beat the blackjack wheel

[alwayssplit10s]

at my local casino they have a side bet where you can predict yourself getting a blackjack for $5. If you're correct they spin a wheel with about 8 options but I'd say the avg win is close to $1k. is there any side count system I could use on top of high low to determine when to bet on this?

 

[gronbog]

This can't be right. You get a blackjack approximately every 21 hands. So you're saying that, on average, you spend $5 x 21 = $105 and you then get to spin a wheel where the average win is close to $1,000? You've either found the best side bet ever, or you have the value of the wheel wrong. I'm betting on the latter.

 

[London Colin]

It might require a specific blackjack hand, e.g., AJ of spades.

 

[Meistro]

"at my local casino they have a side bet where you can predict yourself getting a blackjack for $5. If you're correct they spin a wheel with about 8 options but I'd say the avg win is close to $1k. is there any side count system I could use on top of high low to determine when to bet on this?"


Probably stop betting it at TC -50

 

[alwayssplit10s]

I think it may be rigged in someway because I know there is no more than 8 or 10 spots on the wheel and 1 section is a 5k reward... wouldnt that still favor the player?

 

[Meistro]

Even if the other 9 spots were zero, and all spots are equally likely to hit (maybe the 5k section is tiny?) this would still be very profitable, as the EV of the 5k spot alone would be $500.

 

[alwayssplit10s]

it does not require any specific blackjack hands btw

 

[alwayssplit10s]

yeah it has to be rigged, all spots are the same size. next time I'll go back and record what all the prizes are.

 

[Meistro]

They spin or you spin? If they spin they might spin it in a way to avoid ever hitting the 5k. Find out what the other prizes are when you go back.

 

[gronbog]

I've seen games with a wheel, but it was not a free spinning wheel. It was motorized and was probably controlled by a random number generator like a slot machine. If that's what's going on here, you will have a hard time figuring out the true value of a spin.

 

[DSchles]

I've seen games with a wheel, but it was not a free spinning wheel. It was motorized and was probably controlled by a random number generator like a slot machine. If that's what's going on here, you will have a hard time figuring out the true value of a spin.

That's definitely what it will be. The lesser prizes come up all the time and the "jackpot" virtually never. The average is irrelevant; the slots don't come up with equal probabilities.

Don

 

[KewlJ]

That's definitely what it will be. The lesser prizes come up all the time and the "jackpot" virtually never. The average is irrelevant; the slots don't come up with equal probabilities.

Don

This is correct. Sunset Station had this side bet about a year ago and I took an interest in it for several weeks, mostly just playing my regular blackjack game, while watching others play the side bet and spin the wheel. There were about a dozen slots on the wheel, from $5 to $500, with one jackpot prize which was several thousand dollars (it was a progressive so the jackpot grew with each spin).

After observing players spin several hundred times (you spin when you are dealt a BJ while playing the side bet), you couldn't help but notice almost all spins were $5 and $10, with an occasional $20. I never saw anything higher than that. So one day, I engaged in conversation with a friendly pit person and it was explained that while the wheel IS random, the 12 choices are not weighted equally. The way it was explained is that where might be like 1000 real chances, with 700 being $5, and 290 being $10, and 1 or 2 of the each of the remaining higher numbers.

My response was that I considered that cheating. A complete misrepresentation of the actual chance of winning. But I am sure, it passes whatever muster gaming requires.

 

[johndoe]

If the wheel is shown to have equal divisions, but the probabilities (as would be indicated by the divisions) are not equal, and if that's not clearly disclosed, that's a huge cheating violation IMO. Something for Bob N to know about. I'm not sure it would pass gaming muster, unless there is adequate fine print saying the wheel is a farce. This is probably the case.