Casino games are a form of gambling that is mostly left up to chance. Most players approach gambling online as an entertaining pastime and, if they’re especially lucky, maybe a fun way to win some extra money. What some people don’t know, however, is that there are online casino tips and advice that you can follow to improve your odds of winning significantly.
Admittedly, no casino strategy can guarantee your victory over the online casino – but they can improve your probability of winning by several percentage points. Over time, those slight increases add up and can be the difference between one’s bankroll growing or shrinking.
The trick is to play casino games with the lowest house edge and to reduce their advantages even more by using optimum playing strategies.
Payout Rate and House Edge Explained
There are two key concepts that players need to understand before trying a strategy at a casino. Those concepts are the payout rate and the house edge. A better understanding of these topics will help you know the difference better good strategies and bad ones.
The payout rate is a ratio that tells players how often they can expect to win at a given game. It is also referred to as the return to player (RTP). A payout can be expressed as a ratio or a percentage.
Generally speaking, you are more likely to win at games that have higher payout rates. For instance, an online slot game could advertise a 98% RTP. That implies that players will win back 98% of the money they spend playing the machine and the remaining 2% would be the house edge.
As we mentioned before, casino games are considered “games of chance,” which are games in which the outcomes are mostly, if not entirely, random. The player’s choices only have a slight impact on the results.
For example, in the classic casino table game roulette, there’s nothing the bettor can do to improve their odds of winning. They bet a number (or range of numbers), then the dealer spins the wheel and sends the ball spinning in the opposite direction around the track. Physics and luck decide on which number the ball eventually lands. No matter what strategy is implemented, each number has the same probability of landing on every single spin.
Online casinos use random number generators to drive their games of chance.
An RNG is a piece of software that randomly generates strings of numbers, each of which represents a specific card or outcome. Whether you’re playing blackjack, slot machines, or Texas Hold’em, unless there’s a live dealer with real cards, the outcomes are decided by an RNG.
What is the House Edge?
Have you ever heard the saying “the house always wins?” It’s a true statement because casinos give themselves a mathematical advantage in every game. Does that mean you can’t win? Absolutely not! That saying only pertains to the house’s success over the long run because the math will ultimately work in their favor, even though some fortunate players will beat the casino along the way.
The house edge exists because casinos don’t pay out based on an outcome’s “true odds” of occurring. For example, an American roulette wheel contains 38 spaces – 36 red and black numbers and a green 0 and 00. If you bet a single number, you have a 1/38 chance of that pick landing on any given spin.
However, casinos don’t pay out at 38-to-1 for successful single number bets; they pay out at 37-to-1 instead. The house edge is the difference between the true probability and the actual payout. The same formula is applied to every casino game.
What smart gamblers do is minimize the house edge to the best of their ability and hope for a bit of luck. We can maximize our likelihood of winning by finding games with the lowest house edge, then utilize a sound online casino strategy to improve those odds even more.
Find games with the lowest house edge and learn the optimal online casino strategy to give yourself the best odds of winning.
Games with a Low House Edge
To give yourself the best chance to get lucky, you’ll want to play casino games with the highest rate of return to player and the lowest house edge. By identifying these games and using the best online casino tips and advice, your likelihood of winning money improves considerably!
| Game |
|---|
| Blackjack – When it comes to playing casino games, blackjack offers the most favorable odds you’re going to encounter online. Single deck blackjack has the lowest house edge you’ll find at 1.5%. All you must do is follow some basic strategies — that you don’t even have to memorize! While you’re playing online, you can use our blackjack online casino tutorial as a cheat sheet, so you always make the right decision whether to hit, stand, split, or double down! |
| Craps – Craps is a casino table game in which players gamble on the outcomes of a pair of dice being rolled. Some bets are made for a single roll while others remain alive until the shooter rolls a seven. That’s an extremely simplified explanation of the rules and available wagers, so if you’d like to learn more, check out our craps online casino guide. What’s important here is that the “don’t pass/don’t come” have a house edge of only 1.4% — one of the lowest you’ll find in the casino. |
| Baccarat – Baccarat is an extraordinarily simple table game with a relatively small house edge. It’s a card game played between two hands: the player and the banker. The side with the highest score wins; ties are also possible. However, there are different rules for the player and the banker, regarding when they must take a third card or stand. Betting on the player has the lowest house advantage with a rate of 1.5% since the casino takes a 5% on winning banker bets. |
| Video Poker – The variations of video poker with the lowest house edges usually have the evenest payout distributions. The games with massive jackpots have a higher house advantage – but that’s the cost of swinging for the fences. More than any other casino game listed in this section, it’s crucial that bettors use optimal playing strategy with video poker. Check out our online casino strategy guide for your favorite video poker variety to learn which cards to hold and discard in any situation. |
Learn the Rules and Strategy for Casino Games
Most casino games have optimal playing strategies that, when used correctly, give the player their best possible odds of winning money or breaking even. To benefit from them, it’s essential that you first understand the rules of the game. Our online casino strategy guides will then teach you what actions you can take to gain an edge.
