Atlassino Academy · First visit · Lesson 7
Which table for a first visit
Before you sit at anything, three questions: what this game keeps from each bet, how many bets your limit gives you here, and whether the game asks decisions you have not learned yet.
The seventh lesson of the first-visit track. The money is decided, you are through the door and you can read a sign. This lesson is about which table to sit at the first time.
Before we start: two roulette tables both take your bet of 10 units on red. One wheel has one zero, the other has two. Which keeps less of each bet, on average? Nothing is scored; the answer comes at the end.
LeftRouletteLive
One zero: 37 pockets
- Bet onRed
- A bet10 units a round
RightRouletteLive
Two zeros: 38 pockets
- Bet onRed
- A bet10 units a round
Example tables, drawn by our code, in betting units: what a real table asks is on its sign.
The question above, drawn: the same bet at two wheels.
The short answer
Before you sit, ask three questions: how much of each bet the house keeps on average at this game — where a document says; how many bets your limit gives you at this table’s smallest bet; and whether the game asks decisions you have not learned yet. A wheel with one zero keeps less than a wheel with two. Roulette and punto y banca ask nothing of you after the bet; Black Jack asks at every hand.
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Nobody needs the “right” table on a first visit. You need a table you understand, at a bet your plan allows, and three questions get you there.
Three questions before you sit
- What does this game keep from each bet? Where a published document gives the figure.
- How many bets does my limit give me here? The limit divided by the table’s smallest bet.
- Does the game ask decisions I have not learned? Some ask none after the bet; one asks at every hand.
What the table keeps from each bet
Every bet at a casino table has a share built into it that the house keeps on average — what the player loses in relation to any bet, as an average. One published table in Argentina gives that share for the roulette wheels: 2.70% on a wheel with one zero, 5.26% on a wheel with two.
A share of each bet, not a price for the evening: what an hour costs depends on how fast the table plays, and we hold no published figure for that in Argentina, so this page does not put a price on an hour. For punto y banca and Black Jack, the documents we read for Argentina do not publish the house’s share, so this page gives none; for Black Jack the course works the share out itself, rulebook by rulebook, in One game, three rulebooks.
How many bets your limit gives you
The second question is division. Santi brings 120 units; at three tables with different smallest bets, the same money buys different numbers of bets.
The smallest bet is on the table’s sign — the lesson before this one. Fewer bets is not a worse evening by itself, but it is a shorter one if luck runs the wrong way.
Does the game ask decisions?
Some games ask nothing of you once the bet is down; one asks at every hand.
- Roulette
- YoursYou choose which bet to make and how much to put on it
- The dealer calls «no va más» and the wheel spins
- The bet is paid or taken
- Punto y banca
- YoursYou choose your bet
- The cards are drawn by fixed rules nobody at the table can change
- The bet is paid or taken
- Black Jack
- YoursYou put the bet down
- YoursYou stand, ask for a card, double or split, while the dealer waits
- The dealer plays the hand out by a fixed rule
- The bet is paid or taken
A game that asks decisions is not a worse game for a first visit — but sitting at one without knowing the decisions is. The Black Jack track starts with them.
Practice: pick a table
Example tables in betting units, drawn by our code. Level 1 is what the house keeps, level 2 how many bets the limit buys, level 3 which game asks decisions.
Lesson done
Review my mistakes (0)
Progress stays in this browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
The practice table needs JavaScript. Here is one moment from it, with the answer.
Level 1 · What the table keeps
Example tables · in betting units · the figure is from IPJyC Mendoza (SAPIA, Res. Dir. 812-16)
LeftRouletteLive
One zero: 37 pockets
- Bet onRed
- A bet10 units a round
RightRouletteLive
Two zeros: 38 pockets
- Bet onRed
- A bet10 units a round
Example tables, drawn by our code, in betting units: what a real table asks is on its sign.
Two wheels, the same bet on red. Which one keeps less of each bet, on average?
The answer: Left: the wheel with one zero.
On average the wheel with one zero keeps 2.70% of every bet and the wheel with two zeros 5.26% — nearly twice as much, for the same bet.
