Promotional chips EV on Blackjack vs Roulette vs Bacarat

[Pariah]

I'm staying longterm at a hotel in Asia which gives me about $50 in coupons per day as a promotion for going to their casino.

These coupons function as table chips that are different from standard chips in that if I win with them, I only get the winning value. For example, I win a $10 hand with standard chips, I now have $20 ($10 start + $10 win). With the promotional chips, if I win the chips are taken and I am given only $10.

If I bet a $10 chip on the Red bet on double zero roulette I have an EV of about $4.73. [b]Here is the interesting part,[b] if I bet the same $10 chip on any number, the EV is $9.46.

Not surprisingly, these chips are only allowed to be played on even-paying bets, with the exception of Blackjack.

I've wondered what my EV is in blackjack with these chips as compared with bacarat or roulette. I know it can be simulated, though it's a bit over my head at the moment and wondered if asking would be a reasonable thing to do here.

As a bonus, I've mastered basic strategy, and Wizard of Odds has the BJ game here at about 0.57% player disadvantage. I also can easily wong-in to the game when the count is high, and play that week's worth of coupons.

[refinery]

Google "grosjean beyond coupons" for all the answers

[Gronbog]

Here is everything you need to know about coupons. In the article, what you are describing is called a funny chip

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...7rxld70lTS83yJ

[refinery]

Here is everything you need to know about coupons. In the article, what you are describing is called a non cashable chip

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...7rxld70lTS83yJ

It's the first result in my search recommendation. I thought he should maybe do some work

[Meistro123]

With these chips you aren't looking to strictly minimize the house edge. Often promotional chips are restricted to even money wagers, in which case something like player on baccarat might be a good choice. Betting a number on roulette if allowed will yield you the highest EV by far, because here the chip functions almost like real money, except a very small reduction in your payout when you do hit (35 unit payout instead of 36). As opposed to playing it straigth up on baccarat where you have a passive reduction in payout (1 unit payout instead of 2!

Despite the very high house edge, presumably tie would be the best bet with these promo chips at the baccarat table. Or something like the hard ways on the craps table.

[Gronbog]

It's the first result in my search recommendation. I thought he should maybe do some work

Looks like we were answering at the same time.

[Goatlife]

U sure that game isn’t es10?

[Pariah]

True. I also figured this out on my own and mentioned this in my original post lol

[Gronbog]

In general, blackjack will almost always not be the best choice, even if you are restricted to even-money bets.

[Pariah]

In general, blackjack will almost always not be the best choice, even if you are restricted to even-money bets.

I am confused. Grosjean's document on coupons has blackjack as the best game if restricted to even money bets. Otherwise Blackjack is a poor choice.

[Meistro123]

I am confused. Grosjean's document on coupons has blackjack as the best game if restricted to even money bets. Otherwise Blackjack is a poor choice.

That is not what Grosjean said. He said that blackjack is a good choice IF the funny money chip is kept on a win. Since this is not the case for OP, this is the controlling paragraph :

"
Funny-Chip FolliesWe see the same phenomena when using \funny chips," by which I mean chips that are relinquishedwhen a decision is generated, win or loss. Roulette is still the juggernaut, followed by variouscarnival games and bets. If payouts are restricted to even-money bets, then Three Card Pokeremerges victorious, whether or not the chip is saved on a tie. For chips relinquished on ties, thestrategy is to use $100 live on the Ante. Then, on any hand K87 or weaker, use the chip on the Playbet; on any hand K92 or stronger, we use cash on the Play bet, and keep the chip in our pocket fora subsequent hand. This produces an expectation of $51.43, a shock to those who thought that $50was an upper bound on the value of this type of chip. If the chip is saved on ties, then Three CardPoker produces a whopping $73.15, compared to the sub-$50 values of using the chip in blackjackwith even-money payos."


The section on Non-Cashable Chips refers specifically to chips that are kept on a win, whereas OP must surrender his chip on a win.

[Gronbog]

My apologies for misidentifying the OP's chip as a non cashable chip in Grosjean's article. It is in fact what he calls a "funny chip" and blackjack is usually not a good choice for this kind of chip.

[Pariah]

That is not what Grosjean said. He said that blackjack is a good choice IF the funny money chip is kept on a win. Since this is not the case for OP, this is the controlling paragraph :

"
Funny-Chip FolliesWe see the same phenomena when using \funny chips," by which I mean chips that are relinquishedwhen a decision is generated, win or loss. Roulette is still the juggernaut, followed by variouscarnival games and bets. If payouts are restricted to even-money bets, then Three Card Pokeremerges victorious, whether or not the chip is saved on a tie. For chips relinquished on ties, thestrategy is to use $100 live on the Ante. Then, on any hand K87 or weaker, use the chip on the Playbet; on any hand K92 or stronger, we use cash on the Play bet, and keep the chip in our pocket fora subsequent hand. This produces an expectation of $51.43, a shock to those who thought that $50was an upper bound on the value of this type of chip. If the chip is saved on ties, then Three CardPoker produces a whopping $73.15, compared to the sub-$50 values of using the chip in blackjackwith even-money payos."


The section on Non-Cashable Chips refers specifically to chips that are kept on a win, whereas OP must surrender his chip on a win.

Hi, I am actually the OP. I apologize for my misstatement. My confusion stemmed from the fact that I am not allowed to use these coupon chips on 3CP. To be fair, 3CP has many non-even money payoffs. If we remove 3CP, BJ beats the even money bets on all the other games to the best of my knowledge.

@Gronberg,
To the best of my knowledge, these coupons would be what he calls Match-Play coupons if I play them underneath my own equal-money wager. If I play them under someone else's money, as is permitted, or stand-alone, they would be Funny Chips.