What Percentage of Players Understands the House Advantage in their Game?

A spin off of another thread, I wanted to ask the forum what percentage of players do you think understand what the house advantage is on their favorite game(s).

For example, if you poll 100 roulette players, how many of them know what that the house advantage is over 5%?

Or for craps players who play the hardways. How many of them know what the house advantage is for a hard 6 or 8?

On a side note, how many of you know the exact house advantage for your favorite games?

I'd say about 15% of players know or have a notion of what the house advantage is for a given game or bet. With so many gambling sites these days, it would be hard not to know.

Of these how many understand what the number means, I don't know.

I've a notion of the HA on such games I play, not the exact number.

For the bets that I make on a normal basis in craps? I know them within 1%. For random side bets that I make for shits and giggles? Not really, but I know they're bad - usually ~10%.

id imagine roulette is a pretty high percentage.

all you gotta do is look at the wheel or layout and you see two extra numbers there.

then pretty quick math, 38 numbers total, 2 extra numbers, 2/38 is 1/19, they know 1/20 is 5% so just a little bit greater.

Quote: rudeboyoi

id imagine roulette is a pretty high percentage.

all you gotta do is look at the wheel or layout and you see two extra numbers there.

then pretty quick math, 38 numbers total, 2 extra numbers, 2/38 is 1/19, they know 1/20 is 5% so just a little bit greater.

Ah, but you are smart rudeboyoi. Does the average player really calculate this and know that the house edge is 5.26%? Or do they just randomly play the game?

A few years ago I would have voted for "less than 5%", but since then I have come to the conclusion that people often know it in general terms such as that slot machines are very bad, table games better, and such. And then they go and try to get lucky, sort of like knowing whiskey is bad for you, then taking a big slug.

As far as knowing "exactly" what the house edge is, I might not do so good myself. But I know generally: I think the hard 6 or 8 is about 9%; then again, I only bet it as a two-way gesture bet. Pass and Don't Pass: 1.41% is drummed in, and just that the latter is microscopically better, and only if ties are counted in the action [I think].

Not only do most players not know the house advantage in their games, I bet(!) most also don't care, and are almost willfully ignorant of the odds. They gamble for recreational reasons, and view a visit to the casino as just another entertainment choice available to them --- little different than a movie, local sporting event, etc. If they win a little money, all the better.

People who play the lottery or progressive slots see only a $1 chance to change their life. I've heard roulette players claim the American wheel is a good deal ("almost 50 - 50!"). Keno is a great way to pass the time and "only costs a few bucks." I have a blackjack-playing friend who is fascinated by the Big 6 wheel.

The people on this message board are part of a small minority of gamblers who not only enjoy their games of choice, but wish to understand them more fully. If the gambling universe were populated solely by readers of the Wizard of Odds, Las Vegas would be a very different place.

I think most recreational gamblers actually overestimate the house edge, or at least its effect on bankroll. Most of the folks I know assume they will always lose any money they bring to gamble, but play anyway for the entertainment value. "The House always wins!"

But......., don't they only pay 35 to 1 on a number?
In that case the HA is even greater, since they aren't paying you the true odds of 36:1.

I would say less than 1% understand the odds on a particular bet.

Don't know it, don't understand it ... but above all else: Don't Care!!

"Its just a few bucks and you can win xxx". Yeah. Keno, Bingo, Red Button Disease. Its emotional. They've played video keno, they chatted with someone at the next machine, they had a free drink... and because they've won three times, they will keep doing this dozens of times.

This is not to say that they won't have vague ideas about worse or better or vague concerns about loosest at 3:00pm on a Wednesday, but in reality most of them don't know and don't understand or care to understand it.

Quote: RaleighCraps

But......., don't they only pay 35 to 1 on a number?
In that case the HA is even greater, since they aren't paying you the true odds of 36:1.

35 to 1 are the true odds for a bet that has a 1/36 chance. Like 1 to 1 are the true odds for a 1/2 chance.

1 in 36 times you win 35 (your winning $1 bet is returned to you), while 35 in 36 times you lose 1.

Quote: likeplayingcrapsandbj

I would say less than 1% understand the odds on a particular bet.

Agreed. Much less. I think some of you have lost some perspective on this question. Nearly all gamblers are utterly ignorant of how or why any given game is worse or better than any other, and they certianly don't know HOW bad any game is, mathematically.

Interim comment:
At the 27 members have voted stage:
It seems there is a rather wide gulf with some voting for the lowest figures and some for the highest figures.

It may be due to the wording of the question, I'm not sure.

A player may not "know" in a precise numerical sense but he can still "know" in a relative sense in that he is able to rank the various options more or less properly.

Also a person may not "know" the precise numbers but he may still have a certain degree of certainty that some things are true about slot machines. His knowledge may be imperfect and out of date, but he is still possessed of some degree of knowledge.

Quote: Jumboshrimps

Agreed. Much less. I think some of you have lost some perspective on this question. Nearly all gamblers are utterly ignorant of how or why any given game is worse or better than any other, and they certianly don't know HOW bad any game is, mathematically.

i agree. its easy to assume that something that seems like common knowledge to you should be common knowledge to others. this whole thread kind of makes me appreciate teachers a lot more especially for younger children. i can imagine it can be frustrating at times when something seems so simple to you yet is foreign knowledge to your students like 5x5 is 25 or knowing how to read.

Even a lot of people who know what the house advantage is more often than not discuss it without having a notion about probability.

One of the problems in players knowing the HA is that the HA can vary based upon the ability of the player.

Someone may have the notion that craps is a much better game than roulette, and then proceed to bet the field and the hard ways. Someone may also have the notion they only have a 1% disadvantage at BJ, yet play with a 2% disadvantage. Video Poker is especially dangerous. I've seen people play 6/5 JorB and swear to me it's the best deal in the house because VP is 99.5% return.

Roulette is the only game I know of where the HA is truly a fixed percentage, given you aren't playing with an advantage strategy such as VB or bias. Ironically, if you should find yourself playing on a bias wheel, you could find yourself playing into a much greater HA than 5.26%. But, there is no easy way to tell.