What Is a Casino? What Is Gambling?This site is about casino gambling strategy. (You probably gathered that from the logo, the header tag, and the URL, but heck, these days–you never know.) When I write about something, I like to break it down into its components and really understand the pieces and parts. Once I understand them, I can understand how they’re put together. So this page about casino gambling strategy page starts by defining three words:
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Now that’s not the end of what I hope to accomplish on this page. After getting the definitions out of the way, I’m hoping to synthesize those three definitions into something useful–a strategy that you can use to get the most enjoyment out of your gambling hobby.
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What Is a Casino?
A casino is a building where gambling goes on. That’s a broad definition, but it’s an accurate one. It’s also a little bit out-of-date, because now that there is an Internet, a website could also be considered a casino, or even just a software program on a computer or an iPhone. In those cases, the website or software replace the building.
If you think about it for a minute, a lot of places that you didn’t think of as casinos are actually casinos. For example, you can’t turn a corner in the airport in Las Vegas without bumping into a slot machine. That means that the airport there is also a casino.
In a lot of states, video poker machines are commonly found in bars. That makes those bars casinos also.
A bingo hall is also a casino. Playing bingo is gambling, albeit a very socially acceptable form of gambling. Some churches offer bingo, and when they do, they’re not just a church–they’re also a casino.
Some places only offer poker. They’re called cardroom or poker rooms. Even if they don’t offer what you might consider “traditional” casino games like roulette, blackjack, or slot machines, poker cardrooms are still considered casinos.
Even a horsetrack or a dogtrack can be considered a casino.
Why go into this much detail about how many different places fall under the definition of casino? Because it clarifies why the content on this site covers so many diverse subjects.
Picking the Right Casino Games to Gamble On
Players can find many games to gamble on at an online casino, but some games are better than others. Some casino gambling games are easier to win than others, because the house edge is lower. Games like blackjack and video poker are games of skill where strategy counts, while other games are pure games of chance.
Picking the right casino game helps a player stretch their bankroll, increasing one’s excitement and enjoyment while betting. Below is the house edge of the most popular casino games. The lowest house edge equals the right bet to choose. Many rules affect blackjack odds, so I use Vegas Strip Blackjack where blackjack pays 3:2, doubling is allowed, the dealer stands on soft 17, and splitting to four hands is allowed.
- Single-Zero Roulette: 2.70%
- Double-Zero Roulette: 5.26%
- Single-Deck Blackjack: 0.50%
- 2-Deck Blackjack: 0.78%
- 6-Deck Blackjack: 0.91%
- 8-Deck Blackjack: 0.97%
- Craps: Come/Pass Line Bet: 1.41%
- Craps: Don’t Come/Don’t Pass Bet: 1.36%
- Craps: Any Seven Bet: 16.67%
- Baccarat: Banker Bet: 1.06%
- Baccarat: Player Bet: 1.24%
- Baccarat: Tie Bet: 14.36%
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How to Win Casino Games
Using time-tested betting strategies is the best way to win at casino games. For instance, basic strategy in blackjack provides the player with the optimal play in each scenario. In other games, no strategy exists besides finding the best bets in the game and using a winning betting system to manage your bankroll. Avoid the trendy betting systems like the Martingale, but instead use bankroll management to assure you limit losses when the game doesn’t go your way and lock in winnings when you’re on a winning streak.
What Is Gambling?
Gambling is when you wager money on games of chance or skill. It’s not the chance element that makes the activity gambling; it’s the betting of the money on the outcome of something.
For example, if you bet $20 on a game of billiards, you’re gambling, even though it’s a game of skill.
Legal definitions about gambling on games of skill and gambling on games of chance can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but gambling is gambling.
Gambling Tips to Win
Do your research, because there are online casino tips for winning that you can follow to boost your chances of winning and lower your risk of ruin. Casinos have a house edge in most games, which you should consider the price of entertainment. The great thing about gambling is you have a chance to win back the price of admission and then some. The casino winning tips below should give you a start on your research.
