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Table Games Side bets are a gold mine...

Discussion in 'Table Games' started by Kickin, May 12, 2014.

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  1. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    ...for the casino that is!

    I was in AC yesterday and played three different table games - BJ, Spanish 21, and EZ Baccarat.

    On the BJ table the side bet was Lucky Ladies (24.7% HA). The other guy at the table with me and my brother was betting this every hand for as much or almost as much as his regular bet. No exaggeration for the first 20 mins or so that we were there he pushed or won almost every hand, he was having the kind of streak most of us would clean up on, but he wasn't getting anywhere because he kept losing the side bet. He won it a few times, once for 19 to 1 which won him around 400. But even though my brother and I had much less luck than him on the normal game we both colored up ahead and this guy's chip stack was still down.

    On Spanish 21 the side bet is Match the Dealer (3% HA, not bad). Again, my brother and I both won at this table. There was a real loudmouth guido at the table who kept pointing out every time one of us would have won the side bet and shaking his head saying things like "you just threw money away". He kept betting 1 green on the regular bet and 1 green on the side bet, he bought in for 700 and only had 150-200 left after the half hour or so when we left (both up). And he seemed to be doing as well as us on his regular hands.

    The worst though was on EZ Baccarat. I never played this game before, sat down on it by accident. But it was low limits and the friendly dealer and other players explained its differences from regular baccarat. They talked up the Dragon side bet (7.6% HA) very hard. I see the appeal, it pays 40-1 and it has a cool name. But people were playing it (and the Panda bet) on every hand, sometimes only those bets. We played 39 hands before coloring up (both ahead again) and the Dragon came up twice. So it would have been good to play it. The lady next to me won it both times for 1k each, she basically plays red chips so I figured she must be way ahead after winning 2k in that short span. She said no way, and she started telling me about how hardly any dragons or pandas had been hitting for so long at that table and other tables. So even at the red chip level a couple of quick 1k hits put her nowhere near even.

    If I ever run a casino I think I'll offer nothing but side bets.
     
  2. DeMoN2318

    DeMoN2318 The DERS

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    Man I feel like I always hear about you winning...What is your secret? haha:beer:

    Other than not playing the side bets
     
  3. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    Ha, I wish! My secret is I didn't mention the beating I took on VP. First started on a $2 game, lost, chased it on a $5 game, lost, chased it on a $10 game and got a bit back, but still lost overall.

    On tables my record is probably no better than anyone else who plays the same games with the basic strategy. On VP my record is probably way worse than most. I'm just one of those bad gamblers who eats like a bird but shits like an elephant. I'll win and walk with small amounts a lot, but when I'm down I just keep digging and it can get ugly because I stop caring. All of those wins at the tables were pretty small and since we were there with family who don't really gamble we never parked ourselves at any table for long.

    Avoiding the side bets does help though. I'm pretty sure the other guys we were playing with would have been ahead if they didn't play those, or at least would have been down a lot less.
     
  4. Tree DA

    Tree DA High-Roller

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    I've seen people at El Co betting $5 on the blackjack bet and $75 on the side bet. They (obviously) didn't care at all when they got a 20 or even a blackjack. It was all about the side bet. I think it was two cards suited. If you won that you could play the side bet again if you wanted a hit. People were taking ridiculous hits against BS just to have another chance at the idiotic side bet and get another card of the same suit.
     
  5. johnjagg

    johnjagg Low-Roller

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    Played for two hours at Planet Hollywood at a Pai Gow poker table last year. Hot shot type guy at the table was "amazed" that I didn't do the Fortune Bet. Said I was "crazy" because "Fortune bet is the only way to make money". I said I was fine with betting how I was. He wiped out in about 45 minutes. After two hours of enjoying the game and drinks I was up $80 and I colored up.
     
  6. cjohnson202

    cjohnson202 VIP Whale

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    The only side bet I play is "dealer bust" at tropicana which is now offered at every Blackjack table in the casino. Basically, if the dealer busts, you win 2-1. I like to play $10 on my main play and $5 on the side. That way if I bust, I still have a chance to get my $15 back if the dealer busts. If I win and the dealer busts, I walk away with my original $15 plus another $20 on top of that. Obviously if I lose and the dealer doesn't bust, I lose my initial $15. I have done quite well on the two trips I've played it.
     
  7. dfalk

    dfalk VIP Whale

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    Seems like every BJ table I play at theres always someone who bets the side bet every single hand. They also let every single person at the table know if they would of won the side bet if they had played it. But they never mention the other 50 times they would of lost it. Annoying as hell.
     
