The Online Casino Gambling Blog

I’ll begin by stating the obvious: the type of blackjack you’re playing will determine the odds you will receive. In single deck blackjack, the kind that is most common the house carries a .05% advantage. Beware that while many casinos advertise single deck blackjack they may have an actual policy of Blackjack paying 6-5 which will be posted somewhere near the table if this is the case. This 6-5 cost almost triples the house advantage upping it to 1.44% so be sure to watch out for the fine print before betting.

In most online casinos which are almost all run out of European countries the European style of blackjack is played wherein the dealer employs the ‘no peek’ rule that is the dealer’s hand is not checked for a blackjack after the cards are dealt but waits until the players have made their wagers and looked at their own cards. At this point the dealer then checks the hand if the dealer has a blackjack the player loses the entire amount wagered.

As for the other variants on the game the Atlantic City blackjack odds leave a player with a return of  -0.43% which is quite low leaving us with the idea that standard blackjack may be the way to go when playing this game. Atlantic City blackjack is also much more complicated as it uses eight decks of cards and players can split their hands up to four times. So really until you’re much further along in your understanding of the game you’ll want to stick to just regular blackjack.

Moving on from Poker to the next most popular gambling game we come to Slots. Calculating the odds of a modern day slot machine is not as easy as it used to be in the good old days when slot machines were mechanically operated. Long ago one could simply calculate any slot machine’s odds by counting up the number of symbols on the reel. Take for example a three reel slot machine with nine symbols and a single play line as our example. The calculations would be nine multiplied by nine multiplied by nine which gives you a total of seven hundred and twenty nine, possible winning combinations in any given spin. The odds of you hitting the jackpot are one in seven hundred and twenty nine. These day things have certainly changed since then.   In today’s modern world everything is becoming computerized, including the way slot machines operate. Modern slot machines are now programmed with a computer chip that generates combinations and payback percentages in accordance with the casinos, by randomly selected numbers. The old method of calculation the odds based on reels and symbols no longer applies.
 
The final result of the reels and combinations of each spin are totally dependent on those randomly selected numbers generated by the computer program. These computer programs are do not have any specific instruction on when to payout a jackpot, so don’t hold your breath on hitting the jackpot anytime soon.  Over time the machine will accumulate a certain amount of payback percentage, as set out by the casinos. As a result of this new system it would be pointless for anyone to try and calculate the odds of any slot machine, unless of course they had some inside information as to what the payback percentage was. The payback percentage of any given slot machine is totally dependent on the particular casino and has nothing to do with the particular type of machine.  

All slots machines have their legends printed on them which include rules of the game and possible strategies to follow to help even your chances of beating the machine, and the relevant payout information.  The higher denomination machines offer the highest payback percentage. The reason behind this strategy is that the casino can afford to use a smaller portion of the wagers from these higher paying slot machines to create the same amount of profit as the lower denomination slot machines. The more popular casinos usually offer higher slot machine payout percentages, because they have a larger amount of customers than the smaller casinos.

It makes no difference which slot machine you choose to play the fact is your odds can never be more that one hundred percent.  Some slot machines offer a payback of ninety nine percent while others offer a payback of seventy percent.  If you want to find the really high paying slot machines you will have to try as many machines as possible and you will eventually come across one that pays on a regular basis, these are called ‘loose machines’. Once you find a high paying slot machine you should keep on playing that same machine until you stop receiving any more hits. No one can predict how a slot machine is going to behave on any given day, you might receive a lot of hits on a particular day and the next day when you play on that same machine you might not receive a single hit. In a regular brick and mortar casinos the chances of winning the big jackpot are usually around five hundred thousand to one. If you were to hit one of these jackpots you would certainly have to think of yourself as one very lucky player.

What do you need to do to get the odds on your side? Don’t be greedy. A realistic gambler is more likely to cash out of a casino satisfied with their winnings than someone who goes in with dollar signs in their eyes.  Whether you’re a casual player who just wants to have fun for a couple of hours of online gambling or you’re serious about hitting the jackpot make sure you go in with achievable goals.

For example, say you log into a casino and give yourself a $100 bankroll the greedy player has hopes of turning that into $100,000 which while possible is entirely improbably. However, if your goal is to turn that $100 into $200 or so this is a much more realistic goal. The smart player will set achievable goals and quit once he or she has reached them.

Set your goals before you put down even one cent and make sure you stick to them. Know how much money you are willing to lose and when you get there, walk away. The most important thing to remember is don’t let the greed take over! If you have a strong sense of the reality of the situation then you are in a position to start gambling online or in a regular casino and because your goals are realistic, you will be much more likely to achieve them.

As important as having realistic goals is knowing the rules of the games you are playing inside and out. You wouldn’t buy stock in a company if you didn’t know what they manufactured would you? Well the same should apply to your gambling habits, don’t risk your money on something unless you are absolutely sure how it works.

So stick to these simple rules and practice self discipline. You will find yourself having a more satisfying and perhaps less expensive gambling experience. Use your common sense, stay in control of the little devil that whispers “<i>Just one more bet and things will turn around</i>” and you may well win the wager against any casino.

Casual or serious player alike you should definitely look for low limit table games or even play the 25 cent machines like video poker at the online casinos. These games are fun, and if you do end up blowing that $100 it will take you a much longer time to do so.