What's the best way to use this coupon?

My local casino has sent me 1 $60 coupon to be used for free table play once every week in May. The entire coupon has to be played at once. What's the best single bet to make?

If they limit you to even money bets (which they pretty much definitely do) then generally player in baccarat is the best bet. If you are not limited to even money bets then playing a number in roulette would probably be your best money play.

Playing a number in roulette would bet me the biggest win but would, pragmatically, just be throwing away the coupon. I'd just assume take an even money bet with better odds and walk out the door with my free money.

This depends whether or not you only collect the winnings from that bet, or also the stake.

If you only collect the winnings, you don't want to pay the stake when your hand is won, thus aim for rare but high payouts. Variance is much more important than EV here.

Quote: Alien8ed

My local casino has sent me 1 $60 coupon to be used for free table play once every week in May. The entire coupon has to be played at once. What's the best single bet to make?

Go look at the chart at https://wizardofodds.com/gambling/promotional-chips/

In the promotional chip column, find the game that your coupon allows that has highest percentage return. My guess is it's going to be blackjack.

Quote: Alien8ed

Playing a number in roulette would bet me the biggest win but would, pragmatically, just be throwing away the coupon. I'd just assume take an even money bet with better odds and walk out the door with my free money.

I tend to disagree with your perspective.

If we consider May as having five weeks and assume 0/00 Roulette, then the probability of you not hitting at least once is:

(37/38)^5 = 0.87516640338

Which is a roughly 12.48% chance of hitting at least once.

Hardly throwing it away.

You don't think 12.5% is throwing if away?

Quote: Alien8ed

You don't think 12.5% is throwing if away?

Don't worry about the chance of actually hitting the bet.

Say you're getting $300 worth of free play coupons. If you could use them on a single number in 0-00 roulette, they would be worth:

92.11% * $300 = $276.33

If you used that same $300 free play on blackjack, it would be worth:

51.4% * $300 = $154.20

Obviously you want to maximize the value of the coupon, so single-number at roulette is the far superior option if the house allows you to do that.

Quote: Alien8ed

My local casino has sent me 1 $60 coupon to be used for free table play once every week in May. The entire coupon has to be played at once. What's the best single bet to make?

First the most important thing is to know in advance what games you're allowed to use them on. I had $20, $40, and $100 at Turning Stone and each had different games allowed which I didn't know until I got there. You're almost always limited to even money bets. Under these rules, the best way won't make much difference and I wouldn't even worry about it.

Edit: Just use Wizard's advice from the link. I would probably use the best option anyways without thinking about it though because it's not to hard to figure out.

This week I just ended up putting the $60 coupon on red and $60 cash on black. Not a huge profit but basically cashed out the coupon.

Quote: Alien8ed

This week I just ended up putting the $60 coupon on red and $60 cash on black. Not a huge profit but basically cashed out the coupon.

How many 0s on that wheel?

Also... it's one-time-use only, right? So if it's red, you don't cash out anything, right?

Quote: Alien8ed

This week I just ended up putting the $60 coupon on red and $60 cash on black. Not a huge profit but basically cashed out the coupon.

If you're going to do that, and they're actually going to let you, just Doey-Don't at Ctaps, because then you can't lose $60 cash, either.

Quote: Alien8ed

This week I just ended up putting the $60 coupon on red and $60 cash on black. Not a huge profit but basically cashed out the coupon.

if you are going to do that then you should at least put $5 on 0/00

if you received these in the mail I am going to assume that you have decent play in this casino. If that is the case why not just use these as cash the next time you play? If you are just using these as a hit and run you are going to mess up your future offers unless you have other play as well.

Quote: Alien8ed

This week I just ended up putting the $60 coupon on red and $60 cash on black. Not a huge profit but basically cashed out the coupon.

If you must do this the best way to do it is on player and banker at bacc. If the pit catches you doing it they may threaten to have your future freeplay revoked. I don't understand why, though, because in reality it's better for the casino if you bet each side than just betting one side with the coupon.

Quote: sodawater

If you must do this the best way to do it is on player and banker at bacc. If the pit catches you doing it they may threaten to have your future freeplay revoked. I don't understand why, though, because in reality it's better for the casino if you bet each side than just betting one side with the coupon.

I've recently come to realize that the people who run and work in casinos mostly don't actually understand how or why they make money. Someone else invents the games; they just put them in and it all works out somehow.

Quote: GWAE

if you received these in the mail I am going to assume that you have decent play in this casino. If that is the case why not just use these as cash the next time you play? If you are just using these as a hit and run you are going to mess up your future offers unless you have other play as well.

I was actually just getting ready to post something to this effect, actually.

Basically, Alien8ed, I'm going to assume a couple of things, here. I want you to know that I'm not trying to be hard on you, we're all just trying to tell you what is the best mathematical play and why.

Okay, my first assumption is that you are not a card-counter or otherwise an advantage player of any kind. I assume this because, otherwise, you'd respond with, "Single number on Roulette, best mathematical value, sweet, thanks!" In which event, I wouldn't be composing this post.

That assumed, I'm also going to assume that your mailers at this casino are based on play, because most are, and only rarely are there ever any offers greatly disproportionate to play.

That said, we're talking about $300 in total free bets that you can make this month. Let's assume that the casino is giving you back 100% of your expected loss with this offer and you play Pass Line on Craps, which may not be your lowest HE option at that casino, anyway. Okay, if you have an expected loss of $300 and the House Edge is .0141, then your action would have been 300/.0141 = $21,276.60 for whatever period they are considering.

It could be more or less, depending on the game, but let's go with that for right now.

Most casinos are not going to give you 100% of your Expected Loss in bets, so if you have played Craps, my inclination is that you have bet more than this in whatever period, even if you're betting Pass Line only. In terms of total cash action, it could be less, if you're playing games with a greater house edge.

Given all of these assumptions, let's contextualize this $60: Are you in trouble? Do you seriously need $60? It seems that you have offered more action in the period considered than $300 in Expected Losses, which gives me cause to believe that you are willing to lose more than $60 in a given trip.

That said, so what if you lose?

Now, not only is a single number on Roulette the best mathematical way to do it, but may also result in a win you consider substantial. $2,100 if that bad boy hits once, could be more if it hits more than once. Are you willing to lose that much in a single trip?

Okay, so on the one hand, you're playing for peanuts compared to what you are willing to lose anyway and not making the best mathematical decision. On the other hand, you're making the best mathematical decision and have a chance at a substantial win, perhaps more than you are willing to lose in a trip...or even in a week or a month.

The choice seems obvious, to me, unless you really need that $60, which is none of my business.

Quote: AxiomOfChoice

I've recently come to realize that the people who run and work in casinos mostly don't actually understand how or why they make money. Someone else invents the games; they just put them in and it all works out somehow.

This is definitely true. A few months ago I got into a little argument at the Borgata with a box man because the player to my right was betting $100 each on the pass and don't, and then taking odds on the point. The box man warned him that he would be rated at $0 average bet (as not playing.)

I asked why, because he was betting $200 on the line each hand. The box man proceeded to tell me not to tell him how to do his job, since he'd been doing it for 20 years.

The irony of this situation is that midweek, winter in AC, this same man betting $200 on the pass line would be treated like a king. Yet he has a superstition to bet $100 on each and take odds, and the casino treats him like a comp scammer or something.

Casino employees generally do not have the slightest clue about how their games work other than what they've been trained on. Even common sense stuff. It's astounding.