The five game challenge

The five game challenge is a type of cross-fit exercise where keen casino punters can move from one game to the next in order to fine-tune and strengthen their gambling fitness, all the while maintaining the excitement and enjoyment of exercising different muscle groups, and not repeating the same boring routine.

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The real thrill of gambling is the prominence of constant unexpected outcomes which have the potential to net us some handsome profits. We never want such an activity – which can provide us with so much elation and can take us on an emotional rollercoaster – to become monotonous. So it is important to keep things fresh and not get caught playing the same game over and over again (just like sex). We want variety. That’s why we’ve created the five-game challenge.

Note: We’ll make sure participants can carry out this challenge both at an online casino and a land-based casino. Additionally, players should begin with a bankroll which they feel comfortable spending. Ideally, we want to maximise our profits, but as with all gambling activities, there is the possibility of losing our bankroll, so participants should keep this is mind when setting their expenditure limit. For the purpose of this challenge, we will use a bankroll of $300.

The five game punter’s challenge

• Gambling challenge number one

  Start with four hands of blackjack, each hand played directly after the previous hand (i.e. no multiple simultaneous hands). Each hand will be priced at $10. Do not take insurance, do not play any side bets, and double down and split according to correct basic strategy. We recommend avoiding the Blackjack Plus game if possible.

• Gambling challenge number two

  Following blackjack, move on to single-zero roulette (for our bankroll, we will be playing at a table with a $2.50 minimum). Note that all online casinos will offer single-zero roulette games with minimum inside wagers per spin as low as $1. For Australian residents playing along at land-based casinos, you may struggle to find a single-zero (European) roulette table which holds a minimum inside bet value of less than $5. If this is the case, there are ample European electronic roulette games within brick and mortar casinos which allow for $2.50 inside wagers.

  Set aside a total bankroll of $75 for this challenge. Attempt to see out a minimum of three spins and a maximum of five. How you play is up to you, however we recommend covering splits and straight-up numbers, in order to maximise winnings. For example, use $25 on spin number one (that’s 10 bets worth $2.50 each) across your chosen splits and straight-up numbers.

  This is the game where we can hopefully rake in a decent return on our investment which will thus see us through for the remainder of the challenge.

• Gambling challenge number three

  After you’ve finished playing roulette, venture to a Texas Hold’em/Casino Hold’em poker table (or poker variant of a similar nature). Played against the dealer, you are typically required to place an ‘Ante’ bet followed by a ‘Play’ or ‘Call’ bet in order to see out the round.

  We want to play only two hands, here.

  We have given ourselves a limit of $50 to spend, and are playing at a $5 minimum table. We will also play the side bet which accompanies our main wager (often a wager which pays out on a pair of Aces or better, with specific hands, such as trips, a straight, a flush, etcetera, awarded specific payouts higher than the traditional ‘Ante’ payouts – at Crown Casino, the side bet is a progressive jackpot).

  At the least, we will be spending $10 per hand with our $5 ‘Ante’ wager and our $5 side bet. We’ll have the option to fold if we are unsatisfied with our two-card hand (after seeing the flop), or we will play out the rest of the hand by placing a minimum of $10 for the ‘Play’ or ‘Call’ wager.

• Gambling challenge number four

  Now play three hands of baccarat. Betting on the Banker holds a 1.06 per cent house edge, while betting on the Player holds a 1.24 per cent house edge. In traditional baccarat (also known as Punto Banco), you have no control over the outcome, so its doesn’t matter whether you choose to wager on the Banker or Player – it is more or less a 50/50 chance.

  We are taking a $105 bankroll into this game. If we win our first wager of $15, we will bet $15 again. If we lose our first wager of $15, we will then bet $30. Lose the second hand wager of $30, then bet $60. Win any hand and return to the original bet of $15, but play no more than a total of three separate hands (not simultaneously).

  We are using the Martingale system here, and while it certainly isn’t bullet proof, it provides us with a rigid wagering structure which we can stick to, and thus keep easy track of our winnings or losings.

• Gambling challenge number five

  End with the true thinking man’s game – Casino War (also known as Beat The Dealer). Play a minimum of three hands and a maximum of five. You may play a maximum of two hands at once.

  For our bankroll, we have chosen a table with a $10 minimum and will outlay a total of $30. You may choose to either stick to $10 hands every time, or increase your wagers by $5 if you lose the previous hand. Alternatively, you can go all out and whack down $30 in one go to end with a bang, or mix things up a bit depending on your income status.

• Did you win?

  After completion of the five games, see what your net profit (or loss) is. We trialled this challenge and ended up with $235 in the green, largely due to hitting straight-up numbers in roulette, and receiving a nice payout playing Casino Hold’em, where we cashed in 7 to 1 on our $5 side bet, after hitting trips on the flop. Moreover, we had a hell of a lot of fun playing.

Playing online and offline

If you are going to try this at a land-based casino, play with a mate which should add to the fun. For pure value for money, though, an online casino is better, as gaming odds and house edges are better for the player than within a brick and mortar venue, however it is understandable if you prefer to enjoy this experience at your local gambling venue.

Some of the Internet gambling sites we recommend for online punters who want to give this five-game challenge a go are listed in our recommended casino table at the top of this page.

These sites are fully licensed, registered and regulated, and it is 100 per cent legal for all eligible residents to access and utilise the secure real money gaming services provided by the above operators, depending on the online gambling laws in your country. We hope you enjoy the challenge.