Whenever it comes to gambling, the controversy surrounding the different gambling systems that are supposed to work one way or another, gathers steam. There are plenty of websites out there too, selling gambling systems, or offering them for free. The only problem with the roulette, bingo, slots and other casino game systems is that at the end of the day none of them works. There is a system at work in these games all right, but that system works for the casino and it’s called “the house edge”. Other than that there is no other system that can beat the house in the long run.
While they know they’re playing negative expected value games, casino gamblers persevere, because the short-term variance has the potential to make someone rich, before the long term negative EV kicks in. That is exactly what they’re after. Even though you’ll be faced with negative expected value most of the time in a casino, there are still some things you can do to reduce the house edge, to prolong the life of your bankroll this way, and offer yourself more chances at taking advantage of the short term variance.
The first thing you must do is to avoid games on which there is an exaggerated house edge. By that I mean Keno and Bingo, games which can yield as much as 60% profit for the house on every bet made. That is something your bankroll will definitely succumb to in a very short period of time.
Go for Blackjack instead. Everyone knows the house edge on this game is pretty low to start with, and if you learn basic strategy, you can further chip away at it. If you’re a good card-counter, you may even turn it around, although I wouldn’t recommend doing that because it might just land you in trouble.
Games like slots and video poker have a reduced house edge as well, because when it comes to them, the house looks out for the volume of players, rather than the quantity of revenue generated by an individual player. Just compare the fuss it takes to set up a roulette or a craps table to slots and video poker machines. Not only does roulette take up a lot of room, there’s also casino personnel required to operate it. Slot machines operate virtually cost free, and all they need is periodic maintenance. One can cram a few tens of these machines into the same space a roulette table takes up. This is why the casino can afford to post some really insignificant house edges on these games.
Watch out though, different slot machines feature different pay-out rates. Make sure you choose the one that gives you the best pay-out before you sit down.
Most live casinos (brick and mortar ones that is) also have a poker room. The poker room is where people play Texas Holdem, Omaha, Stud or other poker variants against one another. The house makes the money through the rake, so there’s no need to impose a house edge upon these games. This is why poker can be a positive expected value game for a skilled competitor.
If you decide to take your poker game online, the positive mathematical expectation on it will be further augmented. You’ll receive a sign-up bonus when you deposit money into the poker room you intend to play at, a bonus which will be redeemed through play. Some poker rooms also offer rakeback deals. If you sign up to one such deal, you will get a part of the rake you generate for the poker room back. The standard rake rebate percentage is 30, but there are offers out there, far more generous than that.
If you sign up as a prop player for instance, you’ll get more than 100% rakeback. That means you’ll actually end up being paid to play. There are certain restrictions for these deals though, and they may just make it impossible for a less skilled player to take advantage of the great bargain.
Even though casino games are all about negative EV online too, in an online casino, a player will get the chance to do away with the house edge completely. Online casinos offer bonuses upon sign-up too, and through well-informed bonus whoring, one can indeed squeeze good value out of his online gambling.
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