Gaming Guru

What about zero house edge games?

Dear Frank,

I have recently come across an online casino which offers a variety of zero house edge games.

Below are the zero house edge games which they offer:

• Zero Roulette - removed the zero from the wheel, which means you get true odds on every bet.
• Zero Baccarat - reduced the commission on the banker bet to 2.75 per cent
• Zero Blackjack - pay out 2 - 1 for a suited natural Blackjack and a five-card 21.
• Zero Jacks or Better - With a Royal Flush payout 22 per cent higher (Payout for a Royal Flush on zero Jacks or Better with 5 coins is 4880 compared to 4000 of the normal casino payouts.)

My first question is, now that the unforgiving house advantage has been removed from these games, is there any way of beating these games in the long run by applying various betting strategies, bet spread, money management rules, etc.? Or would the end result just be a no win-no lose situation, i.e. a push?

Second, since many or all of the methods and advantage plays brought forth by every gaming author is to minimize the house edge, or in the case of card-counting, to create just a slight edge for the player, wouldn't the introduction of these zero edge games magnify the outcomes brought of those strategies? Or would it make these strategies pointless since we don't even have to fight the house edge?

Sincerely,
John

Hi John:

Even with a zero house edge no betting strategy, money management system, etc., can make it a positive game. Your expectation is to push over the long haul with the casino.

However, the real advantage-play methods will work much better on a zero-house-edge game than on one where the house has an edge. I made sure that I didn't publicize the site because my guess is that they are going to get hit hard by advantage players looking to win a load of money.

For your great email, I am giving you a free one-week subscription to my private members-only web site at www.goldentouchcraps.com. I think you will enjoy this private site as we have many message boards and the conversations are interesting, fun, and educational.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete