Follow Along

[Mr J]

I had an odd conversation tonight with three other people while playing roulette. I already know the answer but I'll swing this past ya'll. I'll give two options >>

On the 00 wheel, the worst bet is the 0, 00, 1, 2, 3, we all know this. Lets say we have 5 $1 chips.

A) If we wager $5 on the above as ONE bet and hit, we get $30 net plus
our $5 = $35 TOTAL.

B) If we bet $1 on each of the five numbers and we get a hit........ we get $31 net ($1 more) plus our $1 = $32 TOTAL.


So with "B", we net more (by $1) but with "A", we'll end up with a total of $35.


So which is better and WHY or are they both the same?

Ken

[Archie]

On the 00 wheel, the worst bet is the 0, 00, 1, 2, 3, we all know this.

There are only winning bets versus losing bets.

[harryj]

   Mr J,
      How can you try to trick us so??
B] If we bet $1 on each number and get a hit, we get $35 net + $1 stake for a total of $36.
        Harry

[ausguy]

harry - yes $36 is collected on the winning bet but you need to deduct the 4 other losing bets. So the gross take is $32 less the $1 bet chip for a net profit of $31.

Mr J states this same fact on his B) line.

Mr. J - The better bet is the 5 single bets as the net profit of $31 is $1 more than the $5 ONE bet which pays a net profit of $30.
This can only be because the $5 ONE bet has its odds rounded down slightly to be 6 : 1

As a calc for A) we have 30/5 = 6 : 1    & for B) 31/5 = 6.2 : 1.     Most other layout bets give equal profits for equal outlays.

With A) you may well have $35 in your hot little hand but only $30 is profit as the other $5 is your own outlay money.
On line casinos do this all the time by showing the total collect for each players wins as they portray the success as something that really isn't.

What we never know is how much the player outlaid ? For example say a player put $10 on each of 35 inside numbers & had a winner. His/her net profit would only be $10 as the payout is $350 - $340 (34 x 10 losing positions) = $10 + $10 as his non losing bet chip.

The casino scrolling of that players success would show a $360 win (350 payout + the non losing 10 chip) When in fact the real win was $10 & the gross return only $20 (10 win + 10 back).

 

[harryj]

Hey Aussie,
            It's well over 60 years since I left school, don't they teach arithmatic anymore???
         The best way to compare these bets is to use FOR insead of TO. Both bets involve a $5  stake.
     The line bet (A) returns $30 plus the $5 stake for a total of $35.
     The straight up bet (B) returns $35 plus $1 stake for a total of $36.
      Therefor bet (A) returns a total of $35 FOR $5 i.e. 7/1
                   bet (B) returns a total of $36 FOR $5 i.e. 7.2/1
  That's how they taught us back in the '40's....... Perhaps the new millenium changed things.
                         Harry
     

[harryj]

   Sorry Aussie,
           On re-reading you post I see that you did use the FOR calculation. You just used the profit and wrote it as if it was TO. When using FOR you should include the full return. We simply arrived at the same conclusion using different methods.
                   Harry

[harryj]

-