The house advantage for some blackjack variations can be reduced to a minuscule 0.5% by a player who makes all their decisions based on optimal strategy. At that rate, the casino might have an advantage still, but it’s narrow enough for the player to feel extremely hopeful for any quick bout of cards. It doesn’t take much luck at all to turn that scenario into a winning equation!
Find your game of choice in our online gambling strategy guides library and research the optimum strategies. You may be shocked by how incorrectly you’ve been playing certain situations. The right answer isn’t always obvious – especially with regard to video poker and blackjack.
- Casino Strategies for Beginners
- Roulette Strategies
- Craps Strategy Guide
- Video Poker Strategies
- Blackjack Tips for Beginners
Casino Strategies By The Numbers
Casinos rely heavily on statistics to ensure they win in the end. As a result, many players have turned to mathematics to try and create a winning strategy. These strategies are well known, but they do not necessarily lead to more wins.
The Martingale System
One of the most famous betting methods is a negative progression system called the Martingale System. This method requires the player to double their bet after each loss. In theory, this would allow a player to always win in the end.
For instance, if you lose $10 on a hand of blackjack, then you should wager $20 on the next hand. If you win the second hand, then you will recoup your losses from the first hand and make a small profit.
There are multiple problems with the Martingale System. First and foremost, most casinos have maximum wager limits. This means that, eventually, you would not be able to double your wager. Also, continuously doubling your wager is a good way to quickly burn through your bankroll.
The Fibonacci System
Fibonacci’s number is one of the most important figures in all of mathematics. If you are unfamiliar, it is simply a sequence of numbers where each figure is the sum of the two numbers before it. For example, it starts as 0,1,1,2,3,5,8 etc.
The Fibonacci System uses this sequence of numbers, excluding zero, to determine your stake amount. In essence, you move one number further into the sequence after each loss. For instance, after four consecutive losses, you would wager five times your original wager.
In the end, the Fibonacci System has not been shown to increase your chances of making a profit. It also faces many of the same problems s other negative progressive systems. The biggest problems are that casinos have betting limits and players have limited bankrolls.
The Labouchere Betting Strategy
One of the more complicated casino betting strategies is the Labouchere System. This negative progression method is considered one of the best casino betting strategies by many players. However, it can take practice to master.
To use the Labouchere System, you need to start with a series of three numbers. These will be your initial betting amounts. Every time you bet, you add the first and last number of the sequence together to get your stake amount.
If you lose, you add the wager amount to the end of the sequence. If you win, you eliminate the first and last numbers from the sequence. You continue until all numbers are eliminated.
The Labouchere System differs from other negative progression systems in one key way. Instead of trying to recoup your losses all at once, you do so over a series of smaller wins.
Bad Casino Strategies to Avoid
Using a winning casino strategy is key if you want to have a profitable gambling experience. Unfortunately, there are plenty of bad casino systems that players use. Most of these have died out over time, but a few of them have stuck around and still trick players today.
Gambler’s Fallacy
Perhaps the biggest and most egregious bad casino system is what is known as the Gambler’s Fallacy. This system has been around for decades and is also known as the Monte Carlo Fallacy. Essentially, this strategy comes down to a misunderstanding of statistics.
Some casino bettors insist that if they play long enough, they will win. They throw around terms like hot and cold streaks, being due for a win, etc. Ultimately, none of these are true.
The Gambler’s Fallacy is a bad betting system because independent bets are not affected by one another. For example, your odds of getting a winning hand are not any higher just because you lost the previous three.
Playing Video Poker and Slot Machine Cycles
As is often the case, one bad betting system has created multiple other losing strategies. One of the branches in the Gambler’s Fallacy tree is the idea of video poker and slot games running in cycles.
Some players believe that if they play the same machine long enough, they will hit the jackpot. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Each spin on a slot machine is randomly generated.
The same logic is also wrongly applied to video poker games. On average, a royal flush appears on video poker games once in every 40,000 hands. However, just because you play 40,000 hands does not mean you will get a royal flush.
Slot Machine and American Roulette Systems
Speaking of slot machines, another bad casino system is trying to influence the house edge in slot games. The same goes for games of American Roulette. Ultimately, players cannot affect the house edge in these games of chance.
One example of a slot machine strategy is playing games that allow you to stop the reels. Some players argue that this gives you better odds of hitting the jackpot. Unfortunately, studies have shown that this is not the case with modern slot games.
