The phrase "The House Always Wins" has been around for a while. It refers to the rather predictable phenomenon that casinos take in more money than they give out. Everyone has heard the saying somewhere; it has been immortalized in songs, movies, and video games. It's reasonable to assume that this universal fact remains true in Mass Effect Legendary Edition as well.
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And while that's likely true, this is only because of the number of players who haven't done the math to figure out how to win. There is a way to statistically come out ahead after every session of Quasar, the signature luck-based game of the universe. This means that Quasar is a reliable way to get credits for Shepard, so long as the gamer understands the math behind the machine.
Simply, Quasar is a lot like blackjack. In blackjack, players start with cards that represent a certain value. They then take a "hit" (an additional random card) and then have a new value. If that value falls into a certain range, they have a good chance of winning, but if that number goes over 21, it's an instant loss.
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There are some notable differences. In blackjack, players compete against the house for the highest score (21) without busting. In Quasar, players try to get as close to 20 as possible without going over, but there are no competitors.
Unlike blackjack, which has a single deck to hit from, Quasar has two decks that players may choose from, one that adds 1-8 and another that adds 4-7 to the point total. This gives players much more control over their final ending place.
Lastly, players can "stand" in both games, choosing to stop the drawing and reap the rewards based on the final value. Each final number in Quasar gives out a different amount of money; a 17 will give the player back their deposit, while 18 through 20 all have increasingly higher payouts.
First of all, always play the high-stakes Quasar. The low-stakes Quasar can be good for a learning experience, but after learning the game, it just makes more sense to best more money because that means higher yields. More money more quickly is always best.
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Common sense and practice will give players more wins than losses. Targeting a 13 is what most players try to do because then they can take a 4-7 hit and be guaranteed to make a profit. Try to avoid getting a 15 or 16 because these numbers make hitting the riskiest.
However, there is a mathematically ideal way to play the game instead of purely intuitively. After a lot of algebra and statistical analysis, each number has an ideal move associated with it.
- 1: Hit 4-7
- 2: Hit 4-7
- 3: Hit 1-8
- 4: Hit 1-8
- 5: Hit 1-8
- 6: Hit 4-7
- 7: Hit 4-7
- 8: Hit 4-7
- 9: Hit 1-8
- 10: Hit 1-8
- 11: Hit 1-8
- 12: Hit 1-8
- 13: Hit 4-7
- 14: Hit 4-7
- 15: Hit 4-7
- 16: Hit 1-8
- 17: Stand
- 18: Stand
- 19: Stand
- 20: Stand
Keep in mind that these numbers aren't the numbers that win the most often, these are the numbers that make the most money. While it can seem trivial to win a few hundred credits here and there, recall that not every unique upgrade can be purchased before leaving the Citadel. That is, not without Quasar. Experts and veterans always raise several thousand credits with this technique during every playthrough so that they are best equipped after leaving on the Normandy.
Enjoy the slots!
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