August 2, 2024 by

How to Reduce Much of the House Edge

It is as true a truism that casinos have an inherent advantage over players.  Slots Play Casinos would like to talk about how online casino gamers can, if they are lucky and pay attention to detail, and do everything they can to play online casino games correctly, can, at times, win big at the online casino and take a large measure of the advantage away from the house.

These strategies do not work at land-based casinos as we shall see.

Play in Short Sessions

By playing in short sessions, online casino gamers can stay as alert as they need to in order to win more than they lose.  People get tired.  Short sessions allow some gaming but not too much.  Remember, an online casino will be open and available whenever you want to play again.

A player’s time at a land-based casino is limited.  So, players spend much too much time on the casino floor.  In practical terms, it is almost impossible to play casino games at a land-based casino for a short period of time.  Players spend a good deal of money just getting to the casino and, if they want to stay for a long weekend, also have to pay for a hotel room.

The only reason to go to a land-based casino is to play casino games.

Short Gaming Sessions Give Players the Chance to Explore Other Activities

We used to talk about hobbies.  Among the very long list of hobbies, no one has ever listed “playing casino games”.   Playing casino games is a fun activity but it is not a hobby.

There is a great deal of advantages to play casino games, online, and then to move on to another salutary activity.  In a 30–60-minute session, a gamer who is playing for fun might lose some money but he or she will not lose too much money.

Play Within Your Means

There are some people who simply do not like to plan things from a financial point of view.  These people should never play casino games, online or on land, for real money!  The first thing a new casino gamer should do is to decide how much he or she can afford to play with.  If the answer is zero, the player can play in free play mode at a good online casino.  This option is never available at a land-based casino.

How Can Gamers Determine if They Can Afford to Play for Real Money?

This is a totally subjective question.  It has to do first of all with how much a gamer is able and willing to spend on entertainment.  If you see casino gaming as gambling, it is very likely that you can’t afford to play for real money at all!

If you see online casino gaming as entertainment, you should be able to decide more easily how much money you can budget for gaming.  That’s because we all budget for entertainment, at least in our heads.

Play Slots with Low Volatility

Volatility refers to how winnings get distributed.  A slot with high volatility has fewer winning spins that tend to pay relatively higher sums of money.  A slot with low volatility has many more winning spins each of which pays a relatively small sum of money.

These two slots may both have the same return to player rate.  The upshot is that gamers who play slots with low volatility have a much better chance of ending a short session in the black or, at least, not deeply in the red.

Slots Play Casinos has recommended 30 online casinos.  With Instant Play, gamers can play at all of them!  Even if you have a hard time finding a slot with low volatility at one casino, there are 29 others to look at.  Finally, if you can’t find any low volatility slots that are to your liking, the best strategy is to not play at all.

Remember the Great Ending in the Movie War Games?

The computer goes through hundreds of simulations of a nuclear war.  The computer finally determines that the only way to win is to not play at all!  It’s worth a look – check out the scene here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s93KC4AGKnY&ab_channel=Techno947

Play European or French Roulette

The house edge in American Roulette is about 5.5%, in European Roulette it is about 2.75%, and in French Roulette it is about 1.5%.  The reason the house edge is so low in French Roulette is because they have a special feature that applies only to the so-called even money bets.

If you can find a French Roulette game and are happy making the even money bets, then French Roulette can give you a good, relaxing time.  It takes just a little luck to finish a session of French or European Roulette in the win column.

Land-based casinos, especially at American casinos, offer only American Roulette with its very high house advantage.

Never Use a Betting System

Since we are on the subject of the even money bets in roulette, we should talk about betting systems.  THEY DO NOT WORK!

Let’s explain the giant flaw in betting systems by analyzing a short losing streak while using the most famous betting system, the Martingale System.  In this system, a player doubles his or her bet after every loss.  Then, when a win inevitably comes the player wins and profits by the amount of their original bet.

First a simple example:

Player bets $5                         The bet loses.

Player bets $10                       The bet wins.

This is a reasonable outcome since we are talking about even money bets.  In this example, the player lost $5 and then won $10 for a profit of $5.  If this scenario repeats itself again and again, the player will win a good sum of money.

But let’s see what happens if the player has a four or five spin losing streak.  This is also very common.

Player bets $5               The bet loses.

Player bets $10             The bet loses.

Player bets $20             The bet loses.

Player bets $40             The bet loses.

Now the player has to bet $80 in order to win just $5.  And if the losing streak extends to five spins, the player would have to bet $160 just to win $5.

We spoke earlier about playing within your means.  This is the exact opposite of playing within your means.

Play Blackjack or Video Poker

These are games of strategy.  In order to win, a gamer has to be alert and pay close attention on every hand.  If the gamer does so, the return to player rate is about 99.5%.  The best strategy for every hand is known because computers have analyzed the results of millions of hands.

The online casinos we recommend all pay 3-2 for a blackjack and 9-6 for a full house and a flush in video poker.  Increasingly, land-based casinos pay only 6-5 for a blackjack and 8-5 or 7-5 for a full house or a flush in video poker.

Play Progressive Slots in Moderation

Most progressive slots have high volatility.  In addition, in order to win the giant jackpot, gamers have to be the maximum on the winning payline.  This can put a dent in a gamer’s bankroll.  So, play moderately.  You can budget a few spins at a huge progressive jackpot rather than use the entire session on progressives.

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We publish many guides such as this one to help gamers get the most out of their real money gaming experience.  As we publish every week, we encourage gamers to…

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David is our amateur economist and political philosopher, weather enthusiast, killer Sudoku fan, and best darn game analyst we've found.

In the twenty or so years since graduating college David has completely changed his gaming practices. Where once he played mostly video games with the occasional swing at blackjack at land-based casinos, David switched course and became a regular Sudoku player. David says that he likes the intellectual challenge of solving difficult problems.

Since he began playing Sudoku in earnest, David has ... [Read David Connor full bio]