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The Unofficial Guide to Casino Gambling
by Basil Nestor
Basil Nestor incorporates decades of gambling knowledge to give the reader insight into probability, common gambling mistakes, and winning strategies in his popular book, The Unofficial Guide to Casino Gambling. Covering all the bases of casino gambling including machine games (slots and video poker), table games (blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat, poker), and waiting games (keno and sports betting) the book also has sections on how to get casino comps, gambling systems, a history of gambling in the US, and much more.
Did You Know Odds are Better Online?
Maintaining the glitzy building on the Las Vegas Strip costs a large fortune. Who pays for this? You do because the house edge on the Strip is high! Since playing online entails no brick and mortar glitz, the house edge is lower and your odds of winning increase.
What are the Odds of that Happening?
by Basil Nestor
Q Several years ago I was playing seven-card stud at the Mirage. A gentleman sitting next to me was dealt a jack-high straight flush in clubs. Within 15 minutes he was again dealt the exact same
Basil Nestor is the author of the new Playboy Complete Guide to Casino Gambling. This wonderful book teaches players how to avoid sucker bets and win more when playing gambling games. He is also the author of The Smarter Bet Guide series for video poker, slots, craps, and many other books about gambling. Basil's website is www.smarterbet.com hand. What are the odds of that occurrence?
Basil Nestor is the author of the new Playboy Complete Guide to Casino Gambling. This wonderful book teaches players how to avoid sucker bets and win more when playing gambling games. He is also the author of The Smarter Bet Guide series for video poker, slots, craps, and many other books about gambling. Basil's website is www.smarterbet.com hand. What are the odds of that occurrence?A The odds of receiving any particular straight flush in seven cards are 1 in 129,260.
Extrapolating beyond that is a little tricky because it depends on how you approach the question. The odds are 1 in 129,260 (same as above) that a particular straight flush will repeat itself once. But the odds are much less favorable, 1 in 16.7 billion, that a particular straight flush will occur two consecutive times.
The difference is subtle but important. Let's say I flip a coin and it comes up heads. Then I ask you, "What are the odds that I will flip heads again?" The correct answer is 1 in 2 (50%); those are the odds for one flip. On the other hand, if I ask you before I flip the first time, "What are the odds that I will flip heads and then flip heads again?" The correct answer is 1 in 4 (25%). The question is further complicated when we consider the fact that the player presumably received more than two hands during the fifteen minutes. He probably saw about five to seven hands. Obviously, that increases the chance of a repeat.
So the probability of being dealt two consecutive jack-high straight flushes in clubs when playing seven-card stud is about 1 in 16.7 billion, but the probability of seeing that particular hand repeated in 15 minutes is closer to about 1 in 20,000.