a roulette wheel has a bias?

You won’t be able to tell if a roulette wheel has a bias just by looking at a wheel. But there can be signs that it might. If the roulette wheel is old and well-used there may be signs of damage. 

However, the real test if a roulette wheel has a bias is achieved by gathering many thousands of roulette game outcomes. When certain numbers (no more than seven) “consistently” rank at the top of the outcome chart, then those numbers probably form a roulette wheel bias.

Players know the feeling, regardless of whether they're playing online blackjack or in live casinos. From the first hand, they're engaged, interested, thinking strategy on every card. It's a fun game, especially, when winning streaks are coming often enough to keep bankrolls full.

But when players start to make mistakes, it's time to watch out. The "Fatigue Factor" can undermine even the best players.

Know When to Quit

When you're tired, it's easy to let your guard down. Maybe you hit a losing streak and reach for your wallet when you really should be taking a break. Maybe you start misreading your cards. Maybe you start making strategy mistakes or making reckless plays.

If you recognize any of that behavior setting in, it's time to step away from the table or screen. 

Even if a little recklessness or misjudgments haven't started, think about putting a time limit on sessions. Card counters, who work hard to get an edge on the house, often play no more than an hour at once. For them, playing short sessions is in part an effort to keep casino operators from catching on to their methods, but it also avoids fatigue and keeps players fresh.

Mistakes lead to losses, and sometimes to much bigger losses than your normal limits if you're reaching for extra cash or credits without thinking about it.

Take a walk. Get a snack. Maybe even take a nap. If you want to play more, come back when you've refreshed.  I'll admit to having played marathon blackjack sessions in my younger days before it dawned on me that fatigue was not my friend.

The incident that led me to reconsider came at the end of a long day when I was dealt a 9 and a 7, and the dealer had a 6 face up.

I misread the dealer 6 as an 8, so I signaled to hit. The dealer gave me a second look, so I signaled again. The card was a 4, so I had 20. 

It was then I realized the dealer had an 8 face up. One player muttered about the luck of fools. 

The muttering grew more widespread when the dealer turned up a 5 for 11, then drew a 10 for a 21 that beat the entire table. If I'd stood on my 16, the dealer would have drawn my 4 for 15 before drawing the 10 to bust. The whole table would have won. 

One player picked up his chips and stormed away in disgust. He wasn't about to have his game ruined by the likes of me.

Bad plays help other players as often as they hurt them. When someone makes a bad play at my table and I lose a hand, I try to take it in stride, knowing there's nothing magical about card order and that at some other time, a bad play will bring about a dealer bust or give me a good card. 

Still, in the moment, it was embarrassing. I obviously was not sharp or at the top of my game, and I started to think more seriously about playing when tired.

Other Players Offer Insight

I surveyed other good blackjack players among friends and acquaintances for their thoughts, and they shared stories of mistakes where the Fatigue Factor came into play. Names have been changed to protect the guilty.

KARL: I was at a business conference, in meetings all day but with plenty of time to play at night.

I was burning the candle at both ends, and I guess it was affecting me more than I thought. I had a hand with a 10, a 7 and a 4, but in what order is in some dispute.

I thought I had 10-4 against a dealer's 9, so I hit and drew the 7. After the hand was over, a player to my right asked, "Did you just hit 17?" I said, "No, I hit 14." He seemed satisfied, but another player started shaking his head.

Honestly, I couldn't be sure. If I couldn't be sure, I knew I had no business at the table. I cut the blackjack short that night.

LOU: Some of my tired mistakes have been doozies. Here’s one that really sticks out. I had a pair of 4s, the dealer showed a Queen. A sane person hits and hopes for the best. He certainly doesn’t split and risk twice as much money on bad hands.

So much for sanity. I was in such a daze that I read the 4s as Aces. If all you can see is the card corners, it’s not that hard to misread 4s as A’s. But these were face up on the table. You could see all of both cards. The four spots should have been a giveaway, but uh-uh.

It shocked the dealer. He called to the supervisor, “Splitting 4s vs. 10,” and the supervisor came over to watch.

I should have said, wait, I don’t want to do that, but I didn’t. I took my double loss as a sign it was break time.

BARRY: I lost $500 one night when maybe it should have been $100.  It was after dinner after a long day, and I planned to play a little bit before a little TV and bed.

I was most of the way through a $100 buy-in at a $10 table, when I got an 8 and a 3 against a dealer's 6. You have to double down in that situation, but I was out of chips. So I reached for more money, and only had $100 bills. 

