Playing The Odds In Online Casinos

For anyone who has ever placed a bet, they know that there is potentially maximum return from a minimal outlay. The dream of winning big is a constant draw for people to head to either a bookmakers on the high street or an online casino in the hope of holding the next golden ticket. The truth is that all betting is about mathematical odds, and there are methods to ensure that you have the best possible chance rather than being merely at the mercy of the Gods.

As mentioned above the term "odds" refers to mathematics, in particular the probability of a potential outcome of any event. In the United Kingdom there is a yearly bet offered by bookmakers that the country will see a "white christmas" - that snow will fall on Christmas Day somewhere in the country - determined by a number of factors that include the weather in the run-up to the day itself. In an online casino the odds will obviously relate to the particular game favoured by a player.

In poker, the best hand is a Royal Flush, having a probability of 40 in 2,598,960, or 0.0015% - incredibly small. Hence, should a player be presented with the opportunity to bump a royal flush from his pocket cards, he would be well advised to take it with both hands as the chances of another player having the same hand are incredibly small.

In Roulette, the odds are much more favourable, although the players are powerless to affect the outcome of the spinning wheel. Ergo, while they may have a chance 1 in 37 or 38 chance of landing their lucky number (depending if it is an American or European wheel), once that ball is bouncing around all they have is hope, as they have effectively already gone all-in on their number.

Perhaps little known amongst new visitors to online casinos is that blackjack, baccarat and craps offer the lowest house edge (that is, they offer the best odds of all the games available in the casino). The average house edge is around 5.6%, while blackjack offers the opportunity for skilled players to bring that house edge down to around 1.5%. However, the key word of which to take note here is "skilled". Like poker, blackjack is a game of skill that requires understanding in order to reap rewards, but unlike poker it is relatively simple. For this reason, any players taking their first foray into the casino would be well-advised to stick to blackjack, and before any such visit is made players should play several rounds with friends and family "for fun" before placing their hard-earned money on the line.

Like blackjack, craps has relatively good odds for the player and a lower house edge. Using dice (which only have a set number of combinations - far fewer than the roulette wheel), the players must essentially bet on the outcome of the roll. However, craps is far more complicated than blackjack, allowing players to make "pass-line" or "don't pass line" bets, or "pass odds" or "don't pass odds" if the shooter rolls a point on the "come-out roll".

From a simple glance, it is easy to see that while craps may offer casino bonuses, it is full of jargon that will take time for any new player to understand. The idea of blackjack is relatively simple and, being a game of skill, it is open to the in-game decisions of the player. Ultimately it comes down to a personal choice for the player, and whether he or she prefers to be the master of their own destiny or at the mercy of the board.