Win at casino games - 2004

by Edmond Hoyle - Feel free to distribuite and reprint this text, provided you credit it to "Online casino and gambling guide AskWinner.com - Edmond Hoyle"

Introduction: games of skills and games of chance
Casino games can be divided in games of skills and games of chance. In games of skills, your choices may make a difference in the final outcome; in games of chance, luck decides.

Here you find an applied use of math and statistics, to higher your chances to win at game of skills and lower your chances to loose at games of chance. Rules can change from casino to casino and, sometimes, from table to table. Make sure to know the rules applied at the table you are playing before playing. And remember there's no 100% secure method to play (see conclusions for further information about this).

Practise now! Download and play for free at casino games as black jack, roulette, craps, videopoker, slot machines, baccarat, keno. Plus poker rooms and live dealers games.

Games of skills: Blackjack
In the '50s, "Beat the dealer" provided a statistical analysis of the best way to play black jack. Since then, casinos started using multiple decks.

At Black Jack, you play against the house. What other players are doing is irrelevant for you. If you like to know the basic rules of this game, just browse our BlackJack guide .

Card counting is not welcome by casinos, players are kick out for doing this. In card counting, players switch from very low bets, when odds are against them, to high bets, when odds are in their favour. So what I offer you is a set of rules which helps you, without transforming you into a card counter.

Hint: 10, J, Q, K are all worth 10 points. This means cards with a value 0f 10 are the most frequent in the deck. When deciding what to do, think that the dealer's card face down is more likely to be a 10 than something else. If you have 12 and the dealer has a 2 face up, from a statistical point of view chances are the dealer has got 12 all together.

Insurance: avoid it.

Doubling down: double down when you have:

• hand of 11

• hand of 10 and the dealer has 9 or less

• hand of 9 and the dealer has 3-6

• hand of ace and another card 2-7, with the dealer's card of 6,5 or 4

Splitting: split when you have:

• a pair of aces

• a pair of 8s

• a pair of 2s, 3s, 6s, 7s and the dealer has 3-7

• a pair of 9s and the dealer has 9, 8, 6-2

Drawing: draw when you have:

• hard hand of 11 or less

• hard hand with a score of 12-16 and the dealer's card is 7 or higher, ace included

• soft hand of 17 or less

• soft 18 and the dealer has a 9, 10 or ace

Stand: when you aren't in any of the conditions above, stand

Honest games: play only at licensed venues. Unlicensed venues offer no guarantee you'll get a honest gaming experience. From a statistic point of view, you should get one blackjack every 20 hands. Always from a statistic point of view, using the strategy outlined above you should win 40-60% of the times. These are statiscal information only, you can win much more or the house can win much more.

Games of chance: Roulette
Doubling up, also known as "martingale", is one of the most rumored strategy to win at this game. Don't double up: if you bet $1 and you keep doubling, chances are you'll end up risking hundreds of dollars just to get your $1 back. And table limits may prevent you from keeping rising your bid.

Hints: quantify your daily bankroll and set take-profit limits. If you have $1,000 for the day, never bet more than 1% of your whole bankroll. If you don't win, don't double and keep betting 1% of your current bankroll; when you win and you achieve your daily target (let's say: $3,000) enjoy your winnings and cash them. Quit when you are still winning.

Due numbers: there are people betting on numbers which hadn't come out for a long time. Consider that it's not rare to have ten or more red in a row, if you bet black that would be a bad news. If you bet red, compliments: you won ten times or more in a row!

Games of chance: slot machines
Almost every casino on earth offers a "slot players' club" with a fidelity card and comps for players. Remember to join these clubs, even if you bet every a few dollars. If you feel that the slots you are playing aren't paying out enough, just change it or go to another casino. Use the "players' clubs" but don't be used by them.

Hints: the same casino can host different slots, with different payouts and rules. Before sitting and playing, walk around the room and study the slots. Don't stare at other players. Slots with higher bets, usually, have better payout; but betting more you may also end your money sooner. At progressive slots, if you pay the maximum amount of coins, you get a better deal when you win. That means, from this point of view, it's better to bet five coins in a quarter slot than playing one dollar in a one dollar slot.

Games of chance: Videopoker
Instead of challeging other players, at videopoker you challenge a machine which is dealing you virtual cards. The cards are dealt using random generated numbers.

Hints: shop around for the best videopoker machine before sitting and playing. Choose a machine which fits your bankroll. Decide how much to bet everytime (f.e.: 1% or less of your $1,500 daily bankroll) and when to cash your winnings and leave.