Every casino player is out to find the game with the best odds to increase their chances of winning. After all, there’s no point mastering playing a game if the odds are against you winning a lot of the time. Your best bet is to find the casino games that have a lower house edge and therefore a higher rate of payout.
So how do you avoid the worst casino game odds and stick with those that have the best chances of winning? Keep reading to find out.
What is the House Edge and Why Does it Matter?
Firstly, to understand which casino games have the best odds of winning, we need to start with the house edge. It’s likely you’ve heard the phrase “house edge” but may not know what it means.
The house edge is the mathematical advantage a game has, in other words, it’s the ratio of the average losses compared to the amounts initially wagered. It can be considered as the percentage of a player’s bet that most casinos keep as profit for offering their games.
Why is a house edge important? Casino games with a low house edge pay back players more over time than those with a higher house edge, so the odds of winning are greater.
Another way of looking at it is by considering the RTP of a game (Return to Player payout), which is how much out of every dollar wagered that a player could expect to get back.
Knowing the differences in these two terms, is key to determining which casino games have the best odds of winning. To determine the games with the best odds, you’ll want to look for those with a low house edge and a high RTP.
Can You Beat Odds With Strategy?
The answer is, well, sort of.
Some games are based on luck and chance and no amount of gambling experience or strategy can improve their odds. Examples of different games of chance are slots, roulette, baccarat and craps, where the use of random number generators ensure the roll of a dice, spin of a wheel, appearance of a bonus symbol or turning over of a card is purely random and unpredictable, and therefore the outcome is not subject to a player’s level of skill.
On the other hand, the odds of winning in skill-based games like blackjack and poker can be improved simply by understanding the rules and knowing the best strategy to win. A house advantage can be brought down by a significant amount, to the player’s benefit, if the player plays his cards right, so to speak.
So without further ado, let’s look at which casino games offer the best casino odds.
The Best Casino Game Odds are…
Blackjack odds: 0.5 – 0.75% house edge
When basic strategy is used in a game of blackjack, players can influence the outcome significantly, winning many more bets in their favor than in any other game. Some players may think that winning blackjack takes luck but if the cards are played correctly, you are more likely to increase the odds of winning.
Blackjack skills can bring a house edge down, putting the odds at around 0.5 to 0.75% when the recommended betting on a basic blackjack strategy chart is followed. Even when not strictly following the best strategy, blackjack odds are often more favorable than many other casino games, making blackjack the casino game with the best chances to win.
Baccarat odds: 1 – 1.24%
James Bond’s favorite casino game is one of the best casino games to play as it’s easy to understand, exciting and offers excellent odds of winning. In baccarat, players bet on either the banker’s hand winning or the player’s. This popular table game pays out 1:1 for a win on the player’s hand, 8:1 for a tie, or 0.95 to 1 on a win on the banker’s hand, after a 5% commission is taken.
Despite the commission and lower payout for a banker win, betting on the banker provides the best odds in the game, with a 1.06% house edge, compared to 1.24% for a win on the player’s hand. Along with blackjack, these are some of the best odds you can find in a casino.
Craps odds: 1 – 1.6%
The crowds of onlookers gathered around a craps table at a land-based casino is a sign of just how exciting a game of craps can be, but are its odds at winning any good?
The dice game craps is another table game that gives players an excellent rate of return, with a house edge of about one percent on average. It’s one of the most popular casino games, and offers a number of different bets, including multiple dice throws and multi roll bets, each with their own odds of winning.
The wagers with the highest rates of return are the pass line and don’t pass line bets. The don’t pass line bet offers the best craps odds with a house edge of just 1.36%, which is also one of the lowest compared to other games offered by land-based casinos and online gambling sites.
The pass line bet is another bet with very decent odds, as it has just a 1.41% house edge. One of the easier craps bets to understand, the pass line bet provides multiple wins without the need to bet over and over again.
Three-card poker odds: 1.5 – 3.4%
Another game that provides good odds of winning is thee-card poker, where the RTP varies depending on how the player bets, reaching a house edge as low as 1.5%.
Side bets like the Pair Plus and Ante bonus can affect the odds, and when a player wagers on the Pair Plus, the house edge can be as high as 7.28% so sometimes may be best avoided. Players can increase their odds by using basic strategy, and always betting on Queen high.
Roulette odds: 2.7%
Roulette games, such as European roulette, French roulette and American roulette offer a high return to players. European roulette has 37 pockets where the ball lands on the roulette wheel (numbers 0-36), compared to 38 in American roulette (0 to 36 and a double zero pocket), and this slightly improves the odds at winning in European roulette, putting the odds at 35:1 on a single number bet on a roulette spin.
Other roulette games like lightning roulette have similar odds, where the payout is 30:1 on a straight-up bet, giving a house edge of 2.9%.
Honorable Mention Goes to… Slots
One casino game thought to have some of the worst odds are slot machines, but this is not necessarily true. Certainly, some slot machines don’t offer particularly good payout rates, but some have a pretty high house edge, even up to 99%. It’s worth looking into the RTP offered by various slot games to find one you like.
Bear in mind though that slots with a higher RTP often pay out more often but in lower amounts. While slot games with a lower RTP tend to pay out less frequently but pay out more money when they do.
Slots with good odds are more likely to be found at online casinos, which also offer video slots with the latest graphics and animated technology, innovative features, bonus rounds and free spins that improve the chances of winning with each spin.
Do Online Casinos Have Better Odds?
Online casino games are known to generally offer the best odds of winning while most land-based casinos offer worst odds on their offline gambling games. Although it must be said that not all games and casinos are created equal; as mentioned above some games have the best odds and provide better winning opportunities no matter where they’re played. Likewise, one gambling site might offer different odds from one game to another, and specific bets make a difference in house edge and RTP too.
But, as online casinos offer all the popular games you could possibly want from a casino, as well as the convenience of being able to play them wherever and whenever you like, if you’re looking to play casino games, an online casino is a great option, for both entertainment value and value for money.
So Which Casino Game Should You Play?
When you play casino games, you’re best to stick with games that have good odds, but also suit your style of play and what you want to get out of it.
Do you enjoy learning a game’s optimal strategy? Blackjack or three-card poker could be the games for you. Prefer the thrill of unpredictability? Craps and roulette might be your best option. Or if you enjoy a lighter style of entertainment with rules that are easy to understand, baccarat or slots could be the games for you.
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