−1×36/37 + 35×1/37 = −0.0270 (2.70% de margen de la casa)Free translation: −1×36/37 + 35×1/37 = −0.0270 (2.70% house edge)
IPJyC Mendoza (SAPIA, Res. Dir. 812-16) · Información sobre juegos vivos o de paño: RULETAS, pagos, probabilidades · read−1×37/38 + 35×1/38 = −0.0526 (5.26% de margen de la casa)Free translation: −1×37/38 + 35×1/38 = −0.0526 (5.26% house edge)
0, 00, 1, 2, 3 6:1 13.16% 7.89%IPJyC Mendoza (SAPIA, Res. Dir. 812-16) · Información sobre juegos vivos o de paño: RULETAS, pagos, probabilidades · read
Level 2 · How many bets
Example table · in betting units
An example plan
- WhoseSanti
- For the evening120 units
- Time3 hours
An example, not a suggested amount.
LeftRouletteLive
One zero: 37 pockets
- A bet5 units a round
Example tables, drawn by our code, in betting units: what a real table asks is on its sign.
Santi brings 120 units. This table’s smallest bet is 5 units. How many bets does the limit give him here?
The answer: 24 bets.
At a table whose smallest bet is 5 units, 120 units is 24 bets. That is division, not a forecast: how fast those bets go depends on the table.
Level 3 · Decisions
Example tables · in betting units · the figure is from Lotería de Córdoba
LeftPunto y bancaLive
The cards follow fixed drawing rules
- Bet onBanca
- A bet10 units a round
RightBlack JackLive
You decide every hand
- A bet10 units a round
Example tables, drawn by our code, in betting units: what a real table asks is on its sign.
Which of these two tables asks you for decisions after the cards come out?
The answer: Right: Black Jack.
At Black Jack the decisions about each hand are the player’s, while the dealer follows fixed rules. At punto y banca the drawing rules settle every hand on their own.
Las decisiones de los apostadores, ya sean montos a apostar, o en alternativas de juego- como valores de cartas, doblar, asegurar o abrir juego- serán estrictamente personales, no teniendo ninguna validez las indicaciones que efectuaren otros jugadores o personas del Público.Free translation: The decisions of the bettors, whether the amounts to bet or the playing options (such as card values, doubling, insuring or splitting), shall be strictly personal, and any indications given by other players or persons from the Public shall have no validity.
Lotería de Córdoba S.E. (portal) · Reglamento del juego «Black Jack» · readNo se admitirá a persona alguna, aconsejar a éste, acerca de sus decisiones en el desarrollo del juego, ni efectuar manifestación alguna al respecto.Free translation: No person shall be allowed to advise the player about his or her decisions during the course of the game, or to make any comment in that regard.
IPLyC Buenos Aires (Sistema de Normas) · Resolución 1452/12, Anexo I: Marco Normativo de los Juegos de Azar Artesanales y Electrónicos · section Capítulo 9, Black Jack modalidad carta descubierta: Reglamento del Juego (9.1 a 9.14) · readCuando su puntuación es de 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 ó 5 ha de pedir otro naipe.Free translation: When your score is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 you must ask for another card.
Cuando su puntuación es de 6 ó 7, ha de plantarse.Free translation: When your score is 6 or 7, you must stand.
Lotería Nacional S.E. (argentina.gob.ar/normativa) · Res. 100/2016: Reglamento de MIDI Punto y Banca · section Anexo I, Midi Punto y Banca: generalidades, reglas de juego y reglas comunes (arts. 1 a 9) · readEn este último supuesto, las leyes de la probabilidad desaconsejan claramente pedirla cuando la suma es 6 o 7. Por contra, es aconsejable pedirla cuando se tiene 0, 1, 2, 3 y 4. Cinco es el término medio y, por lo general, las probabilidades de mejorar o empeorar están empatadas al 50%, quedando al criterio del jugador solicitar o no un naipe másFree translation: In this last case, the laws of probability clearly advise against asking for a card when the total is 6 or 7. On the other hand, it is advisable to ask for one when you have 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4. Five is the middle ground and, in general, the chances of improving or worsening are evenly split at 50%, leaving it to the player's judgment whether or not to ask for one more card
IPJyC Mendoza (SAPIA, Res. Dir. 812-16) · Información sobre juegos vivos o de paño: JUEGOS CARTEADOS, pagos, probabilidades · readEvery moment is worked out the same way: the share the house keeps from the published table of the wheel, the bets a limit buys by division, and the decisions from the rules of each game.
