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The Big Reveal: Introducing Safari Riches Live Slot

Playtech is a leading provider of casino games and live casino games. In April 2022, Playtech announced the official launch of Safari Riches Live with 888casino. This collaboration brings one of the hottest jungle-themed slots games to the live casino arena. Playtech Live and 888s Section8 Studio burned the candle at both ends to bring Safari Riches live to players. Unlike the traditional slot game, this one is hosted by a professional dealer in a high-tech studio. The action streams live to players' screens, uninterrupted and in real-time.

Of course, Playtech is no stranger to live casino games. This time around, Safari Riches Live is hosted at the Riga-based live studio in Latvia. Players experience the larger-than-life action with Free Spins, Big Icons, and Stacked Wild symbols in real time. Like the traditional version, Safari Riches Live features a Progressive Daily Jackpot. A portion of all real money wagers contributes towards the jackpot prize pool. This is the first time that Playtech features a Daily Jackpot on a live casino game.

All registered players at 888 Live Casino are welcome to play Safari Riches Live in real money mode. Back in 2021, 888 and Playtech inked a deal to showcase a world-class live casino studio, including a selection of the most popular orange e-generated casino games from Playtech. Professionally-trained, licensed dealers from Playtech are standing by to deliver an incomparable entertainment experience for live casino players. But, of course, it's the real deal, so only real-money play is possible at the live casino.

How to Play Safari Riches Slots

Safari Riches slots follow from the original casino game, except this version is live formatted. The 5 x 4 grid features a combination of high-value and low-value icons, including African animals and card symbols. The paytable determines payouts for different combinations of symbols. Fortunately, this game is available to players with low minimum bets and high maximums. It is a safari, after all, so you can expect all the sounds of elephants, cheetahs, lions, buffalo, rhinos, and more as the reels spin in real time. Plenty of free spins are up for grabs when you land the necessary number of Flamingos Scatter Symbols.

The vice president of business to casino operations at 888, Talya Benyamini, expressed tremendous excitement about the collaboration with Playtech:

"We are delighted with the new and exclusive Safari Riches Live casino slot game we developed jointly with the Playtech Live team. Packed with rich content and exciting features, including our Daily Jackpot, Safari Riches Live builds on the popularity and strength of the Safari Riches brand and extends it to Live Casino fans. In addition, this launch will expand our existing portfolio of exciting games and formats, which is a crucial part of our product leadership and content strategy. We can't wait to introduce the game to players in the coming weeks and continue to work with Playtech in the future." 

The head of live casino innovation from Playtech, Kevin Kilminster, was amped about the launch of Safari Riches live:

'We are thrilled to collaborate with 888casino to create this bespoke live casino slot game, Safari Riches Live. It is a great honour that 888casino has chosen Playtech to develop this game and trusted the Playtech Live team with one of their best-performing gaming brands. At Playtech Live, we are seeing an increased demand from operators to create new and engaging content for their customers and having the opportunity to design a live casino slot game based on one of 888casino's most successful proprietary slot games made perfect sense to us! The Playtech Live team have developed tailor-made features to support the launch of Safari Riches Live. We are confident it will be just as popular with 888casino's customers as the original Safari Riches slot game.'

Safari Riches Live Slot is a thematic casino game with a real dealer. Advanced gaming technology brings jungle-themed action to players instantly. Augmented reality overlays and immersive gameplay deliver a transformative experience from the live casino platform. In addition, 888 Live Casino supports responsible gaming at all times.

*No humans or jungle animals were harmed in the production of Safari Riches Live Slot by Playtech and 888. Lace-up your boots, grab your insect repellant and enjoy responsibly
 

This article explains how to play Multi-Hand Blackjack, a popular variation of blackjack offered in online casinos.

Table of Contents

1 – Playing Rules

Multi-Hand Blackjack is the same as the traditional blackjack game with this caveat:  you can play more than one hand per round (up to five hands although the latter varies by the online site). 

You are playing against a dealer with the objective of beating her by:

• Having your hand total higher than the dealer’s hand, or 
• Having 21 or less when the dealer busts.

You have the option to play one or more hands per round. Some online casinos allow you to play up to three hands while others permit five hands (check the blackjack rules). You can also bet the same or different amounts on each hand up to the table limits.

You must decide how to play each hand to completion, in turn, starting from the hand closest to first base (dealer’s left side), and then proceeding to the player’s left toward third base (dealer’s right side). 

Below is a summary of the playing rules for Multi-Hand Blackjack on 888casino.com. (Note: The playing rules may differ slightly for other online casinos; therefore, always check the playing rules.) 

2 – How to Play Your Hands 

You should not make the same playing decision on every hand. Rather, you should play each hand independently based on the cards dealt in each hand and the dealer’s upcard. The strategy you should use is the basic blackjack playing strategy, which is the optimal strategy assuming the only information you have is the cards in each hand and the value of the dealer’s upcard.

By using the basic playing strategy for every hand, you will increase your overall return to the optimal level. For example, playing Multi-Hand Blackjack with the above set of playing rules results in a 99.5% return or a 0.5% house edge using the house edge calculator on wizardofodds.com. 

When you play more than one hand per round, the number of hands played per hour increases but the number of rounds played per hour decreases.

Below is a table that shows the average number of rounds per hour for various numbers of players for an Atlantic City six-deck blackjack game. (Data from Table 93 from Blackjack Hall of Famer Stanford Wong’s classic book Professional Blackjack.)

4 – Expected Losses

Suppose you play the above Multi-Hand game and play only one hand per round. You flat bet $25 and play 248 hands per hour. Let’s assume the house edge using the basic playing strategy is 0.5%. Your average theoretical loss per hour is:

$25 x 248 x 0.0050 = $31 per hour.

Let’s look at a second scenario. Now, instead of playing only one hand, you play five hands per round and bet the same amount ($25) on each hand. Your average theoretical loss per hour is:

$125 x 76 x .0050 = $48 per hour (rounded).

By playing five hands, you decrease the number of rounds played per hour but your total wagers increase five-fold per round (from $25 to $125). Because of this, you stand to lose theoretically 1.5 times more money, on average, compared to playing only one hand because you've exposed more of your bankroll against the house edge.

Scenario number three: Now you take the $25 that you would have bet on one hand and spread it over five hands, betting $5 per hand per round. Your average theoretical loss per hour is:

5 – Bankroll Swings

You probably would think that the swings in your bankroll would be the same whether you bet, say, $20 on one hand or $10 on each of two hands since the total amount wagered per round is the same ($20).

However, the two hands are not independent because they are associated with the same dealer’s hand, so if the dealer has a lousy hand, you are likely to win both hands (and vice versa, if she has a strong hand).

What this means in practical terms is that your bankroll will not fluctuate as much when you bet $10 on each of two hands, compared to betting $20 on one hand. Additionally, for the same total amount wagered per round, betting two hands improves the chances of your bankroll lasting longer compared to betting it all on one hand.

