Gambling Odds

Headed for Vegas or any other casino for that matter? One thing you’ll ask all your friends and relatives that have been there is, “What games have the best odds?”  Ask 10 people and you will get 10 different answers.  It’s not a matter of what games have the best odds.  It’s all a matter of knowing the rules and honing in on your skills.

Let’s take a look at some of the games that people feel have the best odds:

• Poker.  This is a game of skill and wits.  It’s got the best odds as you can bluff a player into folding and you make more money this way.  The house advantage is almost nothing because they don’t take anything other than a small portion of pot.
• Video Poker.  If playing against another person or group of people and trying to read them doesn’t appeal to you, then you can try your luck against a machine.  The house takes about a half percent and if you get lucky you can win on some machines, up to 100% of your money back and even more at times.  This is pretty fun and if you play it right, you can make quite a bit of money.
• Blackjack.  This is a very straight forward game.  Your goal is to get 21 without going over and the dealer has to go 17 or higher.  So it seems the chances are that you will win almost every time right?  Well, not so with this one game.  Unless you apply the “basic strategy” which is you make the best move every game, then you can find yourself on the losing end very quickly.  If you do apply yourself to making the right decisions you can make your money and more just as quickly.  But the one exception to this is, if you lose, the house gets all your money and you end up with nothing.
• Craps.  This dice game rides solely on the person who is throwing the dice.  You place your bets on what you think they will throw.  With this game you place your bets on numbers and then you can also place them on the Passline/Come or the Don’t Pass/Don’t Come spaces.  You lower the house odds in these particular spaces but can bring the house odd even lower to under a single percentage when you double your odds.  It’s again all dependent on the dice thrower.  So wish them luck.
• Pai Gow Banker.  In this game, a player can choose to be the banker while playing.  While being the banker, you pay a 5% commission to the house, but you win the bet of any player you beat while playing.  So the odds are in your favor if you play those who are not as familiar with the game.  The commission is paid when you end your role of being the banker.

So with all the information that was included in the previous five tips, the house does get something out of almost every hand or game you play.  After all, the casino wouldn’t be in operation very long if it paid out as much as it brought in.  That sounds nice, but it’s just not going to happen.  So make sure you bet wisely, and never bet more than what you can afford to lose.  If you finish playing and you have come out a winner, then feel lucky as more people leave with a loss than coming out ahead.  And always make sure to gamble responsibly.  If you feel like an addiction is creeping up, seek professional help. Now go have fun and good luck!