  8. sindustry

    sindustry VIP Whale

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    One of the local casinos here, Pechanga, has a similar side bet on all their 2 deck pitching tables. Depending on the number of cards the dealer busts with, determines the payout multiplier.
     
  9. DeMoN2318

    DeMoN2318 The DERS

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    HAHAHA exactly!!! I get this all the time in Mississippi Stud.

    Dealer shows a straight flush and you get the "See you should have played the three card bonus" my response is always "I wouldnt have been here to see the straigh flush cuz I would have been broke after losing 50 three card bonus bets...so STFU!"
     
  10. bokbok

    bokbok Tourist

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    I was bored last year and played this at harrah's. Put $20 on the side bet and hit a royal for 125:1 for $3000.
     
  11. bokbok

    bokbok Tourist

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    Guess it was 1:150 to 1. My math is bad.
     
  12. sindustry

    sindustry VIP Whale

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    I used to play Pai Gow a lot. I remember one session, there was a guy who played the fortune every hand, except the last hand...and that was only because he didn't have enough to play it. Want to guess what happened? He got a Royal Flush. Every one else at the table got $50 or something like that, for the envy bonus, and all he got was his bet, minus 5%. It was classic!

    I used to always play the sucker bets. Now, I will play the sucker bets if I am drunk or on a hot streak. Otherwise, i pretty much skip them. I have missed at least a dozen quads on UTH, by not playing the trips, but at the same time, i have saved more bets by not playing the trips.
     
  13. The Furry One

    The Furry One Low-Roller

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    Fortune bet at PGP is what makes it interesting to me. I do my 'grinding' at VP with a slim chance of a decent payout, PGP without the Fortune bet is more 'grinding' but with zero chance of a decent payout so I play the Fortune. For some of us sometimes gambling is not all about grinding and playing the lowest HA one can find and stretching out the buy-in, sometimes it's more about enjoyment with the occasional 'dream' thrown in.

    Quite why some people 'rag' on others playing whatever bet they choose in whatever way they choose with their own money is beyond me, it's their prerogative and also without those that gamble in what some regard as a 'foolish' way the casinos wouldn't take nearly as much profit and if you're clued up at all you should be able to guess where that leads in the long run. Concentrate on your own play, the devil with what other's choose to do I say.

    Furry
     
  14. Sam in Ut

    Sam in Ut High-Roller

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    Then there's the ultimate side bet at Caesars Entertainment casino's three card poker million dollar bet. Six card diamond royal flush, your 3 cards combined with the dealer's 3 for a $5 side bet. Imagine the number of bets they are taking in to give us (suckers) a chance to win 1M ! A real money maker for CET. Wonder how many times it actually hit?
     
  15. Dweller

    Dweller Low-Roller

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    I was on a table at Caesars and another player was talking to the dealer about the side bet and which ones he likes. The dealer said they were going to try felts that had two side bets ,one on each side of the betting circle. I told her it will look like a three card poker with so many spots to bet.

    Off topic - where can I find EZ baccarat on the Vegas strip?
     
  16. sindustry

    sindustry VIP Whale

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    Not positive, but i think Venetian/Palazzo has EZ.
     
  17. beuhner

    beuhner Low-Roller

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    I believe the 6 card royal has hit 6 times at CET properties.
     
  18. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    If I played 3CP I might play the 6 card side bet for $5 each hand even though it has awful odds. I would just feel more awful if I actually hit the $1,000,000 hand and lost out on it. If I play more baccarat I probably will make a dragon bet occasionally as well.

    I have nothing against side bets or people who make them, I was cheering them on when they won those. I'd also rather have the casinos add side bets to juice up their advantage instead of screwing around with the base games. At least the side bet is optional. My observation was just what some others noted as well, that people are playing the side bet like it is the main game. If you were looking at the financial performance of one of those tables it would be almost meaningless to think of it as a blackjack table since so much of the action is on the sides.
     
  19. topcard

    topcard Here's to $10 3:2 two-deck, $5 Craps, and $5 UTH!

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    It should be noted that the 6-card bonus bet at CET is not just for the 6-card royal. It pays on trips or better.
    That said, when I play at CET properties, I almost never play the 6-card bonus...but I have caught the dealer not paying on another player's straight more than once! Funny thing was is that the player's themselves had not realized it either!
     
    Annual Spring Trip!
  20. LV_Bound

    LV_Bound VIP Whale

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    Are you saying there are actual bets out there were the casino doesn't make any money????:wink2:
     
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