6 – Card Counting at Multi-Hand Blackjack

7 - Progressive Betting Systems

8 - Playing Multiple Hands in Land-Based Casinos

9 - Summary

1. Multi-Hand Blackjack is offered in online casinos.
2. It allows a player to play from one up to five hands per round.
3. You should play every hand according to the basic playing strategy.
4. Your theoretical loss per hour will decrease if you take what you would have bet on one hand and spread it to two or more hands.
5. Playing multiple hands compared to a single hand (with the total amount bet the same per round) will decrease your bankroll swings and improve the chance of your bankroll lasting longer.
6. Card counting and progressive betting will not increase your chance of winning at Multi-Hand Blackjack. 
7. In a land-based casino, if there are open spots on a blackjack table, you can play more than one hand but, usually, you must bet double the table minimum on each hand.
    

Blackjack is unusual among casino games in that the odds change with every card dealt.

In roulette, there is an equal chance any of the numbers will come up on any given spin. In craps, the possibilities remain the same on every roll.

Analysts will tell you the wheel or the dice have no memory. Past results don't influence future outcomes.

In blackjack, the cards that have already been dealt do influence future outcomes. In live games, an Ace that's dealt on one hand isn't available on the next. Either live or online, if you have a 6 in your hand, that specific 6 isn't available to be dealt again in that hand.

Those ever-changing odds are the basis of card counting in live casinos. Advantage players bet more when the composition of the remaining deck is in their favor and less when the odds turn against them.

Online players can't take advantage of that. Cards at online casinos usually are shuffled for every hand. But even online, there are a few instances where straying from basic strategy can bring you a small gain.

Interesting Hands to Consider

The online gains come in the form of composition-dependent strategies. A prime example is hard 16, where 10-6 and 8-5-3 have the same total, but carry different odds.

That affects strategy when the dealer has a 10 face up. Basic strategy calls for players to hit hard 16 against a dealer's 10. The likelihood of the dealer making a standing hand of 17 or better to beat 16 is high enough that it overcomes the reluctance to risk busting with a hit.

Hard 16 vs. 10 will lose more than it wins no matter what you do, but if it consists of 9-7 or 10-6, your average losses will be slightly lower if you hit than if you stand. With the other two-card 16, 8-8, the best option is to split the pair.

The situation changes when the 16 is composed with three or more cards. Let's use the 8-5-3 mentioned earlier as an example. In a six-deck game in which the dealer hits soft 17, you'll lose an average of 54.4 cents per dollar wagered if you hit. If you stand, that average loss dips to 54.0 cents.

That's the opposite of the situation with two-card hard 16s. The gain is small, but with 8-5-3 vs. 10 the better play is to stand.

More Strategy Thoughts

Best strategy shows the same flip anytime you have a hard 16 consisting of three or more cards that include one or more 4s or 5s.

The reason is having that 4 or 5 already dealt and not available for a hit reduces the chances of drawing a card that will give you 20 or 21 – and increases the chance of busting – just enough that standing vs. 10 becomes the better play.

The numbers given are for six-deck games, but the same applies to the single-deck games found more often online than in live casinos. 

Another composition-dependent play applies to single-deck games where the dealer hits soft 17 but not six-deckers, and that means online players will benefit a lot more often than those who play in live casinos. However this is a move to make in less common six-deck games in which the dealer stands on all 17s. 

If you have hard 12 and the dealer's face up card is a 4, basic strategy calls for you to stand. That holds up if your 12 is 9-3, 8-4 or 7-5.

However in a single-deck game, if you have 10-2 vs. 4, the better play is to hit. Average losses on 10-2 vs. 4 are 20.7 cents if you stand, but 19.4 if you hit. 

Because your hand already has a 10, there's one fewer 10-value card available for a draw that would bust you. That's enough to shift the strategy with a single deck, but doesn't move the odds enough to make the switch in a six-deck, hit soft 17 game. Do switch to hitting 10-2 vs. 4 with six decks if the dealer stands on all 17s.

Live Casino Strategy & Advantage Play Considerations

Players in live casinos have expanded strategy shift opportunities. Much of that comes via counting cards, which is a topic unto itself. But even non-counters can make small gains by watching other players' cards.

That's easy enough to do in common six-deck games. Player cards are dealt face up.

Fred Renzey, author of "Blackjack Bluebook" and "Blackjack Bluebook II" emphasized giving players small steps they could use to improve their games before attempting full card counting. 
Among those ways were table-dependent strategies, with seven close-call hands.

Notice that two of the hands are the 16 vs. 10 and 12 vs. 4 already discussed as composition sensitive even if you're just watching your own hand and the dealer's up card.

If you're playing a six-deck game where all player cards are dealt face up, think about these potential changes that reverse basic strategy plays.

• Hit hard 12 vs. 4 if the cards on the table, including all player cards and the dealer up card, include more 10-value cards than  2s, 3s, 4s or 5s.
• Stand on hard 16 vs. 10 if there are more  2s-5s than 10 values.
• Hit hard 13 vs. 2 if there are at least five more 10-value cards than 2s through 5s. 
• Double down on hard 9 vs. 2,  Ace-8 vs. 5 or Ace-8 vs. 6 if there are at least five more 2s through 5s than 10 values.
• Double down on 11 vs. Ace with at least six more 2s-5s.

Sometimes the switch is because cards already played make it less likely you'll bust. Sometimes it's because they make it more likely you'll make a good hand. The effect cards already played have on the dealer's hand also is a factor.

Card counters have many more opportunities to gain with plays that differ from basic strategy. With a commonly used counting system called "Hi-Lo," players speak of an "Illustrious 18" hands in which cards already played frequently lead to strategy changes.

One example: If there is one deck remaining to be played and three more low cards than high cards already have been dealt, then it becomes advantageous to take insurance. 

A basic strategy player skips insurance, but with a great enough concentration of high cards remaining, dealer blackjacks become more likely.

Non-counters should continue to skip insurance. So it goes with other plays that help counters. If you don't track the balance of high and low cards, you're better off sticking  with basic strategy than trying to guess or estimate.

But for the composition-dependent hands and the table counts listed earlier, you have all the information in front of you as you play that hand. Gains are small, but easily available.

Most video poker players are members of the player’s clubs at the casinos they frequent. Most of these players are also aware that in most cases video poker is treated differently than standard slot games – sometimes very differently.

This article discusses the trade-offs between player’s club benefits and video poker returns.

Hopefully this information will help the reader pick the best options for their style of play.

Table of Contents

1. The current video poker landscape

2. The current state of player’s club benefits

Unfortunately, player’s club benefits have suffered the same fate as video poker returns. In the not-so-distant past, comps were fairly generous. 