I bought in again and made my double down bet. It didn't work. I drew a 4 for 15 and the dealer didn't bust. I should have just left as planned, but I started to play the other $90 in chips, and when I lost that I bought in again and again.

What is it they call it? Going on tilt? That's what I did. After that, I vowed never again to keep playing when tired. Your judgment gets too cloudy and you make poor decisions. At least, I did.

BOB: Oh, yeah. Of course. Fatigue and mistakes go hand in hand. You know me. Basic strategy is automatic. Still, once in a blue moon, I’ll find myself spacing out on a soft hand and hitting instead of doubling or doubling instead of hitting. When that happens, it’s time to take a walk.

If I’m in one of the local casinos and I’m not ready to leave or one of my friends aren’t ready to leave, I’ll take a walk to a snack bar, get a drink and sit down away from the games. When I’m refreshed and ready, I’ll go back to a table.

On trip to a casino hotel, I’ll go to my room for a bit. Maybe I’m not ready for a nap, but I’ll put the TV on or read and have a drink, maybe check email and texts.

I don’t actually have to make a mistake to take myself out of action. If I even have to think about a play, it means I’m getting tired and my judgment isn’t sharp.

A Final Word

Everyone has their own tolerance level for session duration before fatigue sets in. I do best when I limit sessions to about an hour before I take some kind of break, even if it's only 10 minutes for a beverage.

Find your own limits, but be careful. If you find yourself making mistakes, or if you're reaching for money you hadn't planned to gamble, step away. Relax. Refresh your mind and your body before you play again. Don't give in to the Fatigue Factor.

Video poker is a very popular casino game. There are literally dozens of variations. Many of the later variations were developed and produced to add more excitement to the game. 

Certain four-of-a-kinds are paid at a higher rate. The highest pays for a specific four of a kind hand is the same as a royal flush at 4,000-for-5.

That number pales in comparison to the pay for sequential royals. Many sequential royals pay 10,000-for-1 for a sequential royal. Most sequential royals are taken from low to high, that is 10-J-Q-K-A, though some are taken as high to low (A-K-Q-J-10). There are also games called reversible royals that pay for sequential royals in either low-to-high or high-to-low directions.

As you might imagine, there are both pros and cons for playing these games. This article explores these pros and cons.

Contents

1. Overview of sequential royals and reversible royals
2. Sequential royal pros
3. Sequential royal cons
4. Summary

1 – Overview of sequential royals and reversible royals

Sequential and reversible royals are available in many different base video poker games. The sequential royal is simply another (the highest) winning hand added to the pay table. Sequential royals can be found on jacks or better, bonus poker, double bonus poker, plus many other jacks or better based games. They can also be found on deuces wild and other wild card games.

A standard pay for a sequential royal flush is 10,000-for-1 or 50,000-for-5. Normally, a progressive sequential royals game has the same 10,000-for-1 as the base value. The value increases from there as the game is played.

As mentioned earlier, sequential royals are generally considered in the low-to-high sequence only. Reversible royals are valid in both low-to-high and high-to-low sequence. Players have to be careful as some reversible royals games are labeled simply “Sequential Royals.” Make sure to look carefully at the entire game for the word “reversible.” It may not be readily obvious, but if that word is there, this game pays for sequential royals in either direction. 

2 – Sequential royal pros

The sequential royals feature comes on many common video poker games. Players can play a casino game that they are familiar with. The only difference is certain royal flushes pay an enormous amount.  

The sequential royals feature adds about an additional 0.26 percent (for one-way sequential royals) to 0.52 percent (for reversible sequential royals) to the return of the base game. These return percentages are based on playing perfect strategy – play that considers saving parts of a sequential royal when that average return outweighs standard playing strategy. 

If playing a progressive game, the return will increase roughly 0.26 percent (one-way) to 0.52 percent (reversible) for every 100,000 credits increase in the progressive jackpot. 

The biggest pro by far, however, is the size of the payout for hitting a sequential royal flush. Imagine – 50,000 credits on a quarter game amounts to $12,500 rather than the usual $1,000 for a standard royal flush. 

That is why most players play sequential royals. It may not come very often, but when it does, it is epic!

