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Gambling Odds: Which Games Give You the Best Chance of Success?

If you want to bet wisely, play games where the odds start in your favor.
March 1, 2019
7 mins read

Some casinogoers are thrill chasers and enjoy playing even the craziest odds. Most of us, however, want to walk away from the casino games with a little more money than we came in with. There are a few casino games that offer much higher odds in your favor than any other game, although the payouts will typically be much lower than high-risk games. A very patient player, however, can accrue a good amount of money over a length of time.

It’s worth noting that there are no guarantees in gambling. I’ve seen Blackjack dealers get multiple blackjacks in a row, to the dismay of the players. Thus, when going for a low-risk gambling strategy, patience is the key, letting your winnings accrue over time, rather than throwing down big money. For an online casino that offers the games we’re mentioning in this list, plus many others, check out CasumoCasino.se.

Blackjack

Blackjack, also known as 21, is a classic and easy-to-learn card game. The objective is really quite simple: have a total numerical card value equal to or less than 21, and beat the dealer’s cards. Of all the casino games available, Blackjack has the highest odds in the player’s favor. In most casinos, the house edge is only around 1 percent for Blackjack, making it a truly luck-based game. Experienced players can reduce this edge to about 0.5 percent, using a few strategies.

It’s important to remember that the dealer is bound by the rules. The dealer must hit below 17, stand on exactly 17 and stand between 17 to 21. The dealer can also bust (go over 21), which is something worth considering. While most novice players will try to get a high numerical value to beat the dealer’s hand, more experienced players also consider if the dealer is likely to bust.

Because the dealer shows one card, you can make a guesstimate of their hand strength. For example, say the dealer’s show card is a face (K/Q/J). They might have a seven or higher as the hole card, intimidating many novice players into believing the dealer may have a high numerical value.

This leads to reckless hitting, trying to “beat” the dealer’s imagined value. However, consider: Maybe the dealer has a five or six as their hole card? Thus forcing the dealer to hit on a 15 or 16? Hitting on a 15 gives you a 54 percent chance of busting — on 16, it goes up to 62 percent! The fact the dealer must hit below 17 should be factored into your thinking. Here is a great chart of both player and dealer bust-out rates, depending on a dealer’s upcard, and the player’s numerical value.

Craps

If rolling dice for big money sounds appealing, you’ll be pleased to know that Craps offers nearly 50-50 win odds. There are a lot of complex side-bets happening in Craps, but beginners just need to remember two things: the Pass Line, and the Don’t Pass.

With the Pass Line, you are essentially betting on the “shooter” rolling a seven or 11. If they roll a two, three or 12, you lose. If they roll anything else, for example a nine, they continue shooting: but they must roll another nine before they roll a seven. If the seven comes up first, you lose.

On the Pass Line, the odds are only 1.4 percent in the house’s favor. This makes it quite fair, and if you’re on a hot win streak, you can walk away with a great payout; the key word there is if.

For even better odds, you can play the Don’t Pass line. This, however, has a bit of superstition attached to it amongst “serious” Craps players. Basically, Craps is a social game: on the Pass Line, everyone is betting against the house. They’re betting on the shooter to beat the house, so when the Pass Line wins, everyone wins.

When you bet on Don’t Pass, you’re betting against the shooter. Basically, if the shooter rolls a two, three or 12, you win, while everyone else loses. If you celebrate loudly, you’re basically celebrating that everyone else lost, which goes against the grain, since Craps is a social game.

In any case, the Don’t Pass bet lowers the house edge against you to a measly 1.36 percent, and offers 1:1 payout. Some casinos have instituted a “Bar 12” rule to recuperate their edge. If you bet Don’t Pass and the shooter rolls a 12, you “draw” against the casino and are refunded your bet. These Craps tables will be marked as being a Bar 12 game.

Roulette

The last game on our list is the classic Roulette, but it is the European version (single zero) that gives the best odds. European Roulette has a house edge of only 2.70 percent, whereas American Roulette is a whopping 5.26 percent. This is because American roulette features the 00 (double zero) pocket, whereas European roulette does not have this extra pocket.

The payouts are usually the same in both versions, however. There are a lot of betting strategies in Roulette, but beginners should stick to the basics. You can bet on red or black, odd or even, a section of numbers (one to 18, 19 to 36), and other variations. The riskier your bet, the higher the payout.

So a beginner can simply stick to betting on things like red:black or even:odd for a 1:1 payout ratio. This would give you a 48.60 percent and 47.4 percent winning odds in European and American roulette, respectively. Betting on a single number offers 35:1 payout, but your odds of winning drop considerably to around 2.70 percent.

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