As casinos were taken over by large corporations and the monthly and quarterly bottom line became the business drivers, comp levels came under scrutiny. Many casinos once awarded $1 for each $1,000 played through video poker games – the same rate as standard slots.

Casinos soon reduced the cashback to $1 for each $2,000 of video poker play. While a few casinos still offer that level of video poker cashback, most offer far less.

It is also common for today’s casinos to offer no cashback for video poker games that have good returns.

Even though casinos offer some cashback for video poker play, they preclude play from earning other benefits such as point multipliers, chances to win free play or other prizes, as well as many other promotions.

This seems to be the direction most casinos are going – fewer (or no) player’s club points and/or video poker exclusion from other promotions.

3. Tradeoffs between player’s club benefits and game returns

Player’s club points and benefits are real and tangible. Higher returns from video poker games are also real and tangible. The question is – what are the tradeoffs between the two?

Advantages: 

1. Player’s Club
   • Fixed amount of cash back/free play based on points earned for play. For example:
     • $5 played through video poker earns 1 point.
     • 1,000 points is worth $1 in free play, cash back, or credit on meals or in the casino’s logo shop.
     • $5,000 of play earns $1 which equals 0.02%.
   • Player may be eligible for other promotions not directly calculated on play:
     • Free tournament entry.
     • Free meals or meal credit.
     • Free room or room credit.
     • Free gifts.
     • Free drawing for prizes.
     • Free cruises, sporting events, or other outings

4. High-value perks for video poker players

Video poker players, indeed casino gamblers in general, are an eclectic group of people. Things that are very important to some are not even considered by others. 

Some video poker players enjoy the challenge of getting the highest return from their play. They have no desire to spend a night at the casino. They have no desire to eat at gourmet restaurants. They do not drink alcohol, so free drinks do not matter to them.

Other players tolerate playing the lower-return games. Their sights are set on all the other little goodies that are available. They come from a distance and enjoy spending a night or two away from home. They enjoy the finer things in life so gourmet restaurants are important. They also like to let go and thoroughly enjoy themselves so free alcohol is welcomed. They also enjoy the excitement of free tournaments and other promotions.

Casino management knows this and tries hard to cater to all types of players. I suspect they will continue to do so if it brings in the players and, more importantly, their money.

5. Analyzing all perks to determine the best option

As mentioned above, players have different motivations. Some of the motivators are driven by the player's personality. Others are driven by the availability of casinos in the local area. If there is decent video poker close by, spending nights at the casino hotel is not important. However, if the closest casinos are hundreds of miles away, spending a couple of nights is the way to go.

Players not interested in all the perks of a player’s club might very well try to find casinos that offer high-paying video poker games even though they do not qualify for any player’s club perks. Taking home more money is their driving motivator.

Players who enjoy the whole gamut of casino offerings will make sure that their player's card is always inserted and stay away from games that offer drastically reduced or non-existent player’s club points.

Still other players will try to find a casino that offers decent (though not necessarily great) returns and good comps.

6. Summary

1. Deciding between very good video poker returns and other casino comps is a very personal decision.
2. Easy, close access to casinos with good pay tables might obviate the need for free nights.
3. Possibly the best answer is to choose the casinos and games that give the player what they crave most.

Fortunately, there are still lots of choices of casinos that have a wide variety of offerings for all types of video poker players.
 

Note: Click here to read Part 1 of this article.

As promised, at the end of this article you will find the questions with answers to the challenging 21-question test given to the elite blackjack pros at the 2022 Blackjack Ball. Give yourself one point for each correct answer. If you get 14 or more correct, you did better than all the blackjack pros that took the test. 

The players with the most correct answers from the 21-question test were:

1. Anthony Curtis (13 correct)
2. WRX (12)
3. Darryl Purpose and Justin (tied with 11)
4. Vagabond, Michael Kaplan, Don Schlesinger, and Stan Podalak (tied with 10)

Note: Several active players listed above used pseudonyms to protect their identity.

Only six players could advance to the next round of the competition; therefore, Vagabond, Michael Kaplan, Don Schlesinger, and Stan Podalak were in a runoff where two would advance and two were eliminated.

In the runoff, each contestant in turn had to name a state that had a tribal-run casino. If someone named a state that had already been named or answered an incorrect state, he was eliminated. 

Result: Don Schlesinger and Michael Kaplan were eliminated and Vagabond and Stan Podalak advanced.

Skills competition

Next up was the skills competition on a blackjack table with Richard Munchkin as the dealer. An overhead camera projected the competition on the large screens located throughout the ballroom. The six finalists were:

1. Anthony Curtis
2. WRX
3. Darryl Purpose
4. Justin
5. Vagabond
6. Stan Podalak

Round 1

The first skills test was estimating the number of cards in a discard tray. Anthony Curtis’s guess was furthest from the correct number of cards and he was eliminated, leaving five contestants.

Anthony afterward was flabbergasted as to how he was so far off in estimating the number of cards, something he has done a “million times before” when card counting.

Round 2

The second skills test involved placing a cut card into a single deck of cards (at least nine cards from the bottom of the deck), where the bottom card was a 6.

Each contestant had to state how many spots to play to steer the 6 to the dealer’s hand. Justin was eliminated from this test, leaving four contestants.

Round 3

In the third skills test, Munchkin spread a shuffled single deck of cards face up on the layout and each contestant had 30 seconds to memorize the sequence of cards. Each player had his own deck of cards and had to place face down on the layout what the first card was from the shuffled deck.

Each player then revealed what they thought the first card was. Surprisingly, Stan Podalak had the card (King), but the wrong suit (clubs, instead of spades). He was eliminated on his first try, leaving three contestants still standing. 

Round 4

The fourth skills test involved a hole-card strategy. The dealer’s hand was 5-3 (8) after seeing the hole card. Your hand is 3-3. What is the correct play?

The answer was split. All three contestants were correct. On the next hand, the dealer has a 7 up and 10 down (17) and your hand is 9-9. The correct play is to stand.

Vagabond got it wrong and was eliminated. Two contestants were left: Darryl Purpose and WRX.

Round 5

This was a card-counting drill using two decks of cards, involving counting down the decks as fast and accurately as possible. Darryl and WRX got the count correct but Darryl was considerably faster and, therefore, won the Grosjean Trophy as the “World’s Greatest Blackjack Player” with full bragging rights.

The award was a very large bottle of Luc Belaire Rose Champagne with the imprinted words for winning: “The Grosjean Trophy awarded to ‘The World's Greatest Blackjack Player’ at the Silver Anniversary Blackjack Ball, October 1, 2020.”  WRX, who finished second in the competition, got a cup engraved with “The Munchkin Award,” with the date, event, etc.

BLACKJACK BALL TEST QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. True or False? 

According to Wikipedia, Max Rubin is 106 years old.

True
 
2. During their heyday, Blackjack computer input specialists successfully operated those computers by inputting the data WITHOUT using which of the following?

