Industry News
1. Can a person really beat the casinos?
Yes, a person can really beat the casinos -- if that person plays the right games the right ways. Unfortunately, most people won’t be that person who beats the casinos because most people play games that give the casino the edge. You can -- with expert play -- beat the following games: blackjack, video poker, and regular poker. Here I am saying that you can actually beat the math of the game and get the edge.
2. How much of a [mathematical] edge can you get on these games?
A good card counter at blackjack playing games with good penetration and good rules can get between a 0.5 percent and a 1.5 percent edge. I’d guess most card counters are playing with a one percent edge. Good single-deck players are probably closer to the 1.5 percent, while good shoe players are probably closer to the 0.5 percent. A lot of the percentage advantage that a card counter has depends on how much money he can get on the table when the game favors him. On select full pay or more-than-full pay video poker machines you can probably play even with the house to realizing about a two percent edge on some machines. On regular poker, it is much harder to estimate an advantage but some people can and do make a living playing poker. A good dice controller can probably get a 5 percent to 10 percent edge when he shoots. That edge will be reduced if he plays the other shooters, which he must to do be allowed to shoot in the first place.
3. What are your favorite games?
Craps first, blackjack second.
4. What are your least favorite games?
Any game that gives the casino a huge edge over the player is out. So the Big Wheel and Sic Bo are out. I also don’t enjoy playing Caribbean Stud -- too many frustrating hands and a pretty high house edge to boot. I am also not a video poker lover -- even though some of the best games in the casino are in video poker. I spend a tremendous amount of time in front of my computer screen so that when I go to a casino I want to play games where I get to see people in action with me.
5. Which games make the most money for the casinos?
The most overall money is made from slots, followed by blackjack, with craps and roulette right behind. More people play those games than any others. However, there is another way to figure what the casinos make and that is on a game per $100 bet ratio. This is called the win rate. Here are the some real-world win rates for the various games in both Atlantic City and Las Vegas. My guess is that other gambling jurisdictions such as Mississippi and Illinois are probably consistent with these results as well.
However, these jurisdictions do not release their figures based on individual games.
The percent means that for every $100 bet, the casino kept that percentage.
Remember that the casino win rate is really the player loss rate! Hold your breath.