At Casino Rama the other night, a gambler was wagering heavily at a blackjack table. He was a typical Ontario gambler in that he was wagering on two of the table spots and playing the extra bets offered. The agencies of the Ontario government that provide and regulate gambling were colluding to fleece this player of his money while the operators were quietly rooting for him. The rule in Ontario is that the government wants you to gamble and wants you to lose while the casino operators want you to win occasionally so that you come back..
And you can win, sometimes. Despite how most people play this popular casino game, blackjack is just a game of odds. It offers many thousands of variables. The key to the game is the knowledge that the odds are not in favour of the players. Even if you know the odds on every single combination, you can only win an average of 48 hands out of every hundred. That is better than roulette that will pay you as much as 35 to one on the number bets while the real odds are 38 to one. Blackjack odds are almost as good as the odds on craps which are the best deal in the house. The problem with craps is you have to know what you are doing.
But any idiot can play blackjack—and often does. And rules be damned. Some players wonder why people look at them strangely before leaving the table. You try to only comment on a play when asked. That was why the player the other evening did not know why he was losing. He was betting $75 each on two spots and putting another $25 chip in each spot for a bet on receiving a perfect pair in the first two cards.
The player was very impressed when he drew a pair of sixes, both of the same suit. For his $25 bet, the casino paid him 25 to one ($625) for which he was high-fiving everyone at the table—except the dealer who is not allowed to do that. What he did not seem to know was that the real odds of drawing a perfect pair is more like 35 to one. He was grossly underpaid for his bet.
And that is how the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) are helping get more profit out of Ontario’s gamblers. They are encouraging the casino operators to come up with new, higher profit gimmicks to fleece the unsuspecting. And that is why the casino will cheerfully supply the gambler with a pamphlet explaining the mechanics of the games but not the odds. They are required to tell gamblers to set a limit but nowhere do they tell the occasional winner how to parlay their winnings or manage their money.
In Ontario, we deal excitement for the suckers. Just do not expect to win very often.
-30-
Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]