A. their knees
B. their toes
C. their fingers
D. their teeth
E. they used all of the above 

A. Their knees.

3. What casino named its parking structure “Garage Mahal”?

Circa

4. True or false?

There are more Tribal than non-tribal casinos now operating in the U.S.?

True

5. Civilians hate 6:5 blackjack because the casino doesn't allow them to take even money. In the overall house edge, how much would the player benefit if the casino offered even money on a 6:5 eight-deck game?

A. 0.06% 
B. 0.6%
C. 1.6%  
D. 2.6%
E. 3.6%  
F. 6/5 players gain no edge with even money  

A. 0.06%
    
6. Out of respect for Max, the Blackjack Ball, and for hosting the Blackjack Hall of Fame, out of 989 casinos across the U.S., there is only ONE where you agree to NOT play table games. 
Name that casino. 
     
Barona

7. True or false?

Over the past five years, Nevada has lost more than 500 blackjack games, yet the Annual Casino Win on Blackjack Games has grown by more than $100 million over that time.  
 
True

8. In the 1950s, Vegas dubbed itself “The Up and Atom City,” and casinos invited guests to come out and see live nukes going off night and day 75 miles outside of town. There was also an annual beauty pageant to name a comely maiden to represent the unique festivities. What title did the annual pageant winner earn? 

A. Miss Atom Bombshell
B. The Atomic Showgirl
C. Miss Atomic Bomb
D. Miss American Freedom
E. Miss Nevada Freedom
F. Miss Up and Atom 

C. Miss Atomic Bomb

9. Within two pounds, how much do a million dollars in fresh $100 bills weigh?

Here’s a hint – five bills weigh the same as a new nickel. 
You have 60 seconds to write down your answer. 

Any answer between 20 and 24 pounds is correct.

10. True or false?

In a heads-up blackjack game against a basic strategy player, the dealer WILL BUST over 50% more often than that player. 

True

11. Over the past year, the average annual win for a blackjack table on the Strip was:

A. Less than $500k
B. Less than $600k
C. Less than $700k
D. Less than $800k
E. Less than $900k
F. More than $1,000,000 per table. 

F. More than $1 million per table.

12. Most states have self-exclusion lists so problem gamblers can prohibit themselves from playing. Which state has the most prohibited gamblers on those lists? 

Oklahoma with 11,000 exclusions.

13. True or False?

According to the Current Blackjack News (CBJN), as of tonight, the Excalibur Casino on the Las Vegas Strip offers precisely ONE TRADITIONAL BLACKJACK TABLE that pays 3/2 on a natural. 
    
It’s sad but true.

14. In gaming area, what’s the biggest casino on earth?

A. The Venetian Macau
B. Resorts Singapore        HINT – photo of dragons  
C. Winstar World
D. City of Dreams Macau
E. Genting Highlands
F. Sands Singapore
    
C. Winstar World

15. From the 1940s to the 1960s there were hundreds of billboards that littered both Route 66 and the Lincoln Highway advertising a single destination.    
The billboards said, RENO OR BUST. What else was written on those billboards? 

Harold’s Club

16. True or false?

There are more blackjack tables of all stripes, including 6/5’s, 22-Hybrids, and more on the Las Vegas Strip than all of the other blackjack tables in the rest of the state of Nevada combined. 

False

17. In a full-pay, no RSA game, what is the value of blackjack after a split? That is, a two-card 21 resulting from a split is still considered a blackjack and pays 3:2.

A. 0.06% 
B. 0.16%
C. 1.6%  
D. 0.2%
E. 0.3%  
F. Players gain OVER 2% with split blackjacks paying 3:2

0.16%

18. Write down the last name of one of the Four Horsemen. 

Roger Baldwin
Wilbert Cantey
Herbert Maisell
James McDermott

19. Wendover has more than TWICE AS MANY full-pay single-deck games as the rest of Nevada combined. 

True or False?

False

20. This casino has the most full-pay double-deck games in the Las Vegas Valley. 

A. Orleans 
B. Red Rock Station 
C. Sam’s Town 
D. Santa Fe Station
E. South Point
F. Sun Coast   

South Point – 26

21. Nevada is the state with the most casinos at 334. In order, what states are ranked No. 2 and 3? 

Oklahoma is second with 134 casinos and California’s 62 came in third.

Roulette is probably the oldest casino game. It was invented by Blaise Pascal in his search for a perpetual motion machine in the 1600s. He didn’t discover the machine but he did give us a game that has thrilled and annoyed players since that time.

True, soldiers throughout history have spun their shields either to discern what the gods wanted them to do to yonder village, town or city or to beat their fellow soldiers in a game of sorts. Roulette comes from that tradition. Still, we have Blaise to thank for the casino version of it that we play today.

Roulette is just a spinning wheel with red and black colored numbers on it, running from 1-36, along with one or two zeroes as well. These one or two zeroes can be green. 

There are two types of roulette games, the American roulette (two zero numbers – 0 and 00) and the European roulette (one zero – 0). Both games have the numbers 1-36.

Which game is better? The European edge is 2.7%; while the American edge is 5.26%. The American game does have a single “suicide” bet that is awful, called the “monster” which is a wager on the combined numbers 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 with an edge well above 7 percent.

The payoffs of the bets are the same in both games but Europe’s single zero makes that game the preferred one in terms of the house edge.

[Please note: Some relatively large casinos will offer both games but usually put the minimum bets at the European version higher thus making more from that game. Casinos are quite clever.]

 

Grouping the bets

Before the winning decision, the players have a wide choice of bets they can make. Indeed, players can bet many bets at once if they like and can afford them.

After the dealer spins the ball around the top of the wheel and it falls into the pockets with the numbers to determine what number or proposition wins, the whole process of betting begins again. It does almost seem as if Blaise succeeded in creating a perpetual motion machine.

And what type of bets are there? Keep reading to find out.

 

One or More Numbers ‘Straight up’ or ‘Combined’

A player can bet one number or as many numbers as he or she wishes. A single number that hits will pay 35 to 1 at both the American and the European game.

The players can make straight-up bets individually on the numbers or combine numbers by betting on the lines between and outside the numbers. These will pay based on how many numbers are being combined. You can also scatter bets here and there across the numbers.

If you bet more than one number, you will be paid based on the 35-to-1 formula. For example, if you bet half of the numbers at the American game (19 numbers) you will win 35 to 1 on the winning number but lose your bet on all the losing numbers. 

 

 

Proposition Bets

Around the outside of the layout are a generous number of proposition bets. You can bet the first dozen, second dozen or third dozen. You can bet more than one of them if the (evil) spirit moves you. You can bet the first column, second column or third column of bets as well. Again, you can bet more than one column.

You also have what are called “even-money” bets of red or black, odd or even, high or low. These are called “even-money” not because they are 50/50 between the casino and the player but because they pay even money on a win. 

