Originally posted by eatmybishopStatistically, blackjack and craps give you the best odds to win money. That said, I haven't seen any casino game where the player has even (i.e.: 50/50) chances of winning. The house will always have at least a small built-in advantage, otherwise it's not worth their time to host and operate the table.
what game would you say gives you the best chances of winning in a casino...?
i would say black jack because - as far as i can tell - gives you a 50/50 chance
Blackjack is probably the most skill-involved game you can pick due to the options you have as a player (doubling down, splitting, etc). Also, if you are a skilled player and understand how card counting works, it's easier to win money in a reliable manner with well-timed big bets as compared to any other given casino game.
*Disclaimer: Card counting is illegal and will get you tossed from a casino. My statements above are purely theoretical and for entertainment value only. 🙂
The last word in gambling:
http://wizardofodds.com/
The Wizard also has a page listing the house edge for various games under various rules:
http://wizardofodds.com/houseedge
From the list, it seems that liberal rules Blackjack gives the best bet with a house edge of only 0.28% (not every casino will offer odds this good), followed by Spanish 21 where the dealer stands on soft 17 at 0.40%, and Jacks or better full pay video poker at 0.46%.
Originally posted by CincoActually, this is a myth. It's legal so long as you don't use any outside assistance (i.e. electronic card counting devices and the like). The casinos just won't let you play if they notice you raising and lowering your bets in accordance with the distribution of the cards.
*Disclaimer: Card counting is illegal and will get you tossed from a casino. My statements above are purely theoretical and for entertainment value only. 🙂
Originally posted by Cincowhy isnt it 50/50... if both players have to get to 21 from random cards how can one person be favourite... does the dealer win on a draw?
Statistically, blackjack and craps give you the best odds to win money. That said, I haven't seen any casino game where the player has even (i.e.: 50/50) chances of winning. The house will always have at least a small built-in advantage, otherwise it's not worth their time to host and operate the table.
Blackjack is probably the most skill-involved game y ...[text shortened]... m a casino. My statements above are purely theoretical and for entertainment value only. 🙂
Dealer automatically wins with Blackjack, as I recall, although a tie is still a push in any other case.
Banana is right though. Card counting isn't illegal in and of itself, but casinos don't like it, and many institute ways to make it less effective, such as using boots with more decks to make odds less susceptible to temporary factors.
Originally posted by CincoThe only reason you would ever want to count cards in blackjack is to know when to bet big. Sure, you may get a better idea of how solid a given double down is, but one wager is insignificant over a long period of time if you're working the system. In reality, the casino doesn't care what you do, so long as your money goes home with them at the end of the day. If you figure out how to keep it and take a chunk of theirs on top of that, then you know why card counting isn't allowed.
Also, if you are a skilled player and understand how card counting works, it's easier to win money in a reliable manner with well-timed big bets as compared to any other given casino game.
*Disclaimer: Card counting is illegal and will get you tossed from a casino. My statements above are purely theoretical and for entertainment value only. 🙂
Originally posted by Hollyw00dTechnically true, but funnily enough there are games that have a player advantage! Granted, they're hard to capitalize on, but in theory if you had a big enough bankroll you could make a career (of sorts) out of it:
lol, there's no game in Vegas that gives you a 50/50 chance.
http://wizardofodds.com/videopoker
The return for a full pay deuces wild machine is 100.71% using the simple strategy in the link above, and 100.77% using the more difficult to implement optimal strategy.
The idea of card counting is simple: A's and 10's are better for the player, while lower cards are better for the dealer. The better the odds of winning are, the more you bet.
In a simple system, you add 1 for 10s and As and remove one for 2-6s. The higher the count, the more you bet (there is aspecific amount you're supposed to bet but I can't think of it off the top of my head.).
Card counting is perfectly legal. However, as Casinos are private property, they reserve the right to 'remove' anyone they'd like. Card counters.
Also, videopoker can have an edge for the player if played perfectly, but it's a pain to identify the ones that are. Theoretically, you could have an edge over a slot machine if the Jackpot was high enough, but that probably won't happen.
Wizard of Odds is definitely the best resource for gambling information. What I love is that it's purely math, all of it. I wish I had the time to do something like that.
Thanks for reading through all of my spelling mistakes!
I have a friend, he used to be a professional card counter. He told me that usually in blackjack, the casinos win about 52.5% of the time. He had taught me a strategy that he claimed to reduce this (without card counting) down to a ~50.4% win rate for the casino. I would assume that counting would reduce this to less than 50%, but I'm not sure. Anyway, he told me he stopped playing after he was beaten up for counting. I'd hesitate to believe what he told me though.