I am thinking of playing Blackjack, but the cheapest Blackjack game is $5. Errm. :/ I don't really like playing $5 on one game or spin.
Quote: KentryI am thinking of betting on Horses, but am concerned that my Horse could fall down and cost me my money. They do say I can play the Horse numbers at a 10 cent minimum, does that mean I can give a dime and choose 3 horses, or do I have to give them a dollar and 10 different plays?
I am thinking of playing Blackjack, but the cheapest Blackjack game is $5. Errm. :/ I don't really like playing $5 on one game or spin.
Think house edge, Kentry. For example, the right blackjack game has a lower house edge than many other games. The same money that you blow through a slot machine in a short time could last hours at the table. Of course variance is always lurking and it's not always good. You could also lose at blackjack faster than you can say double down.
Actually you can just play all the no deposit bonuses and have some zero risk +EV. There's a ton of them.Quote: TomGYou can find blackjack games on the internet where you risk $0 each hand
If you happen to make any money doing that, you can use that to do some 100% deposit bonuses.
I think Win-a-day is a good place to start for a free bonus. I'm sure its on the top of LCB affiliate list.
I can only base my assumptions on UK-based racing and that the book values in the US (assuming you're taking the prices rather than SP or the tote) are similar to those here.
NB These figures aren't necessarily correct - but make the maths easier. If you can count, learn perfect strategy, then you might halve these figures easily.
If you play Blackjack at $5 a hand then, it might be 1% (or less) and (say) 100 hands per hour. Thus you should lose, on average 5c per hand, or $5 per hour.
I'm not really sure what the accepted minimum is and am guessing it's $5; obviously if you can play for $1 or $2 then your hourly cost is even less.
If you watch various race meetings and (say) find a race every ten minutes, gamble $5 (In the UK you could bet £1!), then your total bets in an hour would be 6 x $5 = $30. Assuming the payback is 83% (in the UK races with fewer runners it might be 90+% and more runners <70%) then your hourly loss would also be $5.
Thus it's a close call - so let's consider other things. On Blackjack your result isn't likely to be wildly different and the game, more-or-less, is the same day in day out. Whereas on the horses on a good day you might find more than one winner and come out ahead; and the tracks and races are different every-day. Also you might learn the form, recognise a "good thing" etc.
The final point, which might be a factor, is what reward system the casino offers for your play. I imagine there's some reward for playing Blackjack and little for betting the horses; but whether it swings the decision is unlikely. Unless you're trying to beat the casino (by counting or studying form) at the end of the day it's the one you enjoy the most.
Quote: KentryI am thinking of betting on Horses, but am concerned that my Horse could fall down and cost me my money. They do say I can play the Horse numbers at a 10 cent minimum, does that mean I can give a dime and choose 3 horses, or do I have to give them a dollar and 10 different plays?
Can't answer your questions, but if you try to get instruction about house edge and all that from Wizard sites you should know the HE is very high with horse racing, around 20% IIRC. Perhaps that can be whittled down with good handicapping, but is that you?
Quote:I am thinking of playing Blackjack, but the cheapest Blackjack game is $5. Errm. :/ I don't really like playing $5 on one game or spin.
I am curious to know why you decided to explore gambling at all?
He was trying to find a way to pump up his allowance.Quote: odiousgambitCan't answer your questions, but if you try to get instruction about house edge and all that from Wizard sites you should know the HE is very high with horse racing, around 20% IIRC. Perhaps that can be whittled down with good handicapping, but is that you?
I am curious to know why you decided to explore gambling at all?
Quote: KentryI remembered thinking, "The slots are treating me way better than the Lottery tickets!" :D
They are better, lottery tickets are highway robbery as are all those state-run things
On the other hand, there is the question about gambling at all when funds are lacking.
On the other hand, if a person lives paycheck to paycheck, it has always occurred to me that it might be a matter of buying lottery tickets or an extra 12 pack of beer. The money will be gone either way. The lottery ticket makes more sense [the issue of saving money being mute]