Casino and Gambling Quiz

My personal recommendation is you do not enter a casino unless you not only know the following answers, but understand them.

The Questions Question 1: What is the difference between gambling and betting?

Question 2: How does the casino make a 'House Edge' in each of these games? A: roulette B: blackjack C: Three Card Poker D: Slot Machines

Question 3: Volatility is an oft used term in casinos. Do you have at least a basic understanding the statistical ideas of averages / mean, median, and standard deviation?

Question 4: Do patterns exist in casino games?

Question 5: Can statistics tell us what the next card, number, or combination will be?

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Question 7: True or False: Does the casino use psychological manipulation to entice you into spending as much money as they can?

Question 8: What is a 'toke'?

Question 9: Can we change the 'odds' of the game?

Question 10: Can we effect the 'house edge'?

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Question 12: Have you, or anyone you have known, been hurt by gambling?

Question 13: Are there ways to privately get help with gambling problems and addiction?

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The Answers Answer 1: While both gambling and betting are types of wagers (putting something at risk in hopes of gain), gambling is done with objects that are random (ex. cards) and betting is done with things involving skill (ex. sports). Casinos tend to stick with games of randomness.

Answer 2: The 'House Edge' can be made in many ways (thus, these answers are overly simplified for clarity). A. In roulette, it is fairly stratighforward as the house adds a green colored number (or two or even three) where all bets lose. B: In blackjack, it is not in the cards; instead, it is in the fact that you (the player) go first (and every time you bust is a time the house does not have to fight to win). C: In three card poker, it is primarily in setting the minimum hand the house must have for play to continue (the paybeck levels can also influence this). D: Within slot machines, it is setting the return-to-player slightly lower than the average amount needed to spend to win (this can be harder to see with modern bonus rounds, progressive jackpots, and other features).

Answer 3: Understanding volatility (and average and deviation) are extremely important in knowing how much risk you are putting yourself into. Many players lose because they take on too much risk without knowing it.

Answer 4: No! Patterns do not exist in randomness. If a pattern were found, the players would exploit it. Many poor quality betting strategies are based on patterns - sometimes they work for a short while, but sooner or later they all lose big.

Answer 5: No! Statistics can tell us a lot about averages and how common a certain event is ... but it cannot predict a random outcome.

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Answer 7: True. The casino uses an amazing amount of psychological manipulation to get you started playing, spend as much as possible while playing, and keep you playing as long as possible. Strict discipline and knowing how to recognize and resist such temptations is a must.

Answer 8: A toke is the name given to the tip given to the dealer / croupier. Remember, at most casinos, not only is the dealer not your enemy, it is someone trying to make a living on a low salary (yes, there are exceptions at some casinos). Your tip really helps them.

Answer 9: The vast majority of the time (as long as the game stays random) we cannot effect the 'house edge'. A very small percentage of people can have the skills for card counting, dice control, or other type of advantage play that can actually swing the odds slightly into the players favor.

Answer 10: The vast majority of the time, we can only give the house a bigger edge (for example, in blackjack always assuming the dealer's down card is a face card gives the house a nearly 10% edge). Once again, for those few who have adantage play skills, they can decrease the house edge.

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Answer 12: I cannot answer this question for you ... but global statistics state 5.5% of women and 11.9% of men experience harm. Furthermore, approximately 2.5% have experienced severe harm.

Answer 13: Absolutely. If efforts at self-exclusion do not work, there are many anonymous resources to help people stop or recover from gambling issues.

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This page is under construction. My apologies for any misspellings, repeated text, missing references, etc. Please visit again later for a more complete treatment of this topic.