FinsRule's Blog

Off to Vegas

Goodbye trusty WoV readers. I'm off to cold/windy Las Vegas on Friday.

I'll be spending one night at the Nugget to try the waterslide.

I'll be spending three nights at the Mirage.

I'll be watching the Derby, watching the megafight, watching the NHL playoffs.

I'm going to attempt to do something close to the Wizard's hike at Red Rocks. My wife was hesitant at first, but when I showed her the Wizard's son doing it, it gave her motivation that if a kid can do it, we can do it too.

I'm going to eat some of the best food on the planet.

And I'm going to play some Pai Gow Poker and Texas Hold Em.

I'm super excited as you can probably tell.

Wish me luck!!! er, wish me positive mathematical variance???

Blackjack is Dead

*News Release*

Blackjack was found dead today at River City Casino in St. Louis, Missouri (which is very nice I may add).

I was as a $5 table, so I know the players are going to be bad. But I've never been at a table where everyone else was terrible.

First base was doubling all 12s against 2-6.

Woman next to him was asking first base for advice and was hitting 15 against 2, staying on 16 against 8.

Girl to my left hit was about to hit 14 against a 6 when I told her not to. Of course that made the whole table lose.

3rd base told girl to my left to stay with soft 16 against a 7.

I know this subject has been talked about extensively, but I just couldn't have fun watching every single player leave money on the table.

I'm okay playing with bad Pai Gow players because splitting pairs is often a close/difficult decision. But for some reason, it's hard for me to watch someone stay with a 14 against an 8, because he has a feeling the dealer will bust.

I think we have underestimated player error in how much money is made by casinos on player error.

So Blackjack is dead. Oh well.

Dream Card

I'm headed to Vegas in 12 days (Very excited).

I'm looking to play some Bonus Dream Card. I've been playing on Videopoker.com, and liking it a lot.

It got me to thinking what the worst hand that could have a dream card in it would be.

Here's my guess:

5, 6, 9, 10 (rainbow). What would the dream card be? My guess is an Ace. Now that I've talked about it, I'm sure I'll get that hand when I play in Vegas.

Anyone know anywhere on the strip that has the game? I saw wizard played at Red Rocks, but I don't think I'm going to get to the casino there, but I am planning on doing the Red Rocks hike.

Tri-Craps

This comes from my old & never read gambling blog from March 2008:

Tri-Craps

So I invented a new game. And now since it's on the internet, no one else can claim the rights to it. And if they do, my wife will sue them like it's her job.

The game is called "Tri-Craps". See, it's clever because I'm telling you to try the game, and the number three, which is how many dice are used.

Here's how it works. It's Craps, but with 3 dice! If you're playing the pass line, on the come out, if you roll a 7 or 11, you win. If you roll a 2 or 18, it pays 2-1. If you roll a 13 you lose. Any other number becomes the point. You have to roll the point before you roll an 11 to win. The house edge on this bet is 1.601%, slightly higher than regular Craps. With the Pass Line, you can also take free odds on your point. They range from 9-1 for the 4 or 17 to even money on the 10. For casinos that are interested in stealing this game, you will need 50 cent chips on hand for odds. Also, odds on the 9 and 12 pay slightly better than fair odds. Fair odds would be 5.40-5, and this game pays 5.50-5. However, this barely puts a dent in the house edge as long as you're not offering crazy 100x odds.

There are also number bets that can be made that have varying house edges. The 10 is even money, but only if a Pass line bet is on the table

The Don't Pass is interesting because it has a higher house edge than the Pass line. It works as the opposite as the Pass, except that 13's pay 1-2. The house edge for this game is 1.86%. Odds can also be taken, with the minimum being layed as much as $45 or as little as $5 for the 10.

The prop bets are one of the most attractive parts of the game: A 13 - which is an unlucky number of course, pays 9-1. A bet for either a 3 or 18 in one roll pays a whopping 100-1. A YO bet pays 6-1. A 7/11 bet pays 4-1. Also, any triple pays 30-1 in one roll.

Hard 6, 9, 12 & 15 are available, but I have not yet figured out the proper pays. Maybe I'll have to ask wizardofodds.com.

Finally, there's Come and Don't Come bets available.

Maybe Tri-Craps won't sweep the nation, but if it does, you saw it here first!

My lottery

I think the lottery is actually not a terrible idea. Think about it: A million people put a small dollar in, and one of them becomes a millionaire.

The problem I have with the lottery is that the payout is too high. I just bought a powerball ticket for $1, and if I win, I'm going to end up with 220 million dollars. I don't need that much! I'd take one million.

So here's my lottery:

USA Lottery
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Match 3 balls, become a millionaire for only $2!!!

Match the red ball numbered 0-99, the white ball numbered 0-99, and the blue ball 0-99 and you win 1 million dollars.
Match one of the balls, and you receive a free ticket for next week's lottery.
Match two balls, and you win $1000.

I think I would play this lottery for $2. Would you? I'm too lazy to figure out what the house edge is for this lottery, but I think it's pretty comparable to the powerball.

Good luck to me in the powerball tonight! Side note, I only play the powerball when it gets above $200 million, and I only buy one ticket. The thinking about the millions and what I would do with it is worth the $1.