3 – Sequential royal cons

There are also several cons when it comes to playing sequential royals video poker. Here's a look at a few of those:

• A sequential royal is extremely rare. A reversible sequential royal occurs only once every approximately 1.9 million hands. Put another way, playing 1,000 hands per hour (a fast rate) for 24 hours per day, it takes 78 days to play 1.9 million hands. A one-way sequential royal occurs is even worse. The average occurrence is once every 3.8 million hands. Playing the same 1,000 hands per hour for 24 hours per day, it takes 158 days on average for each occurrence. The above numbers assume a playing strategy that considers card order.
• Even though the return of the game is higher, the variance is also higher. This means a larger bankroll could be required.
• Strategy must change for full advantage. Depending on the game and assuming a 50,000 credits payout, one-way sequential royals add 0.209 percent to 0.239 percent to the return. However, if the playing strategy is not changed to hold partial sequential royals when they are more profitable than standard strategy for the game, the increase in return drops to around 0.189 percent.
• Strategy for sequential royals is not built into any of the current apps that produce strategy. Unlike playing strategy for non-sequential royals games, the current strategy generation apps do not have the capability of generating sequential royals strategy. Some help for determining what changes to the strategy are needed to factor in sequential royals can be found by searching the Internet, but the changes are only close approximations.
• Compared to standard video poker games, those that include sequential royals are somewhat rare. Many casinos do not have any of them on their casino floors.
• Many of the sequential royals games that are on casino floors have reduced pay tables compared to the same standard games. This can more than offset the bump in return that sequential royals provide. 

Summary 

• Sequential royal video poker games provide an extremely high payout for a sequential royal flush
• There are both one-way (low-to-high or high-to-low) and reversible (either way) royals games. Sometimes the “reversible” characteristic is not clearly labeled.
• Most common video poker games have sequential royal versions.
• Most sequential royal video poker games pay 10,000-for-1 for a sequential royal. Progressive versions usually start at 10,000-for-1. 
• Even though sequential royal versions have a higher return than the same standard game and pay table, it also has a higher variance. The main reason players like the game is the monster payout. 
• A sequential royal is extremely rare. They average only once every 1.9 million hands for reversible royals and once every 3.8 million hands for one-way sequential royals.
• To gain the maximum benefit from playing sequential royals, the strategy must include consideration of card order. 
• Standard video poker strategy generation apps do not have the ability to generate strategy for sequential royals.

While there may be several cons to playing sequential royals, the gigantic payout, nevertheless makes the game a popular option.

Looking for more? Check out 888poker video poker strategy tips.

Learning basic strategy at blackjack is one thing. Internalizing it so it becomes second nature can be quite another.

The problem is that some blackjack strategy plays seem to defy common sense regardless of whether you're playing online blackjack or in a live casino. As one player asked at a seminar I gave, "How can a play be so right when it feels so wrong?"

How can hitting hard 16 be the right play when there's such a large chance of busting? How can splitting 8s against a dealer's 10 be the right play when you could wind up with two 18s losing to a 20? How can doubling down on 11 when the dealer has a 10 face up be the right play when you can't hit if you draw a low card and the dealer could be sitting with 20?

It's enough to give you a queasy feeling even while you make the best play.

But they are the right plays. All casino games are grounded in math. Basic strategy takes into account all possible outcomes and calculates the play that, on average, yields the best chance to win.

That doesn't mean a basic strategy play will work every time. Losses are part of the game, and you'll lose some hands more than you win no matter what you do. When the dealer has a 10 up and you have a hard 16, you're going lose a majority of the time. But you'll lose a little less often when you hit than when you stand, so that's the play recommended by basic strategy.

When you double down on 11 and the dealer has a 10 up, there will be times you draw a low card and the dealer has that 20. But other times, you'll draw a winning card, or the dealer will have a low card face down. Sometimes you'll draw a 5 and be stuck with 16, but the dealer will bust. With all taken into account, the average outcome is that you'll make more money by risking the extra bet and doubling down.

RIGHT PLAYS BY THE NUMBERS

Let's take a close-up look at some plays that are right by blackjack basic strategy, but can feel wrong to the nervous player. 

Numbers given are for the most common situation in modern casinos: six-deck games in which dealer's hit soft 17, double downs are permitted on any first two cards, including after splitting pairs, and players may split pairs up to three times but may split Aces only once. 

Strategies can differ with fewer decks or other rules variations, including when surrender is offered.

Hitting hard 16 vs. dealer's 7 or higher

It's never a comfortable feeling when a one-card hit can lead to a bust. Starting with hard 16, eight of the 13 card denominations lead to an immediate bust, with 6, 7, 8, 9 or any of the four 10-value cards leaving you with 22 or more.

Nevertheless, 7 or higher is such a strong starting point for the dealer you're better off hitting than standing and hoping for a dealer bust. 

Given 9-7 against a dealer's 7, you'll average a 48.1-cent loss per dollar wagered if you stand, but reduce that average loss to 40.8 cents if you take the risk and hit.

