Despite being one of the most popular forms of entertainment globally, there is a widely-held misconception that casino games are all down to luck. While some games are pure chance, like slot machines where you cannot influence the outcome of any particular spin, some casino games do require a skill.
If you can improve the way you play these games, then you stand a far better chance of turning a profit during any particular visit to a casino, either live or online. As live casinos are opening up again after the pandemic, this is timely information.
But before we reveal which casino games have a significant skill factor, we need to discuss the house edge.
What is the casino house edge?
Skill or no skill, one thing is crystal clear about every casino game – the house always has an edge so that the odds are stacked in its favor. While you might think this is unfair, imagine what would happen if the players had the mathematical edge in one game… everyone would play that game, and the casino would go bust within weeks!
It’s best to consider the house edge to be a small tax on your entertainment. That way, you will accept that you will be expected to lose a little bit of cash over time. But in the short term, you can still make a profit on any given session.
The interesting thing about the house edge is that every casino game has a different house edge figure, so you are expected to lose more in some games than others. Take roulette, for example, which is one of those games that are purely luck-based. It has a house edge of 2.7% for European Roulette, which has one single zero segments. This means that for every $100 you spend, you are expected to lose $2.70. American Roulette, which has an added double zero segment, has a worse house edge of 5.26%.
On the flip side, baccarat has a low house edge of around 1% if you always bet on Banker. The result is purely luck-based.
OK, so Which Games Can be Improved with Skill?
The good news is some casino games do have a considerable skill element. This makes the experience far more engaging and has the added benefit that players can improve their winnings if they know what they are doing.
When you play online, you can practice these games for free before spending your cash. Online casino gaming is becoming more popular in the USA as more states legalize online betting. When you sign up, be sure to find a site that offers a generous welcome bonus. New Jersey was one of the earliest states to license online casinos, and it’s here you can take advantage of the Mohegan Sun bonus code.
Once you sign up, you’ll find the games where your skill and judgment play a big part in the outcome include:
- Blackjack
- Video Poker
- Casino Hold’em
By applying skill to the game, you can bring down the house edge and increase your chances of making a profit.
Of course, there is still some luck involved. For example, blackjack always relies on the turn of a card, but you use your skill to ascertain the probability of the outcome before deciding what to do. Here’s how each game uses your strategy.
Blackjack
Just about everyone knows how to play blackjack. You are dealt two cards, and you need to get the total score as close to 21 as you can without going bust, or at least beat the dealer’s total or see him go bust.
But if you apply some logic and skill to your game, you will do more than a simple “hit” to take another card; you can make informed choices. Here’s why…
As you likely know, every picture card in blackjack is valued at ten. That means every ten, jack, queen, and the king is ten, or 16 cards in every deck of 52. With that in mind, you can always assume that it’s most likely that the next card will always be a ten.
Now, you can use that knowledge to make your next decision based on two factors:
- The value of the dealer’s upcard
- The total of your two starting cards
If the dealer shows a high-value card like a nine or ten, you must assume his downcard is also of a high value, giving him a total of perhaps 19, 20, or even 21. With that in mind, you would play your own hand more aggressively to try to get closer to that sort of score. There is no point in standing on a score of 16 or 17.
On the other hand, if the dealer’s upcard is weak, like a 3, 4, 5, or 6, you would reason that his down card is value 10, giving him a score of 13, 14, 15, or 16. He would have to take another card and likely go bust – so you can afford to stand on a wider range of hands, even 12.
Further skill elements include knowing when to double down and split, both of which mean you get extra money on the table when you have a good chance of making the winning hand. You don’t need to memorize all the best moves – simply print off one of the many free blackjack hand charts online.
Casino Hold’em
While this is another game that does rely on luck from the turn of a card, you can again make some decisions that will help you.
You don’t need to be a World Series of Poker champion to understand your poker hands; you just need to know what beats what (like a flush beats a straight), then you can use that knowledge to anticipate better what will happen as the casino hold’em hand plays out.
Just as in a normal poker game, you will understand how likely it is you can make a particular poker hand based on the two cards you are dealt with and on the three community cards. Using this knowledge, you will make better decisions about paying to see the remaining community cards and beating the dealer’s hand. With a usual house edge of around 2%, you can make smarter decisions to save cash.
Video Poker
Where slot games are completely down to chance, video poker, although similar to look at, does require some skill.
That’s because, like in Casino Hold’em, you must understand how poker hands work and the probability of making a particular hand. The strategy comes in which of the five cards to hold before redrawing, based on the hand you think you might make and the cost of doing so.
If You Want Pure Luck?
Then head to the slots, where there is no skill required at all. Craps, baccarat, and roulette are also purely down to chance. But at least now you know there are some games at the casino where your knowledge can go a long way to helping your turn a profit.