This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.
AC says: You can never go wrong learning about bets that you shouldn’t make. Several are discussed in this article and the examples are good. The author’s assignment of a 15% disadvantage for blackjack beginners is too high, likely coming from a comment in the classic book, The Theory of Blackjack, in which author Peter Griffin pegs the disadvantage for “the world’s worst blackjack player” — a hypothetical player who hits stiffs against dealer small cards, never doubles down, etc. — at about 15%. Griffin goes on to cite his study indicating that the public in general plays at about 1.4% worse than basic strategy, which would put the disadvantage closer to 2%-3%. The worst among them might be in the 4%-5% range. Regardless, the advice in this article to learn basic strategy is on the mark. I particularly like that author Sean Chaffin includes blackjack games that charge an ante to play (found mostly at tribal operations). I’ve never seen the ante games included in articles on this subject and that bad bet absolutely qualifies for inclusion.
This article was written by Sean Chaffin in association with 888Casino.
SUCKER BETS: 10 OF THE WORST AND BAD BETS IN A CASINO
Rolling bones, angling for a nice blackjack, or seeing that roulette wheel land just right. There’s nothing quite like a little gambling to get the blood flowing and bring on some nice feelings of excitement and anticipation.
But why just throw money away? Everyone has seen some poor sap making some of the worst wagers in the casino, metaphorically lighting that cash on fire as the house makes use of a hefty casino edge to separate this player from his hard-earned money.
Of course gamblers can do as they like with their own money and occasionally even defy long odds to collect some winnings. But for those who want to keep some of that cash in their pocket or wagered on some of the better options, here’s a look at some of the worst bets in a casino (note: these are in no particular order). Some come with long odds, big house edges, and some are just unwise because of the opportunity cost.