It's a lose-lose situation, but reducing losses and extending your play is a worthy goal.

Basic strategy tells us to hit hard 13 through 16 anytime the dealer shows a 7 or higher, and to hit hard 12 against a 2, 3 and 7 or higher.

Hitting hard 12 vs. dealer's 2 or 3

It can go against the grain to hit when you could bust in one card AND the dealer could bust with a 10 down followed by another 10. Many players can never bring themselves to do it.

Dealers bust only about 35 percent of hands that start with 2 and 37 percent that start with 3. They make 17 or better often enough that 12 vs. 2 or 3 loses more than it wins. You reduce losses by hitting.

With 10-2 vs. 2, your average loss is 28.9 cents per dollar if you stand, but 25.2 cents if you hit. With 10-2 vs. 3, it's a closer call at 24.9 cents if you stand and 23.2 if you hit. On either hand, the stronger play is to hit.

Splitting 8-8 vs. dealer's 10 or Ace

Ten-value cards and Aces put the dealer in very strong position. The dealer busts only 17 percent of hands when showing an Ace, and only 23 percent when showing a 10, Jack, Queen or King.

If you play 8-8 as 16, you're in an extremely weak position. Stand, and you're going to lose all the times the dealer makes a standing hand. Hit, and there's an 8-in-13 chance you'll bust. 

Average losses vs. 10 are 53.7 cents per dollar if you stand and 53.5 if you hit. If the dealer starts with Ace, average losses are 59.5 cents if you stand and 53.9 if you hit.

If you split, you risk losing two bets instead of one. There will be times you make a second bet, draw a 10 on each 8 for two 18s, but the dealer beats you twice. 

Overall, though, you improve your chances with the split. Eight is a stronger starting point than 16. Split the pair and play basic strategy from there, and average losses dip to 47.6 cents per dollar of your original bet if the dealer has a 10 value up and 51.4 vs. Ace.

The "of your original bet" part is important. Imagine your basic bet is $10 and you have 8-8 vs. 10. Your average loss when hitting is $5.35. If you split, you increase your risk to $20, but the average loss decreases to $4.76. You bet twice and much and sometimes lose twice and much, but the average total loss is less than if you stayed with one bet.

Standing on 10-10 vs. dealer's 6

It's only natural that when you have an edge, you want to take full advantage. Players learning the game reach for their pile of chips in live casinos or their electronic stack online and try to drive home and edge. They'll split so they get two hands starting with 10 against 6, a weak dealer up-card.

Getting the extra bet down feels right, and passing on the opportunity feels wrong.

But 20 is so much stronger a starting point that the best play is to stand. By standing on 10-10 vs. 6, your average profit is 67.7 cents per dollar wagered. Split, and that profit decreases to 50.1 cents per dollar of your original bet.

You're still in profit territory, but make the second bet to split decreases not only your percentage but your raw profit in dollars and cents. 

Right as a split might feel, it's the wrong play.

Splitting 6-6 vs. dealer's 2 

No wonder this hand gives players an uneasy feeling. It's a true borderline play. We've already seen that dealers bust only 35 percent of the time when starting with 2. Splitting 6s gives you two weak starting cards. 

So why split?

The key is whether you're permitted to double down after splitting pairs. If you split and draw a 4 or 5 on one or both of the 6s, you want to be able to double with 10 or 11 vs. 2.

If double downs after splitting pairs is not allowed, it's better to play 6-6 as 12 and hit vs. 2. Under those rules, average losses per dollar of your original wager are 28.1 cents if you stand, 25.4 if you hit, and 26.7 if you split. Hitting is the best option.

But if doubles after splits are allowed, average losses per dollar of your original bet drop to  19 cents if you split. Starting two hands each with 6 isn't the most comfortable position, but if you can double after splits, splitting the pair is the way to go.

Hitting Ace-7 vs. dealer's 9. 10 or Ace

Until you get used to the play, hitting 18 can just feel wrong. But Ace-7 is a soft 18. You can't bust it with a one-card hit. When dealers start with 9, 10 or Ace, they're in strong position to beat your 18. So it's best to take a hit and try to improve the hand.

If you have Ace-7 and the dealer has 9 up, average losses per dollar are 18.3 cents if you stand and 9.8 cents if you hit. When the dealer has a 10, average losses are 18 cents if you stand and 14.3 if you hit, and if the dealer has Ace, you lose an average of 22.5 cents if you stand and 16 cents if you hit.

In each case, your average loss drops if you hit than if you stand on the soft 18.

It might feel wrong, but it's so right.