You have 20 chances of losing any one of these even-money bets and 18 chances to win them on the American game (0, 00) and 19 chances to win them and 18 chances to lose them on the European game (0).

[Please note: Some casinos will offer a variation in payout if a 0 or 00 shows up when betting the even-money bets. Instead of losing your bet, you only lose half of it. In the American game, this is called “surrender.” In the European game, this is called “en prison.” They work differently but both return half of your losing bet. This variation reduces the house edge on roulette down to 2.63% on the American game and down to 1.35% on the European game. The house edge on the even-money bets in the European game is one of the lowest in the casino.]

 

The Pattern of Roulette Play

When making the straight up bets directly on the number, patience is the key. You have many ways to lose and one way to win. Betting several or more numbers will increase your chances to win but will also cost you more money in the long run. Every bet you make has the casino edge taken out of it.

Slot players are known to have great patience between winning decisions. A roulette straight-up bettor must borrow some of that patience. They have to often deal with long losing streaks.

Although the house edges at the two roulette games remain the same, betting outside proposition bets increases your chances to win because they are multiple-numbers bets. But you do not need to bet much larger amounts as you would with straight-up betting. 

On the “dozens” bets and on the “columns” bets, a player will win 12 times and lose 25 or 26 times depending on the game they are playing.

On the even-money bets, it will be (more or less) a win, or two or three, or a loss, or two or three, as the game rolls along. The game will tend to go back and forth between the casino and the player. That’s good in my eyes.

Big runs of wins or losses will not be as frequent as on the straight-up bets. Although the casino has the same percentage edge when a player makes these bets, the game seems to be a closer affair – at least to me. 

 

Recommendations 

My recommendations are based on my own style of play. While I understand the math of the game, the pacing and pattern of the game can be different among different bets and the number of decisions per hour.

The casino has an edge over you, yes, but how you play and the types of tables at which you play, can increase or decrease the casino’s hit on your bankroll.

 

 

Best Bet 

In my view the best bets are the even-money bets of red or black, odd or even, high or low. 

I do not want to be blown out by possible big losses on the straight-up bets. I do not have the patience of the typical slot player when it comes to table games such as roulette. I like more of a contest.

[Please note: If I can find games with “surrender” or “en prison” sign me up as the variations in payouts are quite helpful. Reducing the house edge in half? Wow! I do know that an increase in table-minimum bets can affect which game a player decides to play. Just figure with your bankroll size which game is the better for you to play if the casino offers both the American and European games. It’s as simple as that.]

 

Notable Bets 

Again, if like me, you don’t want to painfully languish in rather long losing streaks, the outside proposition bets of dozens or columns, along with the even-money bets, might be for you. You will have losing streaks but they will not usually be the length of a straight-up bet directly on the number.

The proposition bets allow you to bet a smaller amount. If you wanted to bet 12 straight up numbers at a $10 minimum table, then you would have to bet $120.

Instead, you can bet 12 numbers for $10 on a column or dozen proposition bet. This betting will not change the house edge but it might be a far more comfortable way for you to play.

 

The Agony and the Ecstasy 

I am probably in the minority of roulette players because I am not into the straight-up bets. As I’ve said before, I do not like the possibility of long losing streaks. I have had playing disasters here and there over the last 33 years of casino play where a losing streak was followed by – another losing streak! That is not fun.

All veteran casino players have had such rotten sessions. Still, I try to make sure that I bet in a way that gives me a chance not only to win but to stop agony from happening. I can handle a small loss but those monster ones? Yuck!

I look to play the amount of money with which I am comfortable. If I want to bet $100, I do not want to bet it on five numbers because that comes to $500! If I want to bet $10, I don’t want to bet $10 on five numbers either. That’s 50 bucks.

I can take that $100 or that $10 and go with proposition bets and have a decent chance of staying in a contest with the house. That I enjoy.

Yes, most roulette players seem to be straight-up bettors. They have their numbers, their reasons for betting those numbers (including just “what the heck I’ll bet those numbers”). Okay, fine.

So, what comes next can help the straight-up bettors and the proposition bettors get the best of the best with their betting choices. I can’t guarantee that you’ll win but I think I can give you a way to diminish the real house hit on your bankroll. The idea is to lose the least amount of money possible while still having a fun experience.

 

Guarding Against Disaster

Roulette is a somewhat leisurely game. Unlike mini-baccarat and blackjack, you won’t have to face a hundred or more decisions per hour. The number of spins per hour determines how much money you are actually betting if you bet every spin. 

If you are a $10 bettor and you face 70 spins per hour, you are betting $700 per hour. Wouldn’t it be better if you merely wagered $500? The overall hit on your bankroll over a period of time would probably be much less than betting that $700, don’t you think?

Certainly, one way to accomplish that is to just sit out spins but I know (and you probably know too) that solution just doesn’t feel right for most players. When action is happening, I am sure most roulette players want to be in that action.

What to Do?
Play at crowded tables! The more people at a table, the more bets the dealers have to handle, the better for you. Their labor takes time. Multiple players betting their numbers and propositions takes time too.

Make that time work for you. You are in the action but you are by necessity betting much less than if you were at an empty or almost empty table.

[Please note: Don’t feel sorry for the casino, a whole bunch of players will make plenty of money for the casino. One player betting $700 per hour can’t compete with 12 players each betting $25 (or more) when only playing six hours. You will lose less, yes, but the casino still makes much more because of the crowd!]

 

And What About Comps?

Comps will come. Do not play to get them as that is a waste of your time and resources. Anyone who bets in a casino with few exceptions gets some kind of comp. Comps come, period. 

Put the whole idea of a comp out of your mind. If you are a high roller, a relatively high roller, a medium roller or even a somewhat small roller not playing in a mega casino you’ll get comps. 

Remember what comps are – they are a reward for the amount of money the casino figures you will lose over time. They aren’t given to players because the players are nice people. They are your reward for your future losses.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Jumping in for some craps action can be some of the most fun a player can have in a casino. The action feels like a team approach with plenty of cheering and high fives if just the right numbers show up on those dice.

Craps is a great game where wins and losses can be quick and players will stay and play for hours if the table gets hot. A visit to the craps pit can be a high-energy experience and this popular dice game also has deep roots, keeping players entertained in numerous versions for centuries .

Keep reading to learn everything about the history of craps, perhaps the world’s most popular dice game.

Table of Contents

1 – How to Play Craps

For many gamblers, craps can seem confusing at first. The table is typically large with numerous players crowded around and dropping chips seemingly everywhere on the felt. There are numerous possible betting locations and combinations, and it may seem like it’s impossible for dealers to keep up with everything.

