Big Wheel Odds

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1. Goofy Golf Slot Machine - Wheel Of Fortune Slot Machines Odds. Big Ben Slot Machine Win Videos.
2. The house advantage on some gambling games is higher than others. We cover casino games that you should not play in Las Vegas.

Spending a weekend gambling in Vegas may be fun, though you’ll probably have an even better time if you win big at the tables. If you’re hoping to beat the odds at the casino, the game you choose to play matters. You’re more likely to come home a little bit richer if you sit down at the blackjack table rather than settling in with the gray-haired set at the slots.

It all comes down to math. Amateur gamblers may hope luck is on their side when they walk through the doors of the Bellagio or Caesars Palace, but what they really need to think about are the odds of winning at different games. While the house always has an edge, it’s much bigger in some situations than in others. That’s why you never see smart gamblers wasting their time playing keno or wheel of fortune – games where you’re almost guaranteed to lose money.

Casino games with the best odds

Savvy gamblers are going to cluster around the blackjack tables, where the casino’s edge is usually between 0.5% to 1%, though the number varies depending on the number of decks and other rule variations. You can calculate the house edge on a particular game of blackjack using the Wizard of Odds online calculator. Those numbers also assume you’re playing with what’s known as basic strategy, or making the best possible decision based on the cards you’ve been dealt. For the average player who’s going to make some mistakes, the house’s edge increases to 2%, according to the University of Nevada’s Center for Gaming Research.

Blackjack table Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

“Blackjack is one of our easiest games to play,” Jay Bean, a floor manager at Caesar’s, told Cleveland’s Newsnet5. “You’re just looking for a number that beats the dealer’s number without going over 21.”

“You are somewhere between 44% to 48% in every single hand of winning,” Michael Magazine, a professor of analytics at the University of Cincinnati, said of blackjack.

After blackjack, the games with the best odds are baccarat and craps. In baccarat, which is a game of chance rather than skill, the odds are close to 50/50, though your chances are slightly better if you bet on the banker rather than the player. At the craps table, the house edge on a pass line bet is 1.4%.

Roulette is one of the easiest casino games to play, and the odds are also fairly good. If you only bet on red or black or evens or odds (as opposed to a specific number) the house edge is 5.26%, assuming you’re playing in an American casino with double zeros on the wheel. Your odds of winning are better in a European casino with a single-zero wheel.

Video poker is another game with fairly good odds for players. “For video poker the statistical advantage varies depending on the particular machine, but generally this game can be very player friendly — house edge less than 3% is not uncommon and some are less than 1% — if played with expert strategy,” per the Center for Gaming Research.

Casino games with the worst odds

Slots may be less intimidating to novice gamblers than table games like blackjack, but the house is more likely to take you for a ride. Each slot machine is different, but the Wizard of Odds estimates the house edge for penny slots at between 6% and 15%. If you can’t resist the slots, chose a higher-denomination machine, since these tend to have a higher payout percentage than lower-denomination slots.

“The average slot machine is probably two, three times more costly to players than the table games,” Bill Zender, a former professional gambler, told Mental Floss.

Even worse than slots are “sucker games” like wheel of fortune and keno. The house advantage on keno averages 27%, according to the Center for Gaming. For wheel of fortune games (which also go by names like “big six” and “lucky wheel”), the house edge ranges from 11% to 24%, depending on your bet.

Whether you choose to take a chance on the wheel of fortune or are a high-roller playing baccarat, understanding how the game is played will put you ahead of most other players.

“Ninety percent of the people who walk into a casino have no idea of the odds stacked against them,” Zender said.

Also keep this in mind: The more you gamble, the likelier you are to lose. An analysis of online gamblers found that those who bet the least also had the highest winning percentage. But even then, the numbers weren’t great. Seventeen percent of the lightest gamblers ended up in the black over a two-year period. Only 5.4% of the heaviest gamblers came out ahead.

“[T]he average person doesn’t understand the math” of the multiplier effect, Jim Kilby, who has written books on casino management, told the Wall Street Journal. “Casino games are nibbling machines, and the more nibbles you have, the bigger your losses.”

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The Big Six wheel, also known simply as The Big Six or Wheel of Fortune, is an unequal game of chance, played using a large vertical wheel that can be spun.

