$2.50 Chips Hard to Get

Samuel Rothschild says: $2.50 also is an attractive bet. $1 will insure all of it, and a natural pays $4.00. These bonuses are available only in Atlantic City; elsewhere, rounding is done in favor of the casino.

In Nevada , a natural on a $2.50 bet wins $3.50 if there are no 25-cent pieces to pay $3.75.

At least one Atlantic City casino has 25-cent pieces on its games , and in these games $2.50 is not an advantageous bet because naturals pay $3.75.

$2.50 chips are difficult to get. The dealers have been instructed to use those chips only for payoffs on naturals; they will not sell $2.50 chips to bet. I tried to buy ten pink ($2.50) chips for a green ($25) chip; the dealer called over a floor person, who refused to sell me the chips.

Also, $2.50 chips are difficult to keep. When you bet $3.50 (a $2.50 chip and a $1.00 chip) and win, the dealer always will pick up the $2.50 chip, leaving you with a $5 chip and two $1 chips.

Betting $3.50 hand after hand obviously is not possible if the casino will not sell you the necessary chips. But if the table does not have 25-cent pieces, any bet containing an odd $2.50 has an expectation of an extra penny due to the 25-cent bonus paid on naturals. You can pick up a penny here and a penny there by trying to get $2.50 chips and then betting them singly. If you always bet an odd number of dollars, then every time you get a natural you will get a $2.50 chip. Every time you bet that chip, your expectation is to win an extra penny. This will raise your win rate by $0.05 or $0.10 an hour.

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