Some experts have argued that it could hurt your chances in the long run. Stopping the reels allows you to play more games in a short time span. This can lead to your burning through your bankroll quicker.
Always Hedging Your Bets
Another popular casino system that has been proven false is to always hedge your bets. Certain casino games, such as roulette, allow players to wager on opposing outcomes. Some players argue that hedging your bets guarantees wins.
On the surface, this system makes sense. After all, how can you lose if you are betting on most of the outcomes? Hedging your bets may work in sports betting, but it is less successful when it comes to games at the casino.
That is because the fixed odds do not change in house-banked casino games. Also, payouts tend to be lower on these bets. That means most of the time you will just be breaking even.
Systems Can Only Do So Much
You should always be wary of anyone selling a betting system as a surefire answer to how to win at the casino. There are no “bulletproof” systems that are guaranteed to win all the time. Casinos wouldn’t last for very long – and cities like Las Vegas and Macau wouldn’t exist – if there were ways for the player to always win.
Still, you often see gambling “experts” touting things like progressive betting systems. The strategies usually involve following strict staking guidelines based on the outcome of your previous bet.
Progression Systems
In a positive progression system, the player increases the size of their bet after every win. Once they lose a round of betting, they decrease their stakes, often to the base stake at which they began. The idea is to maximize profits during winning streaks, then lessen the harm during stretches of bad luck.
Unfortunately, the math rarely works in the player’s favor and the uneven staking pattern often results in a loss of bankroll, even after losing and winning the same number of bets.
Negative progression systems take the opposite approach. The player doubles the size of their bet after every loss, assuming they must eventually win, at which point they’ll have won back all their losses. This casino is a recipe for disaster. One unlucky streak of bets can see your entire bankroll evaporated in minutes.
Some Systems Do Work in Certain Situations
There are some rare systems that can give you a slight mathematical edge over the house, but they’re quite complicated and very frowned upon by casino operators.
Card Counting
The most notorious example is counting cards in blackjack. A player or team of players keeps track of every card that’s dealt, giving them a better idea of what’s remaining in the deck. Based on those assessments, a talented card counter can better identify when to follow conventional blackjack strategy and when to adjust in accordance with the deck makeup.
Of course, card counting is only possible when playing blackjack in person. Online casinos don’t always show you other players sitting at the same table, much less the hands they’re dealt. And there’s no way to signal to each other the value of down cards before it’s time to hit or stand.
Bankroll Management
Bankroll management is a term used to describe planning ahead and organizing the money one plans to use for gambling. A smart player knows to only deposit additional cash into their account at designated, predetermined times and to use a staking plan to ensure they don’t run out of funds before they’re scheduled to add more.
Play Within Your Bankroll
The first step is to decide precisely how much money you’re planning to set aside for gambling, and how long you want it to last. Whatever that number may be, make sure that it’s an amount you can afford to lose without negatively impacting your life or finances. Online gambling is supposed to be fun; you shouldn’t leave your ability to pay your mortgage up to chance.
If you happen to blow through your bankroll faster than anticipated, take a break until it’s time to deposit more money – as determined before you started playing! Creating a staking plan is an excellent way to avoid this happening.
A staking plan organizes the size of your individual wagers. Once you’ve calculated your base stake, stick to the amount and don’t give in to the temptation of making larger bets.
Don’t Chase Losses
Chasing your losses is when a player starts losing, and rather than sticking to their staking plan or taking a break, they make larger and larger bets attempting to get back on track with one big win. Often, gamblers chasing losses will mistakenly feel “due.”
Avoid that temptation; gambling doesn’t work that way. Every bet is independent of every other.
Everyone runs into a stretch of bad luck from time to time. When it happens, it’s more crucial than ever to adhere to the staking plan and continue to play within your bankroll. Making the right decisions during a losing streak can protect players from devastating losses and other problem gambling behaviors.
One of the most common mistakes players make is creating a financial hole for themselves by chasing losses. It’s the fastest way to lose substantial sums of money in the blink of an eye, often with terrible personal consequences. Never chase your losses!!!
Quit While You are Winning
What’s the one thing every gambler says when they’re complaining about losing lots of money? “I was up…if I would have only quit while I was ahead.” When you’re fortunate enough to find yourself in the winnings, don’t get greedy and chase even more profits.
As we’ve already detailed throughout these online casino tips, the math is on the house’s side. Given enough time, that house edge will always prevail over your stint of good luck. Take your winnings and run; don’t test the math Gods!
There will always be plenty of chances to gamble again later. Better if it’s after you withdraw some of your winnings to enjoy in real life, so you’re not tempted to get careless and give it all back.