Since 13 May 2002, it can be played legally in licensed casinos in the United Kingdom, under The Gaming Clubs (Bankers' Games) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (Statutory Instrument 2002/1130).

The game is also known in casinos in the United States.

Rules[edit]

The wheel is divided into a number of equal segments separated by spokes or pins. Each segment is associated with a number. The wheel is spun by a dealer, and the winning segment is indicated by a pointer mounted on a flexible piece of rubber or leather, which also rubs against the pins to impart friction and slow the wheel down. Should the player stop the wheel, the segment at the top is the winner.

Variants[edit]

There are a number of variants of the game, that divide the wheel into a different number of segments, use different symbols in the segments, and have different odds if a symbol is selected.

Money wheel[edit]

This variant is the most common in casinos in the United States. The symbols are $1, $2, $5, $10 and $20 bills — and two special symbols, a joker and the casino logo. The $1 bills pay at odds of 1 to 1, the $2 bills at 2 to 1, the $5 bills at 5 to 1, and so on. The joker and the logo pay at odds of 40 to 1 or 45 to 1, depending on local gaming regulations or the practice of the casino.

Big Wheel Off Road Motorcycle

The house advantage or edge (the proportion of the stakes that the casino expects to win on average) of this game is one of the highest of most casino games. In the United States it ranges from 11.1% on the $1-bill bet to more than 24% on the joker or logo (when it pays at 40 to 1). In Australia the house edge is 7.69% on all bets, so that the payouts on a 52-segment wheel are 47:1, 23:1, 11:1, 5:1, 3:1 and 1:1.

Dice wheel[edit]

The symbols on the wheel represent some of the 216 possible combinations of three dice. Sometimes the same combination appears in more than one segment. Players wager on the numbers 1 through 6. If the number appears on one of the dice in the winning segment, the dealer pays at 1 to 1; on two of the dice, 2 to 1; on all three of the dice, 3 to 1.

One example of a dice wheel, manufactured by H. C. Evans & Co. of Chicago (or its successor), is divided into 54 segments. Each of the triples appears four times. The following doubles each appear four times: 2, 1, 1; 2, 2, 1; 4, 3, 3; 5, 4, 4; 6, 5, 5; and 6, 6, 3. The following combinations each appear three times: 3, 2, 1; and 6, 5, 4.

In the example above, there are 54 possible outcomes for a single spin of the wheel. For a specific number:

• There are 7 possible outcomes where only one die will match the number
• There are 4 possible outcomes where only two dice will match
• There are 4 possible outcomes where all three dice will match

At odds of 1 to 1, 2 to 1 and 3 to 1 respectively for each of these types of outcome, the expected loss as a percentage of the stake wagered is:

1 - [(7/54) * 2 + (4/54) * 3 + (4/54) * 4] = 22.2%

The symbolism of the game is redolent of chuck-a-luck or sic bo, games of chance played with three dice. However, the house advantage or edge is greater than for chuck-a-luck, which itself has a higher house advantage than other casino games.

This variety is seldom seen in casinos, but frequently seen as a carnival game, or at a charity 'Monte Carlo night' fund-raiser. A similar game, the 'Big Nine' wheel, has five numbers on each segment, and also three special symbols, appearing on three spaces each, which pay 10:1 odds.

United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand[edit]

Big Wheel Odds

A legal game in a licensed casino in the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand involves a wheel at least 1.5 metres in diameter divided into 52 segments, each marked with one of seven symbols (referred to as A to G). The table below sets out the frequency of the symbols, their probability, the associated odds specified, and the house advantage or edge.

Other variants[edit]

Other variants, using different symbols and odds, are relatively rare in the United States.

One variant called 'Mississippi Derby' was used for a short time at the Grand Casino in Gulfport, Mississippi. (The casino was destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.) The symbols were combinations of three of a number of different horses, arranged to represent a winner, a second-placed horse and a third-placed horse. (The horses were represented in three concentric rings, with the winner on the outer ring.) Players wagered on particular horses to 'win', 'place' or 'show', as with betting in horse racing. The payoffs varied from horse to horse, depending on how many times and where the horse appeared on the rings. Odds ranged from 40 to 1 for the 'longshot' to win, down to 1-2 for the 'favorite' to show.

References[edit]

Regulation in the United Kingdom

Regulation in New Zealand

External links[edit]

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