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Games
You Can Win
Casinos offer a variety
of games and the casino’s edge or advantage is different for each
game. The higher the casino advantage, the less is your chance of
winning.
The casino advantage has
2 components. The first and easiest to understand is when you lose.
When you lose a bet, it is lost, period.
But the second is when
you win. But how can you lose when you win? Well, instead of
receiving a fair payout for a winning bet, you are paid less. For
example, a fair payout for a $1 wager on roulette is $37. However,
the casino pays you only $35. It keeps the $2 almost like a tax. As
a result, the $2 disappears in the coffers of the casino, without
you even knowing or realizing it! The irony of this is that you are
happy you have “won” even though you have just been short
changed by the casino.
What you need to know is
how much is this hidden tax and what you can do to reduce it.
Because the lower you reduce this tax or casino advantage, the
greater will be your chances of winning more or at least minimizing
your losses.
The following table
summarizes the casino’s advantage for games where a player with a
little luck has a good chance of winning. A positive casino
advantage means the casino has the edge. A negative casino advantage
implies the player has the better of it. Most casino games have
several different types of wagers, which is why you see a range of
casino advantage for most games.
| Blackjack
(with basic strategy)
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0%
to +0.5%
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| Blackjack
(with basic strategy and card counting)
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-0.2%
to –1.05%
(Player
advantage)
|
| Craps
|
+0.2%
to +17%
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| Pai
Gow Poker
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-0.2%
to +2.5%
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| Baccarat
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+0.1%
to +14.1%
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| Roulette
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+2.6%
to +7.9%
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| Video
Poker
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-0.1%
to +5.0%
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| Sic
Bo
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+2.8%
to +47.5%
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| Slots
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+0.5%
to +10% or more
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The best games – the
ones with the lowest potential casino advantage – are the
following casino games:
- Blackjack (with at
least basic playing strategy)
- Craps (but only
specific bets)
- Pai Gow Poker
- Baccarat
- Roulette
- Video Poker (full pay
machines with
expert strategy)
- Sic Bo
- Slots (only at high
payout Casino’s)
These are the casino
games, which offer you the highest potential of maximizing your
winnings or minimizing your losses, and should be a part of every
player’s game plan.
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