Even money

Even money describes a wagering proposition with even odds - if the bettor loses a bet, he or she stands to lose the same amount of money that the winner of the bet would win (less any vigorish or "juice"). The term has come to have meaning in the wider English usage beyond actual gambling, however, as a way of describing an event whose occurrence is about as likely to occur as not. This is also known as 50-50 though technically they are different since the amount won on a 50-50 bet does not mean that the chance of winning is also 50-50.

Successful gamblers have to examine any bets they make in light of the odds really being even money. [ [http://www.gamblingtimes.com/writers/mcaro/mcaro_fall2001.html Poker, Gambling and Life, Caro on Gambling] ]

Even money bets do not mean that the bettor can't lose, like betting red or black on roulette. The presence of the green 0, and even the 00, means that statistically the bettor will lose more than 50% of the time. There are variations of the game that offer "en prison" on 37 number tables so if a 0 is rolled, the bettor neither wins or loses but his or her bet rides again on the next roll; if the bet-upon event occurs on the second spin, the even-money wager is returned to the bettor. There still is not a 50-50 chance of winning, but a lot closer, since the house edge is reduced by almost 50%. [ [http://www.gamblingonlinemagazine.com/article-detail.php?articleID=219 Roulette Systems?] ]

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