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Gaming Guru
How to win: strong strategies17 March 2011
Do you want to win at casino gambling? Well, in most games I'm sad to say that is a long-run impossibility. In games where the house has an edge over you -- which will be all games for almost all players -- you can lessen the impact of the house edge by playing the best strategies as follows: Basic Strategy at Blackjack: This is the computer-derived best play of every hand you get against the various dealer up cards. The house will have about a one-half percent edge over you, give or take. Lowest house edge bets at craps: These would be the pass line, don't pass line, come and don't come bets with odds. Also, placing the 6 and 8, and the buying of the 4 and 10 for $25 and $50 paying the $1 or $2 commission on wins only. The house edge on all these bets come at or under 1.5%. Roulette: Play only single-zero wheels, preferably the ones where you get back half your bet on the "even-money" red/black, odd/even, and high/low propositions, which is often called "en prison." If you must play a double-zero wheel, then look for the same "surrender" feature as in the single-zero wheel. Otherwise those double-zero wheels come in with a high edge of 5.26%. Slots: Play a single coin in machines that pay off in multiples of the same amount for the jackpot, i.e., $300, $600, $900. These are "equal-distribution" machines and do not reward you for playing more coins by giving you a looser game -- so why bet three times more? Baccarat: Play bank or player bets, never play the tie. The house edge is under 1.25% for these bets. Pai gow poker: Play the "house way," which will keep the edge at around 2.6%. The game has maybe 40 decisions per hour, so that edge works slowly. General rules: Cut down on the number of decisions you face. In mini-baccarat, for example, you can play 150 hands per hour. Even with a low house edge, that is a lot of money for the little edge to work on. Sit out hands and make your decisions slowly. This applies to any game where the dealer can't proceed without your making a decision on your hand. Almost all carnival games such as Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud, three-card poker and the like, can be slowed down by the player. My next column will be on advantage play -- how to get the edge over the house. This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Recent Articles
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