Hypothetical gambling question

Call over a pit critter and get a marker.

I'd go with a hand of BJ and am almost certain I'd end up with either a hand of 11 vs 6, or 8,8 vs 10. Between being able to surrender and win half the bet, and the various pushes, plus the possibility of a 1.5X payout, this is how I'd do it, as its the game I am most comfortable with.

Hey Roadtrip

Close to a guarantee, but I can see one outcome where you win nothing.
After initial cards are dealt, and the dealer "up" card is a 10, the dealer checks the hole card.
If the dealer has an "Ace", then the dealer wins. The dealer does this prior to asking you or giving you a chance to Surrender. (Please correct me if I'm incorrect, but I was never given the option to surrender)

I'm not sure how it would work the other way around (i.e. the dealer has the "Ace" as his "up" card). In those situations, the dealer is asking if you want to take insurance (which you can't because you wagered the entire $10,000). I don't think the dealer offers the chance to surrender at this point (but I could be wrong)

My 2 cents

Shooter

"Someone gives you $10,000 dollars while you're in Vegas. The condition is you can only make 1 bet and if you lose, you lose the 10K. If you win, then you keep the bet and the winnings. What would you bet on and why?"

There is NO indication that a wager MUST be won or lost, just that ONE BET must be placed. It does not say that the player must rebet in the case of a push. In fact, stating that YOU CAN ONLY MAKE ONE BET implies that rebetting after a push is not allowed. Caps for Mrmarcus, who ASSumes too much.

Ten grand pays for my trip, buys a wonderful dinner and a suite upgrade, and covers all possible gambling losses, with money to spare. Pai Gow offers the best chance I know to accomplish that goal under the rules. Betting a heavy favorite to show would be my fallback position were pushes required to be rebet. Surrendering a hand of BJ is a clever idea, but it sticks in my craw unless it would have been the correct play under ordinary game circumstances. Besides, $5k isn't enough to cover my fantasy stay in Vegas if I run into bad luck at the tables.

now the winnings wouldn't be as much as an even money bet, but could you go to the sports book and bet on something like Kentucky NOT winning the NCAA tournament this year?

I bet it all on Roulette #29. I feel lucky today. Besides it's free hypothetical money.

Good point, Karen, except that the scenario I proposed assumed the wager would have to be settled the same day it was made.

the original post in this thread says nothing about the wager having to settle on the same day it was made

My scenario involved the $10K paying for a fantasy upgrade on my current trip. That means I can't wait months to settle the bet. A bet like the one you suggest would work in a different scenario.

Regarding "surrender" Shooter is correct, as explained above.

However, DonDiego sees nothing in manterro's hypothetical wager prohibiting the player from insuring with his own money. (n.b. DonDiego is not necessarily recommending it, just suggesting it as an option.)
In the unlikely event that the dealer has an Ace up, and the player has a blackjack, DonDiego pr'bly would recommend insuring, as this guarantees a $10,000 profit. And there are casinos that permit one to call "even money" in this situation, thereby not even requiring one to put up the $5000-insurance bet.

(A teachable moment: In the situation of a dealer showing an Ace and a player having a natural, insuring one's hand is mathematically identical to calling even money. It is left as an exercise for the reader to prove this to himself.)