Each year, the casino industry generates well over $100 billion in global revenue, with profits that comfortably eclipse the movie, music and even sports industries. It’s further evidence, as if we needed it, of the old saw that the house always wins. For a casino, making a profit means taking more money in bets that it pays out in winnings, and the house edge factored into payouts ensures that happens.
Still, that’s not to say that everyone who walks out of a casino does so with a long face and empty pockets. We’ve all heard stories of people winning big at the casino, and if you play regularly, you’ll have good nights and bad nights. Obviously for casinos to be profitable, they need the losers to outweigh the winners in the long run. But if you play smart, you can boost your chances of cheating the law of averages and beating the house a little more often.
Always play single zero roulette
Most casinos offer European or American roulette, and the only difference is that the latter has an extra “double zero” bed on the wheel. This increases the house edge from 2.7 percent to 5.4 percent. Some casinos are even introducing triple zero roulette, which is even worse. Roulette is often played by novices because it is so simple. Don’t be taken in, the best online casino platforms and most land based casinos offer both versions, so always choose the single zero wheel if it’s available!
Go big or go home when playing the slots
Slot games don’t offer such a good long-term return to player (RTP) as European roulette, blackjack or baccarat. However, these days, most have an RTP in excess of 96 percent, which is better than they used to be. They also give you the opportunity, however remote, to win really big – something you can’t do when you are just making even money bets on a table game.
Spend hours playing the penny slots, however, and you’ll just end up losing by the house edge. The best chance of cheating fate and beating the house when playing slots is to bet large. Sometimes you won’t win a thing, but a maximum bet opens up all the jackpot options and gives you at least a chance of a big win. If you get lucky, the trick is to walk away before the law of averages knows what has hit it and to go play some baccarat or video poker for a while.
A little learning goes a long way
With slots and roulette, everything is down to chance. But some card games involve an element of skill. When you play blackjack, the cards you are dealt is still in the hands of the casino Gods, but you decide whether to hit, stand, double down and so on. Learn basic strategy and you can reduce that house edge to around one percent.
The same applies to video poker. If you play Deuces Wild and make the optimum decisions every time, the house edge swings slightly in your favour. Few players manage it, so the casino still makes a profit on it overall.
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