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Teaching and learning are not the simple transmission of a set body of knowledge from an authoritarian teacher and to a passive classroom of students.” -Bill Gates on Education Reform

Whether or not you like or agree with Bill Gates, you have to acknowledge his business and individual successes, and his passion for education reform. One thing that we should all agree upon is that the status quo is not acceptable. We need to find new ways to engage students at critical points in their development to insure that FUNDAMENTALS are not just learned and understood, but become second nature to them. Back before calculator were invented, students had to memorize multiplication tables. How many 5th graders today can rip out the multiplication tables as well as their parents?

Some private schools and even charter schools that do not have their hands tied by the same constraints as general public schools have implemented new techniques designed to engage their students by introducing practical applications to fundamental mathematics and statistics. One of these techniques is the use of casino games.

Games of most any type capture the attention of students and adults alike. Take the game of Monopoly for example…the rule are laid out, the players each formulate their own individual strategy based upon the rules, there is an element of chance with the dice and the cards, and there is ultimately a winner. These are the primary element of just about any ‘game’, and games that help teach while in the process of playing them are a Win-Win for everyone. The one feature of all casino games is that they have all been developed by mathematicians and time tested to produce a statistical advantage for the casino, otherwise places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City wouldn’t exist. The fun part for the students is in learning and playing the games (not for real money of course), and CRACKING THE CODE of the statistical house advantage. Besides for learning mathematics and statistics, they will also learn that they CAN’T WIN in the long run!

Examples of Casino Game Math

Roulette is a popular casino game and probably the easiest example for illustrating mathematics and statistics. The roulette wheel has the numbers 1-36 plus 0 and 00 making for a total of 38 possible outcomes from a single spin. If you place a bet on a single number on the board and win, the casino will pay you 35-1. In this example, the casino has a statistical advantage of 5.26%. How did we get that? There is a probability of 1/38 that the player wins 35 times the bet, and a 37/38 chance that the player loses their bet. The expected value is:

13738 + 35138 = 0.0526 (5.26% house edge)

The ‘House Edge’ is what keeps casinos alive and well. It means that for every $1 bet the casino will statistically make 5.26 cents on this particular bet.

Another bet in the game of roulette is called the “Top Line” where the player places a single wager which covers 1,2,3,0,00 (five numbers) and will pay 6-1 if any of those numbers are spun. In this case, the expected value is:

-1x 3338 + 6538 = 0.0789 (7.89% house edge)

Which bet will cost the player the most money in the long run?

Every bet on the roulette wheel (and on virtually every bet on every game in a casino) has a house edge, so more than others as you can see.

Another example is the game of Craps where 2-dice are used. Understanding the probabilities of rolling a given number using a pair of dice is critical to being able to calculate the house edge on any given bet.

2 (1): 1-1

3 (2): 1-2, 2-1

4 (3): 1-3, 2-2, 3-1

5 (4): 1-4, 2-3, 3-2, 4-1

6 (5): 1-5, 2-4, 3-3, 4-2, 5-1

7 (6): 1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, 6-1

8 (5): 2-6, 3-5, 4-4, 5-3, 6-2

9 (4): 3-6, 4-5, 5-4, 6-3

10 (3): 4-6, 5-5, 6-4

11 (2): 5-6, 6-5

12 (1): 6-6

Two dice with six sides each which produces 6×6=36 possible combinations with symmetrical distribution of the numbers. For a one roll bet on the number 12 the casino will pay 30-1. What is the probability of rolling a 12? How do you calculate the house edge on this bet?

Endless Possibilities for Workshops

These examples show just a few of the bets on a few of the more popular casino games. These are the easy ones to illustrate and calculate. Throw cards and slot machines with virtual reels and jackpots into the mix and you will have an endless array of practical examples ever increase complexity into the underlying calculations. The professional dealers with iHostPoker have volunteered their time to perform educational workshops to assist the teachers in bringing these important disciplines to light and hopefully making a difference in the education experience for a few, and the well-being of our community as a whole.

If you want to make your money work harder in the casino, then there are a few things that we can do. In fact, there are three important tips when it comes to playing online casino for money.

Learning how to use casino deposit bonuses:

Deposit bonuses from the top casinos can be worth an absolute fortune, so it’s worth using them correctly. This involves a player performing both a registration and a minimum cash deposit. The casino will then match this deposit by up to 500%, meaning that if you deposit 100 you’ll have 600 to play with.

Now there’s no point getting a deposit bonus without learning how to use it first. The idea is that you deposit some money into the casino, but only use your bonus money to play with. This makes your money work harder at the tables, because you get more chances and a better player advantage.

The best way of doing this is to use the bonus cash for practice and strategy simulation, then you use your own money after finding confidence in a game or system.

Play your money at 10% no matter what happens:

Casino chips are your best friend in the casino, the longer you have them the better. This is why we play casino chips at just 10%, it’s one of the best ways to make your money go further at the tables. This also creates more chances and possibilities by reducing the potential speed of loss.
6ou’ll have 100 to play with. Playing casino chips at 10% means that using these values, you must never enter a game with more than 10. It also means that you must never bet more than 1 on any individual bet. You are now left with a controlling system for your own money, something that reduces loss by around 40% and increases playing significantly.