Craps in a Casino

Many players obviously first experience craps in a casino. While it may seem confusing, betting the Pass Line is the most popular wager and comes with the best odds. The action begins with the “come out roll.” The result of this roll can follow the following results:

• 2, 3, 12 – A player craps out and all players lose their Pass Line bets. Another come out roll then commences after players have reposted their wagers.
• 7 or 11 – These are automatic winners on the come out roll and players receives even money on their Pass Line wagers.
• 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 – When of these numbers are rolled on the come out rolls it becomes the point number. The dealer will then place a puck on that number signifying that is the number the shooter is aiming for in subsequent rolls. The goal is to hit that number before “sevening out.” After the come out roll, a seven is the number players on the Pass Line don’t want to see. This number makes everyone a loser and the dealer scoops away all bets to the house.

Along with playing the Pass Line, which pays even money, players can also “take odds” on their wager by placing some chips behind that initial bet once a point number has been established. This is one of the best bets in the casino and plays the actual true odds of making that number. Those include:

• 6, 8 – 6 to 5
• 5, 9 – 3 to 2
• 4, 10 – 2 to 1

Those lucky enough to then see their point number then earn even money on the initial Pass Line bet as well as those odds on the wager behind the bet.

Street Craps

This version of the game allows players to play in any setting and has been played by gamblers for generations. There is no ornate craps table and players generally are only focused on hitting their point number. One player generally acts as the house while another player functions as the shooter. Other players may also be involved betting for or against the shooter.

As at a casino, a player wins on 7 or 11 on the come out roll and loses on 2, 3, or 12. Once a point number is established the shooter continues rolling hoping to hit that point number.

2 – Ancient dice games

The idea of rolling dice betting has been around since ancient times. That included the rolling of dice in some form of wagering dating all the way back to the Roman Empire. Many accounts say that Roman soldiers were some of the early practitioners of betting on dice. Instead of slick modern dice, soldiers shaved pig knuckles into cubes. They could then toss these cubes into their shields as they awaited the next battle.

Through the years, centuries to come, many more soldiers would pass the time when not in battle with some gambling on cards and dice. Those games among Roman soldiers are believed to have brought about the saying “roll the bones,” which is still often used today.

By the 13th Century, King Alphonso X of Castile, Spain, was so enamored with gambling that he commissioned the Book of Games, which featured 98 pages and 150 illustrations.

“About two-thirds of the game focus on chess, with dice and board games taking up the rest,” author David Schwartz notes in the book Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. “The king contrasted games of skill, such as chess, with those of luck, like dice, and found that games like backgammon, which incorporated skill, were more popular, even though they could be played with dice.”

His interest in the subject may show just how popular gambling, and using dice in these efforts, were at the time among royalty and those in the upper class. Alphonso’s book even offered his views on the correct shape and form of dice to avoid cheating. Those that were misshapen could garner more “trickery than luck.”

The book focused on several games at the time, most using three dice. Two games Alphonso described, Hazard and Marlota, may be somewhat similar to the modern game of craps. Both featured players rolling dice, trying to reach a number before an opponent rolls that number.

Hazard is believed to have been invented by England’s Sir William of Tyre during the Crusades around 1125. Like many soldiers through the years, he and his knights gambled as a way to pass the time. The game is believed to have received the name after waiting to take a castle named Hazarth in Syria.

That seems fitting as some of these early versions of craps apparently spread from the Middle East. Dice gambling games seem to have become en vogue as traders came and went throughout the region, bringing those gambling games back home

“The word hazard was apparently derived from the Arabic word az-zahr,” Scwartz notes in Roll the Bones. “According to one account, Europeans learned of the game following an eighth-century Saracen invasion of Corsica, from whence it filtered to the Continent.”

Accounts vary to some degree, but it’s a good bet the game was spreading out during this time and was well-established among players throughout Europe and the Middle East by the 13th century. During this time, even Italian poet Patrarch commented on gambling and dice in his work Remedies for Fortune Fair and Foul. The man who was considered the father of the Renaissance apparently wasn’t a fan of rolling the bones. 

3 – Transitioning More to the Modern Game of Craps

By the 1600s, Hazard had grown in popularity throughout Europe and would become extremely popular among gambling houses in England for the next 200 years. Crockford’s Casino was founded in London in 1823 and offered “gentleman” the opportunity to bet some pounds and shillings on a regular basis. The club was founded by William Crockford, who became one of the wealthiest men in the country at the time.

Like some modern Las Vegas casinos, the property attracted plenty of big names with even the Duke of Wellington believed to have been a member. The casino, which remained open until 1970 (although a newer club uses the same name), also was home to very popular Hazard games.

“The most fashionable club before the establishment of the Coventry (House Club) was Crockford's, and I was elected to it immediately after being returned for Parliament (in 1842),” writer and politician Sir William Gregory noted in his autobiography. “It was admirably kept. Francatelli, the cook, was unequaled; there was a first-rate supper, gratis, with the best champagne for those who hungered and thirsted after midnight; and in a little room off the supper-room was the gambling table, at which too many an ardent admirer of Hazard had lost all his fortune.”

By the mid-1700s the game had become known as Crabs in France, the nickname for the worst possible hand in the game. At the same time, the game spread to regions controlled by the French in North America including Canada and Maine, now part of the U.S.

In 1755, the French region of Acadia, which included Nova Scotia, Canada, changed hands to the British and many French settlers headed south to Louisiana. In New Orleans, also the birthplace of modern poker, the game was altered a bit to make it easier for a house to back the action or simply to play on the street among friends and acquaintances. The game also began taking on the name Craps, becoming the more modern game that many players recognize today, either at a casino or online.

4 – Playing Craps in Today’s Casinos

By World War I, the modern craps table layout as players know today could be found in many casinos around the U.S.. Terms like “Pass Line” could be found on the felt as seen at today’s Craps table. The game became especially popular with soldiers in both world wars.

Much of the modernization of the game is attributed to John H. Winn, a dice manufacturer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. He has been nicknamed the “Father of Craps,” and certainly had a fitting last name for the game. By 1907, he’d designed and released the table felt and design that is still seen in most casinos today.

When gambling became legal in Las Vegas in 1931, Craps became the most popular table game in these Old West-style gambling houses. That popularity grew dramatically during World War II. Dice are small and easy to carry. Soldiers, looking for ways to pass some time, could pack them and then break out a set in the barracks or even on the front lines in Europe or Southeast Asia for some street craps with a few dollars on the line.

After the war, many of these former soldiers turned to casinos in Las Vegas or the Caribbean to play the game they’d grown to love while in the service. The new house-backed casino version became very popular as a result (as did poker because of the same reasons). Interestingly, the game also began to flourish in Europe, where early dice games originally led to modern craps itself.

Craps can now be found in casinos around the world and is one of the games that quickly comes to mind when people think of casino gambling. Players can also find real-money craps online as well as free-to-play video game versions as well. Even with nothing on the line, some players just enjoy seem which ways those dice will roll.

