Many of us like to try our luck at the casino once in a while, whether it’s on a weekend trip to Las Vegas or simply via an online casino platform from our PC or smartphone. And we all know the golden rules – play for fun, only bet what you can afford to lose and remember the house always wins!
That’s fine, but if you can cheat the odds and walk away a winner once in a while, it makes the experience even more enjoyable. So which games give you the best chance of doing so? That’s not as easy a question to answer as it might appear, but here, we’ll look at the games that offer the lowest house edge.
Video poker
If you’ve only got $20 to spend, a video poker machine is a good place to spend it. You’ll probably use it up in the end, but with small stakes, your bankroll will last a lot longer than it would with a slot game. With some variations of video poker like Deuces Wild, the house edge can drop to zero, but only if you play with optimal strategy. In other words, it’s great for expert players, but if you’re not sure what you are doing, you can get eaten alive and you’re better off playing another game like craps.
Craps
Don’t be put off by the complicated appearance of the craps table. The basic concept of the game is super-simple. The shooter rolls a score and then tries to roll the same score again before rolling a seven. Don’t be distracted by all the side bets, the one to look at is the odds bet, in which you back the shooter to succeed. This pays out at exactly fair odds, meaning there is no house edge.
Blackjack
Th most popular casino game of them all, blackjack relies on a combination of chance and skill. If your blackjack strategy is a little rusty, there is a useful guide at GambleOnline.co. A complete beginner with only a basic understanding of the rules, who splits pairs and doubles down at random and who always hits on 16 or below will be facing a house edge of about three percent.
Learn basic strategy for hitting, standing, splitting and doubling down, and the house edge reduces to about one percent. Advance that strategy to the next level, and the house edge reduces still further. The very best blackjack players who are expert card counters can develop a slight edge over the casino – although the house might not like it, as Ben Affleck learned to his cost.
Baccarat
We don’t mean the complex Chemin de Fer favored by James Bond, but the simple version of baccarat known as punto banco has a house edge of just over one percent as long as you stick to “player” or “banker” bets. Avoid the tie bet at all costs, as the 14 percent house edge is one of the most severe you will find in the entire casino.