Spread your money out:

Around 76% of casino players lose everything at the tables with no return, around half of these players repeat losing everything that same day. The problem is not knowing when to walk away, regardless of winning or losing your money. The golden rule for making your money work harder at the casino is to spread your chips. Set yourself a total playing amount, normally around 15% of your total casino account credit. The moment you have lost more than 15%, you must walk away for that particular day.

If you don’t lose 15%, then you aim to increase your profits by the same amount.

Most gamblers try to develop various strategies when playing online casino games or at live casinos. Such strategies can seem to be very effective short-term; players win their bets back with a nice profit, and on a good day the chosen strategy can create an incredible winning run. This is all fine as long as casino strategies are used with a sensible money management and with the knowledge of what this article is all about. Problems arise when the player starts feeling confident that his or her strategy always will work in any given setting.

So what exactly is a casino betting strategy? Known betting strategies go back as far as the 18th century, with the Martingale system being one of the most famous ones. The Martingale system simply suggests that the player should double his or her bet after a loss in an even money game such as roulette. If the player had an unlimited bankroll and there were no other limiting conditions, this casino betting strategy would in theory work. However, there is no such thing as an unlimited bankroll, and even if there was, there are other limitations set by the casino itself to prevent this. The most obvious limitation would of course be that all casino tables have a maximum bet size rule. Despite this fact, players constantly develop new and more complex strategies in hope to gain an advantage over the casino. These strategies may involve anything from number sequencing to progressive and negative betting. However, all of these strategies or systems are bound to fail.

The reason for this is the misconception of many players that a particular event in the casino game must occur sooner or later. For example, if a player keeps betting on black in a roulette game, and red wins many times in a row, surely black will turn up sooner or later? By applying a betting strategy that covers the losses up until that point, the player can walk away with profit. This is known as the “gamblers fallacy” which means that the player believes that a likely event that has not happened recently becomes “overdue” and is more likely to occur. However, the roulette ball has no memory! Each time it spins the odds are exactly the same for it to land on black, red or a particular number.

In regards to casino betting, one could make a comparison with playing on the lotto. Many people like to play the very same numbers in every single draw, like birthday numbers for example. Players often do this with the belief that this number sequence is more likely to turn up since it has lost so many times in a row before. As in the case of the roulette ball – lotto balls have no memory either. The chances for a particular number to appear is always the same in every draw.

Having said all this, I do not wish to discourage betting with a casino strategy as long as its being done with a healthy money management. Walk away when you win and cut your losses when you lose. Mathematical models have in fact shown that flat betting performs better than progressive betting systems, but true, it could be a lot more fun to play with a gentle loss recoup strategy in any given casino game session. Just know the facts, have fun playing casino games, and know that there is no such thing as a holy grail.

Fortunately, you can enjoy playing fun games online, even with other people who you can meet virtually. Casino games may not be every kid’s favorite, but once you get the hang of it, you will truly appreciate the brilliance of it.

In the Android market, there are several casino games you can choose and here are 5 of the best that you can play:

1. Texas Hold’em Poker

Zynga Poker is an online poker game that can be played around the world. It is a free casino game app and is one of the favorite casino games for the Android tablet. It is a social game that will allow you to challenge all your friends to a nice game of poker. Players can choose to play at any table, while meeting new people around the world. They can also play poker from a casual or VIP table. A leader board also shows chip rankings among players, and a gift shop is available for decorating the players’ seats.

2. Baccarat

Always a crowd favorite, the Lucky Nine or Baccarat card game is played by either choosing the banker or player hand. It is a popular casino game, and is indeed one of the top android casino game apps. Basically, it is a table game which is played by betting on one hand or on a tie. Winning bets on a tie are then multiplied by 8. For all the hardcore casino players out there, Baccarat is a free casino game in the Android market.

3. Live Hold’em Poker Pro

Poker will probably never go out of trends. Another online poker game that you can enjoy playing with real players is the Live Hold’em Poker Pro app. You will receive 12k worth of free chips and 1000 diamonds once you register, and then 5000 more when playing daily. This Android casino game is free, which also allows you to view your stats and credit wins on Facebook with its sign on feature. Other features included are live chat, personal avatars, ring games, lottery draw, free daily gold, save to SD card, shootout and sit-n-go tournament mode.

4. Pocket Bingo Pro

If you like bingo games, you can actually play using your Android app. Pocket Bingo Pro is one of Android’s casino game app favorites which costs only $0.99. You can experience real bingo games with this app which includes pocket bingo live wallpapers. You will also get extra credits once you share the game with your friends on Facebook, and get up to 3 tickets when you play. Pocket Bingo Pro includes special features like Vegas-style platinum game rooms.

5. Live Black Jack

One of the easiest and well-loved card games is Black Jack. You can also play this card game on your Android device for free. It is an online casino game app where you can challenge your friends on Facebook once you have linked your account. You will receive free bonus chips and every time you play, you can keep track of your performance to compare other online players’ statistics.