$25 matchplays

How difficult is it for others to play large match plays when you are low rollers? I didn't play the 2-1 payouts on the first blackjack because I was afraid I would go on a losing streak before ever hitting one. My wife and I did $25 mps at Golden Gate and I just hoped that at least one of would win. I won and she lost so at least it made us $25.

 

Hey Now!
sounds like y'all broke even..

 

We broke even on our bets but I won $25 on the mp.

 

Yeah, it's tough for me too. Once I played a $25 match play and had to split and then double, so I had $75 on the table. It could have easily erased every gain from all the other match plays of the trip. But I won and it turned out to be a trip where the coupons paid for my gas, hotel, and "regular" gaming losses. Your mileage may vary.

I will also skip playing $25 a hand for a 2-1 blackjack payout. The variance way overshadows the advantage for me.

 

I am a low(ish) roller, I start blackjack at $10 a hand, and will increase $5 with a win (and dropping back to $10 after a loss).

$25 is my max bet, as it is rare to win more than four or five hands in a row anyway. If I do have a $25 matchplay (and I have three times in my life), I wait until I get on that streak and use it then. I am 2 and 1 using it, so I am ahead. However, since each time I was going to play it on that hand, I don't consider that I stretched to play it.

 

Even if you are normally a $5-10 player I would look at something like a $25 matchplay as a great opportunity: for most games you can use them on you have effectively almost a 2 to 1 chance of winning, but get paid 3 to 1 if you do win.

And it depends how you look at it too: if you are normally a $5-10 player don't look at it as a $25 bet, but instead as just $15-20 more than you would normally bet on a hand.

Or alternatively: if you were a $5 player and you lost five hands in a row you probably wouldn't think anything about the money other than you are on a bad run... and thats $25. So why not just put it all in one shot where your odds of winning or losing a hand are the same, but if you win you triple up?

 

mjames - i like your idea of playing it when you pressed up your bet to $25. you're betting it anyway so why not a chance to double up while on a hot streak. makes perfect sense to me!

 

I played two hands of blackjack at the Sahara in 2010 w/a $25 match play. Pushed the first w/20. Dealt 16 against a dealer 10 on the second hand, then drew a five to beat her 20. Left up $25. Two months later the place closed. I feel slightly responsible...

 

That was funny. Good job!

 

Ms Gecko and I have used quite a few $25 match coupons over the years. And while we usually use them as they're intended to be used by matching at full value, we've also occasionally "cashed" them in by placing opposite line bets (with a 12 prop bet just in case). It had to be obvious what we were doing, but no one cared. Of course, there are similar possibilities at roulette and baccarat.

 

I usually use it for blackjack. I wait until I win a few hands and then I "strategically" throw the thing down with a green chip and hope like hell I guessed on the right hand.

Usually I get a hard 16 or similar against a 10. Then I have to use all my blackjack "saavyness" to pull a low card so that I can get beat by the impending 20 that the dealer has.

While I do win on them somehow I seem to remember the ones I lose more.

 

When I play a match play I play it the very first hand (or the only hand). Otherwise I'll be kicking myself for guessing wrong if I just randomly play it sometime during a session.