CASINOS
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Understanding House 'Drops' and Casino Payouts
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Dear Mark, If the casino
advantage on a game like blackjack is under 1% for those of us who use perfect
basic strategy, how come I have read the house "drop" is reported at around
15% at blackjack? Gary O.
The casino "advantage" in all games is correctly called the house percentage.
The house percentage applies to each gaming decision in a casinobe
it each roll of the dice, each spin at the roulette wheel, each pull of
a slot handle, or each hand at blackjack. The aptly named "drop" percentage
is always much higher than the house percentage and refers to what the player
will drop into the casino's appreciative hands. Most players play too long
at their game of choice, allowing the house edge to gnaw away at their stakes.
An obliging gambler who loses on average nearly one percent per hand will,
if he sticks at it for an extended period of time, wind up dropping (there's
that word) about 15% of all the money wagered.
Casinos dearly love players who Super-Glue themselves to the tables, and
will happily offer lifetime supplies of the stuff for free. They know that
you simply cannot play any casino game over an extended time period and
come away a winner; they set the rules that way, you see. Their percentages
- house advantage - will always methodically devour your bankroll. Why?
You are always funding a minus computation. Even the most favorable game,
blackjack played with perfect basic strategy, is just the least favorable
for the casino, eating you in nibbles rather than gorilla gulps.
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