Thursday, July 15, 2004

Rethinking Roulette.

I've been rethinking the roulette odds I posted.  I was talking with Joe and he seemed certain that my logic was wrong, so I crunched a couple more numbers.
 
If you bet $10, the odds vs. payoff rate are 26.32% and 28.57% respectively.  $15 and the odds to payoff are 39.47% and 42.86%.  $20 and the odds are 52.63% and 57.14%.
 
If you divide the odds over the payoff for each one (26.32/28.57 and 39.47/42.86 and 52.63/57.14) then you get 92.11%.  So now I'm thinking that it doesn't matter how much you bet.  Unless you get on an unlucky streak and lose all your money, I'm guessing you have a 92.11% chance of breaking even.
 
Now I'm confused.  I'm pretty sure this second post is right, though.  I'll have to think about it a little more.  Maybe I'll actually just research it.

Comments:
I personally like craps, although I have lost my fair share of paychecks at it in Vegas, but you might want to check out the odds here:

http://wizardofodds.com/games/roulette.html

-Yankel
 
Post a Comment

<< Home