Craps has been featured in Hollywood films through the decades and in other pop culture representations. The game’s unique jargon has been embraced in wider usage, with sayings like “crapping out” or “just a roll of the dice” used in everyday conversations.

Craps is one of the best games in a casino and can bring plenty of fun as you roll those bones and hope for a winning number. The game has a deep history and keeps many gamblers coming back for more.

A hand that totals 15 in blackjack seems like an innocuous hand but you would be surprised (no, make that shocked) at how many players botch this hand when deciding how to play it. Follow along and I will show you how to play your 15 correctly. 

Note – The following abbreviations are used in this article:
s17 = dealer must stand on soft 17
h17 = dealer must hit soft 17

Hard vs. Soft Hands

The playing strategy is different between a hard 15 and a soft 15 so it is important you know the difference.

A hard 15 is any hand that totals 15 that either:

• Doesn’t contain an Ace.
• Or contains an Ace that counts as 1.

A soft 15 is any hand that totals 15:

• This hand contains an ace counted as 11.

Examples:

      ➔   10-5 (hard 15)
      ➔   6-7-2 (hard 15)
      ➔   A-4 (soft 15)
      ➔   2-2-A (soft 15)

Sometimes a soft 15 will convert to a hard 15 after drawing.  For example, A-4 is a soft 15; if you hit and draw a 10, you now have a hard 15 (A-4-10).

Hard 15 Basic Playing Strategies

(From Don Schlesinger’s Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Card.)

Multi-Deck Game with s17:

• You should stand on hard 15 if the dealer’s upcard is a 2 through 6, and
• Hit if it is 7 through ace.

If surrender is offered:

• Surrender any hard 15 against a dealer’s 10 upcard.

Multi-Deck Game with h17:

Follow the above s17 playing strategy with one change:

• Surrender hard 15 against a dealer’s ace (instead of hit).

 
Composition-Dependent Playing Strategy (Multi-Deck Game)

Sometimes the make-up (or composition) of the cards in your hand can alter the playing strategy for specific hands. In the case of a hard 15 composed of an 8+7:

• Hit against a dealer’s 10 upcard instead of surrender. 
• If 7 or more decks of cards are being used, then surrender. 

Double-Deck Game

The playing strategy for a hard 15 is nearly identical to the above multi-deck basic blackjack strategy with only one modification when surrender is offered.

• Hit an 8+7 versus the dealer’s ace in a h17 game (rather than surrender)

Note: In a rare singe-deck blackjack game worth playing (i.e., blackjack paying 3 to 2 rather than 6 to 5), the composition of the hard 15 (i.e., 10-5 vs. 9-6 vs. 8-7) plays a significant role in the composition-dependent basic playing strategy.  For more details, consult the single-deck basic strategy card by Don Schlesinger.  

Soft 15 Basic Playing Strategies

Regardless of the number of decks of cards or the mix of playing rules, the correct playing strategy for a soft 15 is:

• Hit against a dealer's 2, 3, and 7 through ace.
• Double down on dealer’s 4, 5, and 6.
• If the playing rules do not allow doubling down on soft hands, or your soft 15 consists of three or more cards, then hit against all dealer upcards. 

There is never a situation when you should surrender a soft 15.

Test Yourself

How would you play the following 10 hands?

(Assume a six-deck game with surrender unless otherwise stated.)

1. 10-5 vs. dealer’s 10.
2. 8-7 vs. dealer’s ace (s17 game). 
3. 8-7 vs. dealer’s ace (h17 game).
4. 2-A-2 vs dealer’s 3.
5. A-4 vs dealer’s 6.
6. 8-7 vs dealer’s 10 (eight-deck game).
7. 10-5 vs dealer’s 10 (surrender is not offered).
8. 9-3-2-A vs dealer’s 7.
9. A-2-2 vs dealer’s 4.
10. 8-7 vs. dealer’s ace (double-deck game with h17).

Summary

By following the above basic playing strategy for a hard and soft 15, you will always be making the mathematically correct play. (For detailed basic playing tables, consult Chapter 3 in the Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Guide.)

Answers to Test Yourself

1. Surrender
2. Hit
3. Surrender
4. Hit
5. Double down
6. Surrender
7. Hit
8. Hit
9. Hit
10. Hit
     

This article explains the card values in the game of blackjack, how to determine the total of a hand, and the difference between a hard and a soft hand. 

Table of Contents

• Cards Used to Play Blackjack
• Hand Total
• Blackjack Hand
• Picture Cards
• Hand Terminology

Cards Used to Play Blackjack

Blackjack uses a conventional deck of 52-playing cards. Each deck contains the following cards and their corresponding point value.

BLACKJACK CARD VALUE CHART

Hand Total

The total of any hand is the sum of the point values of each card in the hand. For example:

4 + 5 = 9

J + Q = 20

10 + 6 = 16

5 + 9 + 7 = 21

Ace + 5 = 16

4 + Ace + K = 15

Blackjack Hand

When the point value of the initial two cards that are dealt to a player totals 21, this is known as a blackjack hand. The latter occurs when a player is dealt a card with a point value of 10 (e.g., 10, Jack, Queen, or King) and an ace.

10 + Ace = Blackjack

Queen + Ace = Blackjack

A player blackjack will beat a dealer hand that totals 21 in three or more cards. For example,

A + K (blackjack) beats a 9 + 2 + Q (21).

If you split a pair of aces and receive, say, a queen to one ace, and a jack to the other ace, both hands total 21, not blackjack. (That’s because the initial two cards in the hand were a pair of aces.)  

When your initial two-card hand contains an ace, you should always count the ace as 11. For example:

A + 5 = 16

3 + A = 14

Suppose in each of the above hands you drew another card and it was a picture card, giving you the following three-card hands. 

A + 5 + Q

3 + A + K

In both cases, the total point value of your hand would exceed 21 if you counted the ace as 11. Therefore, you would count the ace as 1 and the hands would total 16 and 14 respectively.

A + 5 + Q = 16
3 + A + K = 14

Picture Cards

As mentioned previously, all the picture cards in blackjack have the same point value of 10. Players are allowed to split any initial two-card hand when the point value of the two cards is the same. Therefore, you are allowed to split a hand consisting of not only two 10s, but also any picture card and a 10, or two different picture cards, such as:

Hand Terminology

In the game of blackjack, it’s not only the total of the hand that determines how you should play it but also the composition of the cards in the hand, especially when an ace is present.  For example, look at the following two hands that total 16.

10 + 6 = 16

Ace + 5 = 16

Even though the totals of the hands are the same, the blackjack basic playing strategy for the 10 + 6 is different than that of an A + 5. 

A hard hand is any hand that either does not contain an ace or, if it does, counts the ace as 1. For example, the following are all hard hands:

10 + 8 = hard 18

5 + A + K + 2 = hard 18

A soft hand is any hand that contains an ace that counts as 11. (You can never bust when you draw one card to a soft hand.)

