Gambling NewsCasino GamblingOnline GamblingBlackjackVideo PokerSlotsCrapsPokerRoulette
ReadyBetGo! HomeCasino Gambling HomeCasino StrategyCasino CompsCasino NewsCasino Gambling Books
Find Loose Slots... Play Online!
Book Picture
Roxy Palace has some of the loosest slots on the web. Their selection is huge and with less overhead, employee costs and taxes than your typical brick and mortar casino, they can afford to give back a bigger percentages of bets back to the customer. If you're looking for loose slots, play online!
Play Now at Roxy Palace!
Lowest Roulette House Edge on the Net!
Book Picture
American casinos are well-known for having a high house edge when it comes to roulette. This is because most roulette tables stateside have zero and double zero. When you play European roulette with its one zero, the house edge is cut in half. If you add the special 'en prison' rule that you can find at Intercasino, the edge is cut again, down to 1.35% on even money bets and 2.63% on all other bets. This is by far the best deal you can find on the Net for roulette.
Play Now at Intercasino!ReadyBetGo!'s In-Depth Intercasino Review!
Related Links
Responsible Gambling CouncilThe Responsible Gambling Council helps individuals and communities address gambling in a healthy and responsible way, with a strong emphasis on preventing gambling-related problems. This Canadian-based organization provides a number of resources for those who are seeking advice and help in this subject.

Gambling Probability - Let's Invent a Slot Game

Let’s say you’re betting on George Washington, but now the wager is $4, and we’re flipping dollar bills on a video screen, two bills simultaneously. You get $15 every time that GeorgeBasil NestorBasil Nestor is the author of the new Playboy Complete Guide to Casino Gambling. This wonderful book teaches players how to avoid sucker bets and win more when playing gambling games.  He is also the author of The Smarter Bet Guide series for video poker, slots, craps, and many other books about gambling.  Basil's website is www.smarterbet.com  appears on both bills. Yay! How often does that happen? About one in four flips.

Does that sound like a good bet?

Fifteen dollars is enticing, especially if George hits a streak, but the other bettor (the casino) has a 6.25 percent edge in this contest. Number-wonks like me figure it this way:

4 trials x $4 per trial = $16 invested

$16 invested – $15 returned = $1 of casino profit

$1/$16 = 6.25% house edge

Wow! Compare this to the original contest. I increased the payout from $0.99 to $15, and I still managed to balloon the house edge from 0.5% to 6.25%.

But what if you win once when playing Daffy Dollars, lose once, and then win once more? It’s hardly a streak, but that particular combination would put you ahead by $27. Should the casino be worried? Nope. You or someone else will continue playing the game. Hot and cold streaks will come and go, but the casino will get about a 6.25 percent return on all the action (money wagered) as the number of trials stretches into the thousands and then millions.

A slot machine keeps your original wager regardless of whether you win or lose, so a two-credit win is actually only one credit of profit. And a one-credit win is actually a push (a tie with no winner or loser). In contrast, a 1:1 payoff in table games means you keep the original bet and win an equal amount.

Measuring the House Edge

The following table, “Good and Bad Casino Bets,” gives examples of the house edge on various popular contests.

Game
Bet
Casino Advantage
Blackjack

Using basic strategy with counting

-1.00%

Slots: Video Poker

Deuces wild played with optimal strategy

-0.76%

Slots: Video Poker

Jacks-or-Better 9/6 played with optimal strategy

0.46%
Blackjack

Using basic strategy with no counting

0.50%
Baccarat
Banker
1.06%
Pass line
1.41%

European wheel with no surrender

2.70%

Slots: Video Poker

Jacks-or-Better 8/5 played with optimal strategy
2.70%
Roulette

American wheel with no surrender

5.26%

Slots: Reels

Flat-top dollar machine (Las Vegas)
6.00%

Slots: Reels

Flat-top quarter machine (Atlantic City)
8.00%

Slots: Reels

Progressive
10.0%

Slots: Reels

Nickel machine (Las Vegas)

10.0%
Baccarat
Tie
14.4%
Craps
Any seven
16.7%
Keno

Most “big board” bets

30.0%
Blackjack, slots, and keno figures are averages for typical games.

Notice that most games are negative expectation for players. It’s possible to shift some contests from negative to positive by using an optimal strategy (essentially, using game theory), but doing that requires a bit of effort and patience.

Keep in mind that the typical advantage remains around one percent or less when it’s pushed to the player’s side. The house gets more when they have the edge, but most games still earn 10 percent or less. There is no money spigot in a casino. In fact, an often-used phrase from late-night television absolutely applies here; casinos earn money with volume, volume, volume! That’s also how optimal-strategy players do it.

There are two ways to change the house edge: adjust the payoff or adjust the odds of winning. But remember that both of these figures work together. So a bigger payoff isn’t necessarily good if the odds of winning the payoff are considerably worse. For example, your chance of winning $1 million is actually better when playing blackjack than when playing a typical state lottery.

But why would a casino offer games that don’t give the house a huge advantage. Why would they play any contests with an edge that could be shifted against them? The answer is somewhat complex and involves public relations and marketing considerations, but it boils down to this; most players don’t use optimal strategy. They either don’t know that a strategy exists, or they think it’s too much trouble to learn. Some people want to be “spontaneous.” They prefer to choose whatever game strikes their fancy. Others rely on hunches and superstitions. Whatever the reasons, the result is that typical players win less and lose more on average than optimal-strategy players. Casinos get the PR boost of offering “certified games that pay back 100%” or “the best blackjack in town.” But the games still earn money.

Incredible but true.

The table below shows the average expected loss of a regular player compared to that of an average optimal-strategy player.

Cumulative Effects of the House Edge

Number of Decisions

Average Loss for a Regular Player: 8% casino edge, $5 bets

Average Loss for an Optimal Strategy Player: 1% casino edge, $5 bets

100
$40
$5
200
$80
$10
300
$120
$15
400
$160
$20
500
$200
$25
600
$240
$30
 One hour of typical slot machine play is about 500 to 600 decisions. One hour of table play is usually about 50 to 100 decisions.

Of course, anything can happen. The regular player might smack a big jackpot or catch a winning streak, but consider how much less luck is required for the optimal-strategy player to turn a profit. And it’s easy to see which player will last longer if the tables and machines turn cold. Bad luck, good luck, or no luck, the optimal-strategy player will always lose less or win more in the long run.

© 2006-2015 ReadyBetGo!

ReadyBetGo! is an independent gambling news and information service. If you plan to play in casinos, ensure
that you are not breaking any local laws. It's up to you to know the legality of your actions when you gamble.