Use Rewards and Bonuses: Never turn down comps of any kind. Always accept bonus offers, player rewards, and other promotions. Nothing lowers the house edge more than free money, so never play without using sliding your slots card into the machine or without inputting a coupon code you have.
Choose a Win Goal: “Win goal” is a money management term. It means you set an amount at which you end your gaming session. If you’re win goal is $500 and you win $500, you immediately quit playing. If you’ve won $499, then it’s alright to keep playing. Setting a win goal helps you lock in winnings.
Set a Loss Limit: “Loss limit” is another bankroll management term and is the opposite of a win goal. It means you set a minimum amount at which you stop playing. Loss limits keep a gambler from going on tilt, while assuring responsible play. Your loss limit might mean you either end the session or take a few minutes break before using more of your bankroll.
Avoid Progressive Betting: You’ll read a lot about progressive betting systems like the Martingale, D’Alembert, and Fibonacci methods. Avoid any progressive betting system, which requires bigger wagers after losing hands/spins/rolls. Such bets win small amounts in the short run, but risk losing your whole bankroll if you get unlucky.
Folding in Poker Games: Mastering the art of folding is important in games like Texas Hold’em, Three-Card Poker, and Let It Ride. Poker players tend to be brave souls. It’s natural to make a call or raise the bet, but some of the best hands you’ll play are those in which you choose to fold. In online poker games, bluffing is marginal, so learning when you should call or not is key.
What Is a Strategy?
A strategy is a course of action you decide on in advance. For example, a gambling strategy might be to learn how to play blackjack using perfect strategy by memorizing a basic strategy chart, and then testing yourself with an online basic strategy tutor. The second step in that strategy might be to learn how to count cards by reading a book on the subject, picking a methodology, and practicing at your kitchen table until you can count down an entire deck in 60 seconds or less. The next step in that strategy might be to set aside a bankroll large enough to withstand the effects of standard deviation and avoid going broke. Your final step would be to embark on your new career (or avocation) as a card counter.
But that’s not the only valid gambling strategy. Your strategy might be to set aside $50 out of every paycheck to play the slots with. You make a single trip to a casino once a month with a bankroll of approximately $200. If you lose the $200, you quit for the session, and you return the following month to try it again. If you win $200 or more, you quit winners for the session, have some fun with your winnings, and return the next month with your new $200 bankroll that you’ve accumulated.
The first strategy (the blackjack strategy) is a positive expectation strategy, assuming you can develop the skills involved, and also assuming that you have the self-discipline to follow it. A positive expectation strategy is one which can expect to win money over a long enough period of time. In the short term, anything can happen, but in the long run, gamblers with a positive expectation strategy expect to win more than they lose.
The second strategy (the slot machine strategy) is a negative expectation strategy. Slot machines are a negative expectation game, and even reasonable money management tactics like the one outlined above won’t overcome the game’s built in mathematical disadvantage over the long run.
Is one strategy better than the other?
That depends on your goals as a gambler. If your goal is to earn a living gambling, then you’d want to stick with some kind of strategy and game where you can get a positive expectation. Blackjack, poker, video poker, and sports betting are all gambling games where you can get a positive expectation IF you acquire the necessary skillset.
On the other hand, if your goal is to entertain yourself and occasionally celebrate a big win, and you don’t mind spending the money for that entertainment, the slot machine strategy above would work fine for you. Almost all other gambling and casino games besides the ones I mentioned in the last paragraph are negative expectation games, so you cannot hope to get an edge when playing them. Games like roulette, slot machines, craps, and keno have a negative expectation, and anyone who plays them long enough will experience more losses than wins.
Best Gambling Strategies
Those are single tips for the most popular games, but readers might want more details. In the section below, we go over the best strategies for each popular game, including video slots and Texas Hold’em. Keep in mind that casino strategies which work in brick-and-mortar gaming establishments do not always apply to online and mobile casinos. Handy tips exist for each game, so each best strategy tip will help you walk out of the casino with a bigger bankroll than otherwise.
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