Game w/the least variance?

e-Craps: Betting both Pass and Don't pass -> 2.78% house edge (1/36)
e-Baccarat: Betting both player and Banker -> House edge = ??

any others?


edit:
least variance AND LEAST $ LOST

Covering every number in roulette. Variance = 0.

Quote: Wizard

Covering every number in roulette. Variance = 0.

whoops.. also wanted least $ lost.
sigh.. wished I could edit the title of my own Thread.
I updated my OP.

anyway, Double zero roulette = 5.71% house edge (2/35), and you're guaranteed to lose 2 units per spin.

so what's the least variance AND least $ lost?

Quote: 100xOdds

so what's the least variance AND least $ lost?

I've seen video blackjack for 1-cent, loss of about 30-cents per hour

Quote: 100xOdds

whoops.. also wanted least $ lost.

May I rephrase the question as, "What bet minimizes the product of (house edge) and variance?

Quote: Wizard

May I rephrase the question as, "What bet minimizes the product of (house edge) and variance?

So would the answer to that be a game with both a low house edge and low standard deviation .. Baccarat, Craps, Pai Gow, and Blackjack likely being among the best in that reguard?

Quote: Wizard

May I rephrase the question as, "What bet minimizes the product of (house edge) and variance?

That's still roulette though.

Quote: MathExtremist

That's still roulette though.

Of all the 0 variance wagers that are possible in a casino, which has the lowest house edge?

Quote: MathExtremist

That's still roulette though.

How about if rephrase as a single bet, not a combination of them?

Quote: teliot

Of all the 0 variance wagers that are possible in a casino, which has the lowest house edge?

anyone know the house edge if betting both Player and Banker in Baccarat?

Quote: Wizard

How about if rephrase as a single bet, not a combination of them?

or 2 bets :)

Quote: teliot

Of all the 0 variance wagers that are possible in a casino, which has the lowest house edge?

The one under the sign that says "change."

I don't think finding the game where HE * Var is lowest is the best for this. It's gotta be specific to the OP. There are different reasons for looking for a low variance game as well as low HE. So, given a list of games, OP should choose for himself which is best for his needs. If he doesn't know which is best, perhaps he should describe what he's trying to do, or just pick one out of a hat and do that.

Let me put it this way. For the person who wants to enjoy the casino experience, while trying to minimize both house edge and variance over a given period of time, then I think pai gow and pai gow poker make good choices. However, somebody asking such a question is likely going to have no clue what pai gow (tiles) is so, let's stick to just pai gow poker.

If the poster is really on a tight budget, then I would suggest live keno or bingo -- buying the fewest possible cards.

Wiz- while we are on this- which has a lower variance pai gow poker or pai gow tiles - and which is lower he wise assuming all else including offers and comps are equal on both games

Quote: teliot

Of all the 0 variance wagers that are possible in a casino, which has the lowest house edge?

I might suggest that there's no such thing as a zero variance wager. I'd call that a transaction.

Quote: MathExtremist

I might suggest that there's no such thing as a zero variance wager. I'd call that a transaction.

Betting on every number in roulette is a transaction? Isn't buying fruit really a wager?

Quote: 100xOdds

anyway, Double zero roulette = 5.71% house edge (2/35), and you're guaranteed to lose 2 units per spin.

For the record, note that the house edge in roulette isn't quite that bad. It's only 5.26%.

:)

Quote: Wizard

Covering every number in roulette. Variance = 0.

Actually - this is darn funny.

But - my memory is fading with age. I thought if you put $1 on a given number, if it hit, you got $35.

With the 0 and 00, isn't there slightly more variance than zero?

Also - I wonder if you did this for an hour if it would be worth the comps...

Quote: ukaserex

Actually - this is darn funny.

But - my memory is fading with age. I thought if you put $1 on a given number, if it hit, you got $35.

With the 0 and 00, isn't there slightly more variance than zero?

Also - I wonder if you did this for an hour if it would be worth the comps...

99% of the time NO its not. Good luck finding that 1%

Quote: ukaserex

Actually - this is darn funny.

But - my memory is fading with age. I thought if you put $1 on a given number, if it hit, you got $35.

With the 0 and 00, isn't there slightly more variance than zero?

Also - I wonder if you did this for an hour if it would be worth the comps...

if you cover every single number, including the 0 and the 00, you have 38 units at risk on 38 bets.

every single time:
37 bets will lose 1 unit
1 bet will gain 35 units

net -2 units every single time.

zero variance.

I'm not sure whether the OP's question is academic or not, but there are machines in every casino that has zero house edge and zero variance: Bill breakers.

Think that joke was posted long ago in the thread

Quote: teliot

Betting on every number in roulette is a transaction? Isn't buying fruit really a wager?

Buying fruit is always a wager, especially if you have allergies. Seriously, though, a wager has to have consideration, chance, and prize. If you hand me $38 and I always hand you back $36, it doesn't really matter whether I spin a wheel with a bouncing ball in the interim because that no longer affects the financial outcome. There is no longer a relevant element of chance in the transaction -- each time you perform it, you always get the same result.

The distinction is usually made in commerce between buying something with an inherent variability, like fruit, and something that isn't supposed to be variable, like cars. Cars come with warranties, fruit doesn't. That's also why retailers have return policies. You can't return a roulette wager, though I'd love to see you ask about the return policy after you lose a $50 bet on red. :)

A key distinction is that in wagering, even though this is almost never codified, there exists the possibility to exit the transaction with not only your initial stake (or fee) but a multiple of that stake or fee. You can pay for a piece of fruit, and the retailer hands you the fruit, and when you eat the fruit it might not taste good, but what doesn't happen is that you pay for a piece of fruit and suddenly, based on some chance element, have the retailer hand you 10 pieces of fruit and twice your money back. At least not in the normal course of business. So I'd argue that a distinction between a purchase and a wager is that the purchase transaction itself is not random -- the item to be acquired has a fixed, non-random price. Whether that item lives up to its billing is a different issue than whether you receive that item (or more or fewer of that item) at all.

California provides an interesting set of examples. On one hand, vending machines that dispense random lottery tickets are not themselves gambling devices. They're just vending machines:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1076188.html

On the other hand, "reverse" vending machines where you put in an empty can and get a randomly-selected payout (including zero) have an explicit carve-out from the lottery code that otherwise makes lotteries illegal:

Quote: California Penal Code 319.5

Neither this chapter nor Chapter 10 (commencing with Section
330) applies to the possession or operation of a reverse vending
machine. As used in this section a reverse vending machine is a
machine in which empty beverage containers are deposited for
recycling and which provides a payment of money, merchandise,
vouchers, or other incentives at a frequency less than upon each
deposit. The pay out of a reverse vending machine is made on a
deposit selected at random within the designated number of required
deposits.
The deposit of an empty beverage container in a reverse vending
machine does not constitute consideration within the definition of
lottery in Section 319.

I discovered yesterday that change machines are not 0 variance.

I got a really old buffalo nickel in my change that is probably worth like $2 not $.05

They can also short you, as well under paying you it's"common". Yes you can call them over, but that's certainly - EV because it takes an act of congress to get them to refund your .25 or $1. They have also been known to over pay. Over all, I would say it's exactly ZERO.