How the practice table works
Where the answers come from. The share the house keeps is the arithmetic of the wheel, the same as in the published table it is quoted from; the number of bets is division; the decisions come from the rules of each game, quoted with the date we read them.
The amounts are examples in betting units. Progress stays in this browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
Check yourself
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Five quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.
The question we opened with. The wheel with one zero: on average it keeps 2.70% of each bet, against 5.26% at the wheel with two.
Where this leads
18+ under each province’s rules · Play responsibly · the helplines are at the end of this page
Further reading
- Reglamento de Ruleta · Lotería de Córdoba S.E.Córdoba’s roulette rules: the bet types, what each pays, the colour chips and what “no va más” means.
- Resolución 1452/12, Anexo I: Ruleta Americana (Reglamento del Juego) · Instituto Provincial de Lotería y Casinos de la Provincia de Buenos AiresThe Buenos Aires province rulebook: each bet with the number of paying and of losing outcomes, and the rules for chips.
- Ruleta / Juegos tradicionales de casinos (DOC-H8-GCA-CSJ-004 V00) · Instituto de Ayuda Financiera a la Acción Social, Entre RíosA one-page guide from Entre Ríos with the two kinds of chips and what every bet pays.
- Información sobre juegos vivos o de paño: ruletas, pagos, probabilidades y tablas · Instituto Provincial de Juegos y Casinos de Mendoza (SAPIA)The only Argentine regulator document we found that states the house edge: 5.26 % on a double-zero wheel, 2.70 % on a single-zero wheel.
Leoformer dealer · rules and maths
Pick the table you understand, at the bet your plan says. Everything else on the floor will still be there next time.
If it stops being fun
If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. Minimum entry age: each province sets its own. Where we found the rule or regulator that sets it, we cite it on the page; those we found set it at 18. More on responsible gaming.
Show all provinces
If you are thinking about suicide, call 135 or 0800 345 1435 from anywhere in the country
How it’s worked out
Numbers, sources and hosts
Numbers. The share the house keeps is the arithmetic of the wheel — one zero pocket out of 37, two out of 38, and the five-number bet on a wheel with two zeros — and it agrees with the published table it is quoted from. The bets a limit buys are division. Nothing here is worked out from how fast a table plays: we hold no published source for that in Argentina.
Sources. The house’s share is quoted from the table IPJyC Mendoza (SAPIA, Res. Dir. 812-16) publishes; the decisions from the Black Jack and punto y banca rules of the provinces; the rest of the evening from the earlier lessons of this track.
Hosts. Maya and Leo are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former floor supervisor and a former dealer, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.
No promise. No table makes an evening cheaper than its own figures. Nothing on this page says an evening at a casino is a good idea for you.
The share at each wheel
−1×36/37 + 35×1/37 = −0.0270 (2.70% de margen de la casa)Free translation: −1×36/37 + 35×1/37 = −0.0270 (2.70% house edge)
−1×37/38 + 35×1/38 = −0.0526 (5.26% de margen de la casa)Free translation: −1×37/38 + 35×1/38 = −0.0526 (5.26% house edge)
0, 00, 1, 2, 3 6:1 13.16% 7.89%
What the house’s share is
El porcentaje o Margen de la Casa (llamado también ganancia esperada) es la cantidad que el jugador pierde en relación con cualquier apuesta que haga, como promedio.Free translation: The percentage or House Edge (also called expected gain) is the amount that the player loses, on average, in relation to any bet he makes.