A + 5 = soft 16

A + 3 + 4 = soft 18

3 + 2 + A + A = soft 17

Often a hand may start as a soft hand but upon drawing one or more cards, it will convert to a hard hand. For example, suppose the player’s initial two cards were an ace and 4, which is a soft 15. The player draws another card and receives an 8.  His hand converts to a hard 13.

A + 4 = soft 15

A + 4 + 8 = hard 13

Summary

• The cards 2 through 10 count face value.
• All face cards count 10.
• The ace can count as 1 or 11.
• The total of a hand is the sum of the point values of the cards in the hand.
• A blackjack is any initial two-card hand that contains a 10-value card and an ace.
• A blackjack hand beats an ordinary 21 hand of three cards or more.
• You can split any two cards whose value is the same, including all 10-value cards.
• A hard hand is any hand that does not contain an ace, or it does, the ace counts as 1.
• A soft hand is any hand that contains an ace counted as 11.
   

Video poker players refer to the situation of playing many sessions without getting a royal flush as a “royal flush drought.” No matter your skill level, royal flush droughts will eventually befall you, and I’m no exception. 

In a previous article, I described my royal flush drought that occurred in 2017 and another in 2019. I ended the latter drought when I hit a royal flush in December of 2020. In fact, I hit two royal flushes so I was optimistic that this trend would continue in 2021 and I’d avoid another drought. However, this did not occur.

What I’m about to share with you as a teaching experience is what happened to me in 2021 while playing video poker. Because of the pandemic and other personal issues, I didn’t play as much video poker as I had in the past. Using the records I keep in my gambling log, I calculated that during 2021 I played 120,000 hands up to the first week of December. That included some 20 playing sessions over nearly 12 months without a single royal flush. (Ouch!)

Not a Common Occurrence

Most video poker players know (or should know) that a royal flush occurs once in about every 40,000 hands, on average (varies slightly by the game). What most players don’t know (or understand) is that the one in 40,000 is an average of many royal flush cycles. (One “cycle” is defined as 40,000 hands.)

It’s possible, therefore, to hit more than one royal flush after playing 40,000 hands, or perhaps none at all. (To view the probability of hitting one, two, three, or no royal flushes per cycle, see the table in one of my previous articles.)

The probability of playing 120,000 consecutive hands without getting a royal flush is only 5% (from the table in the book Video Poker Optimum Play, page 173). Even though the probability is low that this could happen, unfortunately for me, it did. 

You would have expected that my playing bankroll would have taken a big hit in 2021, or perhaps that I even would have gone broke. However, neither of these occurred. How could this be? Keep reading for the answer.

Collecting Points

One of the ways that you can minimize the financial hit to your bankroll during a royal flush drought is to take advantage of casino promotions that increase your free play. Instead of getting a one-time multiplier of the points you earn while playing during these promotions, your points will be multiplied by 2, 3, or a higher multiplier.

The more points you earn playing, the more free play you will have in your account. By playing this additional, free play once through the video poker machine, then cashing out the credits and adding this money to your gambling bankroll, you can minimize your losses from playing.

A second way to replenish your gambling bankroll is to take advantage of bounce back. This is free play that a casino will send to you in their monthly mailers. Usually, a casino will give you a specific amount per month that is available in weekly buckets as a reward for your loyalty. 

For example, your mailer might state that during the following month you will get a total of $400 in free play in your account that you can download in increments of $100 in free play to your video poker machine each week. The latter usually has a specific start and end date for each $100 download. For example, your mailer might say something like this:

This free play that you get in your mailer is called “bounce back” because you have to bounce back, or return, to the casino at a future date to redeem the free play.

The amount of bounce-back free play depends on what your average daily theoretical (or ADT) is over the previous one- to three-month period. The latter varies by casino. (Note: Several other factors are also used by casinos to determine the amount of your bounce back. For more information on this, read my article on, “The Importance of Bounce Back for Video Poker Players.”) 

During my 2021 video poker drought, I took full advantage of cashback and bounce back. I played mostly 8/5 Bonus Poker only when I was able to earn either a two- or three-times multiplier of my session points. Instead of getting the base cashback rate of 0.25% times my coin-in, I was getting either 0.50% or 0.75%. Bottom line: I was getting a lot more free play.

Bouncing Back

I was also able to optimize the amount of my bounce back so that I was receiving either $250 or $300 per week in free play in my mailers plus another $40 bonus in free play after earning a specific number of session points. After I finished playing a session, I would first download my free play from my multiplied points once through the same 8/5 Bonus Poker game and then cash out.

Then I’d do the same thing with the $250 or $300 in bounce-back free play and cash it out. Even though I was in a royal flush drought, and the losses from playing were steadily mounting, at no time at the end of each month in 2021 did my gambling bankroll (with the added cashback and bounce back) go negative.

The reason: the amount I was earning from the cashback and bounce back free play negated the losses from playing each month, which kept me slightly positive monetarily throughout the year.

One of the reasons why your gambling bankroll will head south during a royal flush drought (without the extra free play) is that the royal flush accounts for roughly 2% of your expected return from the game itself. (This varies slightly depending upon which game you are playing.) 

The expected return for 8/5 Bonus Poker (that is played accurately) is 99.17%. When you don’t get a royal flush, your expected return drops to about 97%, resulting in a 3% house edge, which will slowly, but surely, deplete your bankroll over time until you hit the next royal flush. 

Drought Comes to an End

Fortunately, my drought ended the first week in December when I finally hit my first royal flush of 2021. I was dealt this hand.

5♣ 5♠ 10♣ A♣ J♣ 

There are three possible holds for this hand.

1. Hold the low pair (5s).
2. Hold the four-card flush in clubs.
3. Hold the three cards to the royal flush.

This brings me to another key point regarding royal flush droughts. It’s important when you play video poker that you make the right playing decision on every hand. Of the three possible holds above, the one with the highest Expected Return is to hold the three-card royal flush and draw two cards.

If you opted instead to hold the low pair, or the four cards to the flush, during a royal flush drought you would have eliminated the possibility of getting a royal flush and ending your drought.

I held the three-card royal flush, and fortunately, the two cards I needed for the royal, the K♣ and Q♣) appeared on my screen. See photo below, which was taken after the attendant paid me and reset the machine. I had preloaded the machine with $500 before I began playing and was down $400 when I hit the royal flush.

 

The last point is this: never say never when you play video poker. I can say this based on my above experience because:

 

• You’ll be dealt three cards to a royal flush once in every 92 hands (1.09%), on average, (or about 13 times every two hours)
• The chance of getting the two cards you need to get a royal flush is only 1 in 1,081 (only 0.09%). 

One-tenth of one percent odds of hitting a royal are pretty long but as I say: 

• Never say never when playing video poker.