Assess Whether You are Fit to Gamble Online
Online gambling can be an extremely exciting form of entertainment, but it’s not for everyone. For some people, it can become an unhealthy addiction. Before you sign up for an account, assess whether you’re fit to gamble online. Are you certain that you can treat it like a hobby and nothing more? Can you remain responsible with your finances and avoid the pitfalls of problem gambling?
Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol and gambling can be a very toxic combination. There’s a reason brick-and-mortar have comped players’ drinks for so many years: drinking affects your judgment and lowers inhibitions, making it much more likely that you’ll lose track of how much money you’re gambling.
Do you fit that description? If so, you know to avoid combining these two activities like the plague. Everyone handles their booze differently, so be honest with yourself before getting online to play.
Alcohol probably won’t be helpful in your quest to maintain a smart online casino strategy, either. Lose your focus playing blackjack or video poker, and you’re liable to hold the wrong card or otherwise make the wrong decision, ultimately costing you precious percentage points of the house edge.
Emotional State
You’ll also want to take inventory of your emotional state before gambling online. It’s not good to be too high or too low when you hit the casino. People in a depressed or aggravated state are more prone to destructive habits and may gamble away more than they intend while not thinking straight and willing to risk it all.
On the other side of the spectrum, it’s not ideal to be too excited or manic either. A player in this mindset may feel like the universe is on their side and that nothing can go wrong. Don’t let a recent string of good fortunes delude you into feeling invincible.
You should also consider whether you’re well-rested. Researchers found that sleep deprivation is strongly linked to diminished self-control and riskier decision-making, which are key components of problem gambling.
Additional Online Casino Tips
Now that we’ve covered the basics of online casino strategy let’s take a quick look at a few additional tips to help you on your journey. After all, what happens at the tables is only one part of the battle.
We also offer online casino tips and advice on finding the right provider and getting the most out of perks like generous welcome bonuses.
Chose Trusted Online Casinos
Regardless of the games being played, or the strategies you plan to use, it’s important that you only patronize the most trusted online casinos. There are legions of illegitimate scammer gambling sites out there, and they can be challenging to differentiate from the quality operators to the untrained eye.
Fortunately, our experts have compiled lists of the safest, most reliable online casinos for our readers. Our detailed review process requires a deep look into each online casino, including website owners. We make sure our recommendations have stellar reputations throughout the gaming industry and no history of shady business dealings.
Take Advantage of the Bonuses
Bonuses can almost always be found in online casinos and consist of either free credits for signing up for an account or free money as a percentage of the total amount of your first deposit. Any casino bonus you receive should be seen as an opportunity to try new games on which you’d otherwise not risk your cash or to test new casino tips and advice.
Use your bonus cash to familiarize yourself with the optimal strategy for blackjack or a new video poker variation you’ve never played. The extra money gives you wiggle room to get comfortable in the online casino without risking your actual bankroll.
Keep It Fun
Remember, online casinos are meant to be a fun, convenient, stress-free form of entertainment. If it’s becoming anything more or less than that, you should consider taking a break or whether gambling at all is something you can do healthily.
If you believe you’re experiencing signs of problem gambling, please check out the following resources for help dealing with addiction and other related issues.
- Gamblers Anonymous
- Gambling Addiction (Addictions.com)
- National Council on Problem Gambling
- Therapy for Gambling Addiction
- Our Responsible Gambling Guide
Casino Strategy FAQs
This is a complicated question to answer. Ultimately, casino games are random. As a result, even the best casino strategies could lead to losing efforts.
There are also a ton of losing strategies on the market. As a result, many people doubt the effectiveness of casino strategies. However, the right strategy can lead to an increased payout rate over time.
The best betting strategy will change depending on the player and the game they are playing. You should adjust your strategy based on your bankroll and the payout rate of the game you are playing.
Generally speaking, the best casino strategies are ones that reduce the house edge. Doing so increases your chances of winning. However, it is important to remember that casino games are random and even the best methods will lose.
For the most part, yes casino strategies are legal as long as you do not break any house rules. Counting cards in blackjack was a popular strategy, but many casinos have banned it because it was too effective. Other methods, such as the Martingale or the casino bonus strategy are completely legal.
There are a ton of great reasons to play casino games online. Online betting sites offer a larger variety of games than your average casino. Also, they can offer better bonuses and rewards to players. You can even use many of the same casino gambling strategies at online betting sites.
Land-based casinos do not typically advertise the payout rate for games. However, most games have the same payout rate regardless of where you play. One notable exception is the difference in odds between Las Vegas blackjack and Atlantic City blackjack.
Online casinos on the other hand are different. Most of the time the RTP for a game will be displayed in the description. If not, you should be able to find it online.
