Extend Your Playing Time

To get the maximum playing time from your gambling bankroll, you should play the most player friendly games or bets. Let's look at the best games and bets -- those with the lowest house edges.

• Blackjack: Playing Basic Strategy in a game with decent rules such as a blackjack paying 3-to-2, the dealer standing on a soft 17, double-down allowed on any first two cards, splitting up to three times with double-down allowed after a split, the house has only about a half percent edge. This translates to 50 cents per $100 bet, making this game one of the best in the casino. However, beware of games that pay 6-to-5 for a blackjack. The house edge jumps to about 1.5 percent in this game. Note: When playing Blackjack, always play Basic Strategy. It is designed to minimize the house edge and lengthen your time at the table. Failure to do so can add a couple percent or more to the casino edge.
• Craps: Craps has some of the best and worst bets in a casino.
• Best bets: The best bets are Pass, Don't Pass, Come, and Don't Come. These bets with no accompanying odds have about a 1.4 percent house edge. By adding odds (many Tunica casinos offer 20 times odds) the house edge can drop to under a quarter of a percent. When playing these bets, put the table minimum for the base bet and add any extra you have available for betting on the odds. This will reduce the house edge and prolong your playing time.
• Worst bets: Avoid placing bets that are found in the middle of the table by the stickman. They all have house edges of more than 9 percent with the worst bet being the Any Seven with a 16.67% house edge. Your bankroll will be chewed up very rapidly betting these bets in the middle.
• Baccarat: The Bank and Player bets are both around 1 percent, a very low edge. If you play the traditional large table format of this game, usually found in the high roller area, the pace of the game is slow allowing you to stretch your time at the table. To make your bankroll last, avoid the Tie bet with its 14 percent edge. Also avoid mini-baccarat tables as they play very fast.

Finally, to make sure your bankroll lasts the entire stay split it into session bankrolls. If you are going to play four sessions per day for two days, split your total bankroll into eight equal amounts. Bring only one session bankroll with you for each casino session and lock up the rest in the room safe. When the session bankroll is gone, take a break. By allocating a portion of your bankroll to each session, you are guaranteed having a playing stake throughout the stay. Now that you have the knowledge, you need to make sure you follow through with the discipline of playing the best games and bets and allocating your bankroll. By following these simple guidelines, many years of gambling enjoyment await you.