Who decides at Black Jack
Las decisiones de los apostadores, ya sean montos a apostar, o en alternativas de juego- como valores de cartas, doblar, asegurar o abrir juego- serán estrictamente personales, no teniendo ninguna validez las indicaciones que efectuaren otros jugadores o personas del Público.Free translation: The decisions of the bettors, whether the amounts to bet or the playing options (such as card values, doubling, insuring or splitting), shall be strictly personal, and any indications given by other players or persons from the Public shall have no validity.
Lotería de Córdoba S.E. (portal) · Reglamento del juego «Black Jack» · read
No se admitirá a persona alguna, aconsejar a éste, acerca de sus decisiones en el desarrollo del juego, ni efectuar manifestación alguna al respecto.Free translation: No person shall be allowed to advise the player about his or her decisions during the course of the game, or to make any comment in that regard.
Section Capítulo 9, Black Jack modalidad carta descubierta: Reglamento del Juego (9.1 a 9.14)
What the house’s share is
El porcentaje o Margen de la Casa (llamado también ganancia esperada) es la cantidad que el jugador pierde en relación con cualquier apuesta que haga, como promedio.Free translation: The percentage or House Edge (also called expected gain) is the amount that the player loses, on average, in relation to any bet he makes.
What the house’s share is
El porcentaje o Margen de la Casa (llamado también ganancia esperada) es la cantidad que el jugador pierde en relación con cualquier apuesta que haga, como promedio.Free translation: The percentage or House Edge (also called expected gain) is the amount that the player loses, on average, in relation to any bet he makes.
The share at each wheel
−1×36/37 + 35×1/37 = −0.0270 (2.70% de margen de la casa)Free translation: −1×36/37 + 35×1/37 = −0.0270 (2.70% house edge)
−1×37/38 + 35×1/38 = −0.0526 (5.26% de margen de la casa)Free translation: −1×37/38 + 35×1/38 = −0.0526 (5.26% house edge)
0, 00, 1, 2, 3 6:1 13.16% 7.89%
Who decides at Black Jack
Las decisiones de los apostadores, ya sean montos a apostar, o en alternativas de juego- como valores de cartas, doblar, asegurar o abrir juego- serán estrictamente personales, no teniendo ninguna validez las indicaciones que efectuaren otros jugadores o personas del Público.Free translation: The decisions of the bettors, whether the amounts to bet or the playing options (such as card values, doubling, insuring or splitting), shall be strictly personal, and any indications given by other players or persons from the Public shall have no validity.
Lotería de Córdoba S.E. (portal) · Reglamento del juego «Black Jack» · read
No se admitirá a persona alguna, aconsejar a éste, acerca de sus decisiones en el desarrollo del juego, ni efectuar manifestación alguna al respecto.Free translation: No person shall be allowed to advise the player about his or her decisions during the course of the game, or to make any comment in that regard.
Section Capítulo 9, Black Jack modalidad carta descubierta: Reglamento del Juego (9.1 a 9.14)
Punto y banca’s drawing rule
Cuando su puntuación es de 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 ó 5 ha de pedir otro naipe.Free translation: When your score is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 you must ask for another card.
Cuando su puntuación es de 6 ó 7, ha de plantarse.Free translation: When your score is 6 or 7, you must stand.
Section Anexo I, Midi Punto y Banca: generalidades, reglas de juego y reglas comunes (arts. 1 a 9)
Lotería Nacional S.E. (argentina.gob.ar/normativa) · Res. 100/2016: Reglamento de MIDI Punto y Banca · read
En este último supuesto, las leyes de la probabilidad desaconsejan claramente pedirla cuando la suma es 6 o 7. Por contra, es aconsejable pedirla cuando se tiene 0, 1, 2, 3 y 4. Cinco es el término medio y, por lo general, las probabilidades de mejorar o empeorar están empatadas al 50%, quedando al criterio del jugador solicitar o no un naipe másFree translation: In this last case, the laws of probability clearly advise against asking for a card when the total is 6 or 7. On the other hand, it is advisable to ask for one when you have 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4. Five is the middle ground and, in general, the chances of improving or worsening are evenly split at 50%, leaving it to the player's judgment whether or not to ask for one more card