Win or lose, the match play coupon is then taken
out of play. In the event of a push, as often
happens in blackjack, the match play coupon stays
in play until the bet is resolved. If the player
happens to get a blackjack, the coupon is converted
to its face value, in your case $10, and not $15.
The
competition to accompany the match play coupon
with your hard-earned cash should be limited to
wagers that have less that a two percent house
edge. My favorite would be one hand of blackjack,
but you wouldn't go wrong with a bank or player
hand in baccarat, or a pass line bet or placing
the six or eight in craps.
Each
of these bets has less than a 1.5% casino advantage,
which makes the true value of a match play coupon
slightly less than half of its face value, since
the probability of winning any of them is also
less than half.
Dear
Mark: If I am using perfect basic strategy, does
it matter how far in the deck the dealer goes
before shuffling? Sandy A.
How
far through the deck the dealer goes before shuffling
is called deck penetration, which is usually expressed
as the percentage of the deck already dealt. So,
Sandy, for example, on a double deck game, "75
percent" would be 78 cards already played.
Penetration
is extremely important to card counters because
it appraises the quality of cards remaining in
the deck before the dealer shuffles, but that
information is not essential for basic strategy
players like you. There is no advantage to the
basic strategy player whether the dealer were
to allow 50% penetration, then shuffle, or plunge
on to the 90% penetration level.
Dear
Mark: In a poker game that uses wild cards, which
is higher, five of a kind or a royal flush? Danny
F.
Unless
otherwise stated, Danny, the five-of-a-kind typically
beats a royal flush.
Dear
Mark,
What is the house edge for both Three Card and
Four Card poker? Les L.
With
Three Card Poker, (and using this one simple strategy
rule: bet with Queen-6-4 or better, fold with
anything less), the house edge is 2.0 percent
of the ante, or 3.4 percent of total action.
As
for Four Card Poker, take notes, Les. When you
use this simple strategy when putting up your
ante -- pair of 2's or less, fold; pair of 3's
through 9's, bet 1x ante; pair of 10's or better,
bet 3x ante. The ante and the play bet combined
give a house edge of about 3.36% of the initial
bet.
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