Deal Me In: A gaming column for those who feel lucky

Dear Mark: Once again, I lead off by writing that I closely follow your column in Reno since moving here nearly four years ago. In that time, I've not read a blurb about the blackjack table adjunct, "Royal Match." No doubt this is to put more money into action on the table for the casino, and accordingly it probably is bad odds for the player. But is it? I don't seem to have much luck with it. “EW” T.

The Royal Match is an optional side bet in blackjack that concerns the first two cards dealt to the player. For example, if you make this alternative wager and your first two cards are suited, such as a five and seven of spades, you are paid 5 to 2. If it is a Royal Match, (a suited king and queen) that bet pays 25 to 1. The final outcome of your blackjack hand has no bearing on this side wager, since the matched hand is paid immediately, well before the standard blackjack hand is played out.

The casino’s advantage on a Royal Match bet depends on the number of decks used. Surprisingly, the more decks in play, the better the odds for the player. If playing on a six-deck shoe game, the casino advantage is 6.67%. On an eight-deck game, the house edge is slightly lower at 6.46%. For the player, it gets progressively worse the fewer decks there are in the game. For four decks, the house advantage is 7.08%, for two decks it climbs to 8.33%, and on a single deck game it’s 10.86%. You can lower the casino advantage on the single deck game considerably if you find a paytable where a non-royal match pays 4 to 1 versus 5 to 2, but you’ll take a bit of a hit on an elusive royal match that pays lower, like10 to 1. The casino’s advantage with these rules is 3.77%.

Here’s the deal, EW. You’ll never find a side bet offered by the casino that is a better bet than the basic game it decorates. These pseudo-whoopee side bets typically carry a house edge that ranges anywhere from 3 to as high as 76%.

True, EW, the Royal Match bet has a casino advantage lower than many of the side wagers offered by the casino, but it’s still a bad bet, being that it’s well over this columnist’s mandated 2% tops house edge on any casino bet you make.

Dear Mark: Would you please explain what straddle means in poker? Glen S.

Some Old Timers of the game of poker will undoubtedly correct me as to what the true definition of straddle is. They believe it’s the second of two forced blinds, usually put in by the player two positions to the left of the dealer. They call these two bets the blind and straddle.

Today’s player believes a straddle bet as an optional (voluntary) blind bet with the purpose of increasing the stakes of the game, made by the person to the left of the big blind, and before that player receives his or her cards. Usually equivalent to two big blinds, straddles are only used in games played with blind structures and are normally not permitted in tournament play.

Gambling Wisdom of the Week: “The two things you need to be successful in poker are, first, find the muck, and second, don’t play your own money.” -- David "Devilfish" Ulliott


A recognized authority on casino gambling, Pilarski survived 18 years in the casino trenches, working for seven different casinos. Mark now writes a internationally syndicated gambling column, is a university lecturer, reviewer and contributing editor for numerous gaming periodicals, and is the creator of the best-selling, award-winning audio cassette series on casino gambling, Hooked on Winning.

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