Specifically, players who want to optimise their bankroll and play games or bets with the lowest house edge.
It may just be a matter of a few additional cents on top of your wins.
But that little change can make all the difference between turning a profit or going into the red.
We know that, and accept it.
Sure, there may be variants that have slightly different rules, with varying payouts.
However, somebaccarat has zero commission.
The slight discrepancies in the paytables can make a tremendous difference.
We are talking about increasing a 0.5%house edgeup to 5%.
There is a great difference between slots and the other casino games.
It all revolves around the real probability and the probability implied by the odds.
Probability and Odds
Probabilityis the chance of something happening.
Such as, you have a 50% chance (1/2) of flipping heads in heads or tails.
Or guessing the correct suit in a drawn card has a 25% chance (1/4) of succeeding.
To calculate probability, divide the number of winning outcomes by the total number of possible outcomes.
When drawing cards in blackjack, the approximate odds of landing a 10 valued card is 4/13.
These are quite easy to calculate.
When we introduce more rules and ways of winning, the probabilities become harder to calculate.
There is a clear distinction to be made between these probabilities, and the probability defined by the odds.
The odds are not going to represent your actual chances of winning, and therein lies the house edge.
It is easiest to explain in a simple example.
You are drawing cards and guessing whether they will be red or black.
The probability is 1/2 so the odds should be 2 as you have a 50-50 chance of winning.
However, the casino will not provide odds of 2 on either red or black.
Instead, let’s say they give you odds of 1.9.
This means, if you play 20 rounds and win 10 you will be at a loss.
Wagering $10 per round, you will spend $200 in total and only receive $190 back.
Therefore, you will need to win more often than the real probability suggests to make a profit.
We can see this clearly in games such as roulette.
There are 18 red, 18 black, and 1 green segment the 0 on French or European roulette.
Therefore, yourreal odds of winningare 18/37, or 48.64%.
The remaining percent belongs to the house, and that is how it gains an edge.
But this does not just apply to roulette.
The game rules and payout odds of each and every casino game are designed to favour the house.
It does not mean you could’t make a profit through your gaming.
It just means you need a little luck, and know when to quit while you are ahead.
But in some casino games, we don’t have the real life information to calculate the odds.
Instead, we rely on a value calledRTP.
Return to Player is a percentage of how much the slot can theoretically payout.
This is a number that alllicensed online casinosmust provide for their games.
However, they are not the ones who calculate RTP.
In these cases, we cannot really count the probability.
Slots are extremely complex games, and there is great variance between what you’re free to win.
Forming a partial payout may reward you with a value under your original stake.
But you’re able to form complete, or nearly complete paylines and go into a profit.
Slots usepowerful algorithmsto ensure that each outcome is fully randomised.
So even the testing and RTP are not 100% accurate.
Abasic blackjack strategycan take the house edge of a game from around 4% down to just 0.5%.
Bringing the house edge down to a minimum is the first step.
But ultimately, the best way to prepare is through preplanning and incentivising your gameplay.
Make abankrollfor your gaming, and allocate enough money to sustain longer gaming sessions.
If you just have $20 to play with, don’t start with a stake of $1.
The mastery comes in when you decide to quit.
All kinds of anomalies can occur during your gameplay.
Such as winning multiple rounds in a row, or landing a rare combination that doubles up your stake.
If it ever does, you oughta quit while you are up.
Playing too long can tire you out.
Avoid these gambler’s fallacies, and keep your gaming sessions under control.
Daniel has been writing about casinos and sports betting since 2021.
