How casinos work lessons

The lessons in this track

1. 1.1The house edge: a price inside every betEvery bet carries a price that is settled before the ball drops, and you can find that price by counting pockets: here is where the price hides in the payout, and how to count it out.About 21 minutes
2. 1.4Do cards, dice and wheels remember?Whether the last spin, roll or card changes the next one — and why the honest answer is different for a shoe of cards than for a wheel.About 22 minutes
3. 1.5One night versus a thousandAn hour at a losing bet ends in front about a third of the time. A thousand bets almost never does. Same wheel, same bet — the only difference is how many times the house edge has been charged.About 18 minutes
4. 1.6Who runs Argentine casinos and who checks themEach province makes its own gambling rules, and the answer to who runs its casinos is written in its own law. Here are the five answers, and who checks the room.About 12 minutes
5. 1.835 a 1, 35 veces, 150%: how payouts are writtenOne rule book writes “35 a 1”, another “35 veces la apuesta”, a third “35:1”, and blackjack pays “150%”. Here is how to read each one, and how many chips come back.About 10 minutes

What this track is for

Every figure in these lessons is worked out when the page is built, by the same engines as our tools, or comes from a source quoted on the spot. More on how we verify.

Nothing here is a way to win. The course explains what each game costs to play and what the rules on the table actually change, so that the money you take in is a decision and not a surprise.

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