Casinos are always the number one spot to visit for millions of tourists and local residents. If you’re reading this, you’re probably planning to test your luck in a casino as well. However, you must be aware what games give you a better chance to win. We have prepared a list especially for a novice like, although an experienced player can benefit from it as well. The games we suggest might seem intimidating at first, but you can learn them quickly and even consult with the dealer.
These popular games have the best odds in your favor, if we compare their house edges. The house edge is the ratio if your average loss to the initial bet, in the long run. For instance, the house edge in Blackjack is 0.5%, which means that for every $10 bet the player will lose $0.05; again, the amount estimated is in the long run. The house edge for Baccarat and Craps is slightly less than 1%. For Roulette it’s anywhere between 2.7% to 5.3%, depending on the game’s design.
Remember also that all online casinos these days offer amazing bonuses and promotions, so you can play these same games from home, win money and even enjoy no deposit casino bonus from top and leading online casinos.
Blackjack
This is the easiest game to learn and play, with the best odds you will find anywhere. In most cases, the house’s edge is less than 1%. Also, you are just playing against a dealer, who is limited by his choices, and not against some experienced professional gambler.
The rules for blackjack are simple. All you need to do is to beat the dealer. You must get cards with value of 21 or close to it as much as possible, but not more than 21. If your value is higher than the dealers, but not higher than 21, then you win some money.
What are the values of the cards? 2 to 9 are what they say on the card. 10, J, Q and K equal 10 points. Ace can be either 1 or 11. If the ace makes the value of your cards more than 21 in total, then it must be counted as 1. The best hand is of course “blackjack”, which is an ace with any 10 or face card.
After all the players seated at the table place their bets, each of them is dealt 2 cards face up. The dealer also deals himself 2 cards, one face up and one face down (“hole card”).
Starting from the left, each player can ask for additional cards (“hit”) if they wish to get their hand closer to 21. Going over 21 is “bust” and you lose your bet. If you don’t want any more cards, you can “stand”. Another option that you have after being dealt the initial two cards is “double” – you double your bet, get one more card and “stand”.
If you’re dealt two cards of the same value (for instance, 3-3, J-Q, A-A), you can double the bet, split the cards into two hands and play each hand separately, according to the aforementioned rules. According to some casino rules, a split ace is 1 point, so make sure you know all the rules specific to the place you’re playing at.
After each player finishes his turn, the dealer’s hole card is turned over. If his hand is 16 or less, he must hit until he gets over 16. If he goes 21, he is of course “bust”, and the players who are not bust – win. If he’s not bust – the higher hand between each player and the deal wins. In some games, the dealer must stand on 17.
Naturally, you can improve your Blackjack game and odds of winning with this basic, yet very useful strategy:
If your hand value is 8 or less – hit no matter what the dealer face up card is.
If you have 9 and the dealer has 3 to 6 – go for double. If he has 2 or 7 – hit.
If your cards are 10 and the dealer is in the 2 to 9 range – double down. If his exposed card is an ace – hit.
If your cards are 11 and the dealer is in the 2 to 10 range – double down. If his exposed card is an ace – hit.
If your cards are 12 and the dealer’s cards are 2, 3, 7 or higher – then hit. If he has 4-6 – stand.
If your cards are 13 – 16, while the dealer’s card is 7 or higher – hit. If he’s in the range between 2 and 6 – then stand.
And of course, always stand when you’re between 17 and 21.
Baccarat
Baccarat is one of the most famous and oldest casino games. Most of its fame came from James Bond movies, as we saw the super agent clashing against villains at the baccarat tables in several movies. But unlike what the movies would like to tell you, the skills of a super smart spy are of no use in this game, as it depends on luck and chance.
The wager of this game is one of the three following: the Player’s hand, the Banker’s hand or the tie. Player and Banker simply represent two hands that are dealt at the table, and you bet on the outcome.
Baccarat somewhat resembles Blackjack. In Blackjack, you must get as close as possible to 21, but no more than that. In Baccarat, the magic number is 9. The number cards to 9 are worth their face value, ace is 1, 10 to Kings are zero.
If the sum of your two cards is higher than 9, a 2-digit number, you must drop the leftmost digit. Therefore the hand of 6 and 9 becomes 5, not 15.
After you bet on a winning hand, or a tie, two cards are dealt to both the player and the banker. The value of player’s hand determines whether he also gets a third card. This is determined according to a series of rules that you don’t need to learn by heart – the dealer will guide you accordingly.
There is no real strategy that can improve your chances in Baccarat. The high rollers love this game, because of the risk and the luck involved. And since you cannot influence the cards, the best advice would be to just go with your gut feeling and enjoy the game. You can place your bets according to your intuition or the patterns and trends you recognize in the scoreboards. Keep in mind, of course, that the hands are independent of each other, so scoreboards might not provide you with very useful information.
When in doubt, just bet on the Banker, since the house has some edge of the Player.
Craps
This particular casino game may appear too complicated to the beginning player. There are many options for the betting, the game is very quick and choke full with strange lingo. Nonetheless, there is a profit in it, as long as you stick to the following basic rules.
You wager on the result of rolling of two dice. One of the players – “the shooter” – throws them, and the many players gathered around the table bet on the outcome of every roll.
The first roll is titled the come-out. You place your chips on one of the two bars – Pass and Don’t Pass. If the shooter rolls 7 or 11, a winning come-out, whoever bet on the Pass line – wins. If the sum of the dice is 2, 3 or 12 (“craps”), the bet placed on the Pass line is lost.
Almost the opposite happens if you bet on Don’t Pass. 2 and 3 win you money, and 7 or 11 mean that you lost the wager. If 12 is rolled, neither Pass nor Don’t Pass win anything.
What happens in case of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10? This rolled number is now a “point” and the dealer marks it on the table using a puck. If the shooter roll this “point” next, it’s a “pass”, which mean money for whoever bet on the Pass bar. Don’t Pass loses, and this game is over. If 7 is rolled before the “point”, the money goes to the Don’t Pass bettors. Those who bet on Don’t Pass are allowed to remove their bets at any time. The winning money equals the amount that was waged.
There is an option for a side bet, called “odds”. You win chips if a point is rolled before the 7. The odds can multiply your wages by 3,4 and 5 times, according to the casino rules.
If you’re a beginner, start with the fundamentals – Pass and Don’t Pass. Engage in more bets as you gain more experience. Optimally, you should bet on Don’t Pass and back it up by odds. This is how you gain, in the long run, a substantial edge.
Roulette
This game is very easy to understand, and many casino visitors prefer it, since it has a slower pace as compared to other casino tables.
You are betting on what number and color the ball in the roulette wheel will land. You can bet on red/black, odd/even, a specific number of a group of numbers. The roulettes have slot from 1 to 36 and 0 with an optional 00 in some countries.
As mentioned before, you can bet on the color of the slot where the steel ball will stop, on an even/odd number or various groupings, such as 1-18 or 19-36. The table has places for all these bets, and you can place several bets at once. You can place them until the ball had at least 3 rotations inside the wheel, and the dealer declares “no more bets”.
After the balls stops, the winning bets are paid out according to their odds. For instance, a bet on a color pays 1 to 1, while a successful bet on a specific number pays a mind-blowing 35 to 1. Understand that for narrower bets (one 1 or just a few numbers) there are higher winnings, but also slimmer odds to win.
So there you have it, 4 leading casino games where you can make some profit, as long as Lady Luck smiles to you, while you stick to the basic rules and strategies. Practice a lot before you play with larger sums, gain experience and feel the games. Best of luck and see you at the tables!
