Minimum and maximum bet at a gaming table
The table limit is the minimum and maximum bet that a gambler can🍉 make at a gaming table. It is a form of yield management in that the limits can be changed to🍉 optimize the profit from a gaming table. Gaming tables have a limited resource to sell: the seats used by the🍉 players.
Minimum table limits [ edit ]
Table limits can also be used to manage, in a limited manner, who plays at🍉 tables. A casino that wants to project a more exclusive image can set the limits higher so that the casual🍉 player walking through would not be as likely to sit down and play. Also games with a lower house edge🍉 often have a higher minimum bet. Baccarat almost always has a high minimum bet since the house edge is relatively🍉 low. Often a casino will advertise a low minimum game as a teaser, a sign might readR$2 blackjack 24 hours🍉 a day. However, theR$2 minimum game might be available at only one table and the payout might be 6:5 for🍉 a blackjack.
Historically the attitude has changed about table limits. In the early 1990s in downtown Vegas, quarter minimum bets were🍉 common. The low minimums created a general excitement in the casinos as hundreds of people would jostle to play table🍉 games. However, casinos floors generally had twice as many employees as they do today. It also made it much easier🍉 to introduce new gamblers to table games. Most casinos today would prefer that the low rollers play slot machines which🍉 do not require as much oversight.
Normally the limits are set to optimize the return from the seats. Since all table🍉 games give the house an advantage, the larger the bets, the larger the house's profit, so the house needs to🍉 manage the minimum bets to keep the seats full. This usually results in a low limit early in the day🍉 when there are fewer players with the limits increasing as more players become available.[original research?]
Players who are seated when the🍉 limit is changed are usually grandfathered in at the old limit. In some casinos they retain the old limit until🍉 they leave, in others the lower limit will last for a limited period of time.
Casinos are increasingly turning towards expensive🍉 virtual gaming tables to offer low minimum table limit games to customers. Although electronic versions of table games like blackjack🍉 have been available for years, they typically raise the house edge by paying even money on blackjack to handle the🍉 very low table limits. The more expensive virtual games with high definition video simulations of real dealers pay normal 3:2🍉 payouts, but still include some limitations like limiting the player from doubling soft combinations. Since the electronic machines are available🍉 24/7 and do not require a paid dealer, they are popular ways to augment the gaming pit.[1]
High table limits [🍉 edit ]
Table maximums can be as low asR$50 at the small locals casino Poker Palace,[2] but major strip casinos usually🍉 offer some tables with aR$10,000 maximum. Exceptions are the Golden Nugget in downtown which permitsR$15,000 bets, and three tables at🍉 Caesars Palace which permit bets betweenR$5,000 andR$50,000.[3][failed verification]
High table limits have their own requirements. For instance as of the year🍉 ending September 2009, the 231 blackjack tables in downtown Las Vegas earn an average ofR$531 per day and the 36🍉 craps table earn an average ofR$2258 per day in gross revenue before expenses. Although the house has a statistical edge🍉 on the expected return, the casino has no control over variance. The outcome of a small number of players making🍉 huge bets is unpredictable. The casino could make record profits, or the players could wipe out the cash in the🍉 casino or eliminate the profit for the month. Maximum table limits prevent the casino from taking too much of a🍉 gamble. For a small casino table maximums are set atR$100–$500 per bet. The larger casino can afford larger maximums.[original research?]
Tim🍉 Poster and Tom Breitling purchased the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas in January 2004. Although they personally investedR$50 million🍉 of their own money in the project, they did not have the deep pockets of a major corporation. In order🍉 to create the ambiance of Old Vegas, and to attract the high rollers to the aging casino, they elected to🍉 work with lower house edges and high table limits. The strategy worked for 9 months until a high roller wonR$8.5🍉 million over a two-week period and wiped out their profit for a year. The owners elected to return table limits🍉 to something less risky.[4]
High rollers are usually handled by the largest corporations with revenues of several billion dollars a year.🍉 The corporations can handle large quarterly variations in profits. In the 21st century Las Vegas changed their policy established in🍉 1931 that all gaming should be public. They permitted small clubs to be opened strictly for high rollers. The Paiza🍉 Club in the Palazzo hotel requires that players have at leastR$300,000 of credit or on front money deposit to play.[5]🍉 Live feeds directly to the State Gaming Commission are a requirement.
A table or a game without a limit is commonly🍉 referred to as no-limit. These tables generally allow the player to bet as much as they wish. This is a🍉 common form of Texas hold 'em in tournament play where the size of the bets are limited by the chips🍉 in play or cash games where the bet is limited by the size of the 'buy in' or chips one🍉 has accumulated prior to the current hand. No-limit can be a somewhat deceptive term, however, as one may not bring🍉 more money to the table once a hand has started or place a bet for more than the total amount🍉 that one has in play when the hands starts.
There is a widely held belief that casinos instituted maximum table limits🍉 to limit Martingale betting strategies. The simplest of these strategies involves a player doubling the bet every time a loss🍉 is incurred on a bet with even odds, until the player wins.[6][7] In reality casinos are not at risk from🍉 Martingale players. They are at risk against the lucky player who is betting an amount that would be proportionately high🍉 for that particular business.
The number of high and low limit tables are unique to each casino. For example, Las Vegas🍉 Neighborhood and Downtown casinos usually have lower limit tables than Strip casinos.[8]
