Today, I'm going to talk about odds. No, not weird people, but the likelihood of coming away a winner in certain games of chance.
Almost every game which involves placing a bet in the hope of receiving a return involves something called the house edge, the "house" being, for example, the casino, bookmaker or lottery operator. The house edge is the percentage of each bet that the house is expected to retain. If there was no house edge, all these businesses wouldn't be in business. It's what keeps the lights on. At this point, you're probably thinking that some bets have to be a lot better than others, which is to say, the house edge has to vary depending on the game. And, of course, that's exactly right.
First of all, let's look at a really bad bet. National lotteries. Of every dollar wagered, it's not uncommon for the lottery organizer to take somewhere in the region of 50 cents. That makes the house edge a staggering 50 percent, which is to say that the player can expect to see a return of just 50 cents in the dollar over the long term. Still want to play Lotto this weekend? Yes, dreaming of what you're going to do with those millions is fun, but you and I both know that the likelihood of a win like that is infinitesimal.
As a counter example, consider a game that would have no house edge at all. The simple toss of a coin, where you double your bet if you call the coin correctly, and lose if you get it wrong. In the long term, you can expect to win a dollar for every dollar you bet. That doesn't sound very exciting, but to properly calculate odds, one has to look at the long term, or what the result would be over an infinite number of games. In the short term, you could go on a winning streak in your favorite game and do very nicely for yourself. Believe me, I've been there!
Casino games fall broadly somewhere between these two examples. Thankfully, most of them are a lot closer to being an even bet than to a national lottery. One of my favorite games, blackjack, has a tiny house edge of only one half of one percent (0.5%), and that's with fairly average rules. Make your gambling dollar go a lot further - choose your casino games wisely and, while you won't come away a winner every time you play, your money will last longer and you'll have more fun along the way. Sometimes, you'll even find a casino game where the player has an edge. If you do find one of these, you should usually play it at once, and play it hard, because the math is in your favor! Naturally, such games are extremely rare, but they do appear from time to time, and so I'll come back to them in future posts.
Time for an awesome offer! This one comes from Vegas Palms, another well respected online casino from the Fortune Lounge group, with an amazing range of games. As a new player, they'll give you an 100% match on your first deposit, up to $100 or 100 euro. Simply click the banner below and you'll be playing in no time!
In the weeks to come, I'll discuss the odds of some of the world's most popular gambling games, such as blackjack, roulette, baccarat and craps, and some tips and tricks on how to maximize your return from each game. Not secrets, just good sense! I hope you enjoy.
Almost every game which involves placing a bet in the hope of receiving a return involves something called the house edge, the "house" being, for example, the casino, bookmaker or lottery operator. The house edge is the percentage of each bet that the house is expected to retain. If there was no house edge, all these businesses wouldn't be in business. It's what keeps the lights on. At this point, you're probably thinking that some bets have to be a lot better than others, which is to say, the house edge has to vary depending on the game. And, of course, that's exactly right.
First of all, let's look at a really bad bet. National lotteries. Of every dollar wagered, it's not uncommon for the lottery organizer to take somewhere in the region of 50 cents. That makes the house edge a staggering 50 percent, which is to say that the player can expect to see a return of just 50 cents in the dollar over the long term. Still want to play Lotto this weekend? Yes, dreaming of what you're going to do with those millions is fun, but you and I both know that the likelihood of a win like that is infinitesimal.
As a counter example, consider a game that would have no house edge at all. The simple toss of a coin, where you double your bet if you call the coin correctly, and lose if you get it wrong. In the long term, you can expect to win a dollar for every dollar you bet. That doesn't sound very exciting, but to properly calculate odds, one has to look at the long term, or what the result would be over an infinite number of games. In the short term, you could go on a winning streak in your favorite game and do very nicely for yourself. Believe me, I've been there!
Casino games fall broadly somewhere between these two examples. Thankfully, most of them are a lot closer to being an even bet than to a national lottery. One of my favorite games, blackjack, has a tiny house edge of only one half of one percent (0.5%), and that's with fairly average rules. Make your gambling dollar go a lot further - choose your casino games wisely and, while you won't come away a winner every time you play, your money will last longer and you'll have more fun along the way. Sometimes, you'll even find a casino game where the player has an edge. If you do find one of these, you should usually play it at once, and play it hard, because the math is in your favor! Naturally, such games are extremely rare, but they do appear from time to time, and so I'll come back to them in future posts.
Time for an awesome offer! This one comes from Vegas Palms, another well respected online casino from the Fortune Lounge group, with an amazing range of games. As a new player, they'll give you an 100% match on your first deposit, up to $100 or 100 euro. Simply click the banner below and you'll be playing in no time!
In the weeks to come, I'll discuss the odds of some of the world's most popular gambling games, such as blackjack, roulette, baccarat and craps, and some tips and tricks on how to maximize your return from each game. Not secrets, just good sense! I hope you enjoy.
This post first appeared on Online Casinos, Gambling, Play Blackjack, Play Slo, please read the originial post: here
