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Reason I like Bodog #5: Intelligent
Bonuses Many online casinos give you a big matching
bonus when you sign up and make a deposit,
but there's a
catch. You have to do a lot of betting
before you're allowed to cash out your winnings,
and play on the most popular games doesn't
count! It's common for blackjack, craps,
baccarat, roulette, and Jacks or Better to be
excluded. Sometimes it's everything but slots. And sometimes you can't even find the fine
print. Many casinos put their 100% bonus in big
screaming letters but make you hunt all over the
site to find the rules. That's why Bodog is a welcome relief.
They allow play on just about every game to count
towards the wagering requirement (everything except Pontoon and Caribbean 21). It's that simple.
Just no opposite betting, like both red & black
on roulette at the same time. All casinos ought to
be as easy as Bodog about this. Bodog's signup bonus is a modest 10%, but it's simple. The wagering requirement in order to cash out the bonus is 15x the deposit plus the bonus, and play on just about every game satisfies the requirement. Finally, at some other casinos if they think
you're abusing their bonus offers, they'll actually
seize your winnings. Frankly, that's
criminal. But if Bodog suspects you of bonus abuse
they'll still pay you, they just might not offer
you any future bonuses. Play for free, no B.S. |
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The house edge is the casino's average profit from a player's bet. Of course, different games have different profitability for the casino. The house edge in roulette, for example, is about 5%. On a given night the casino expects the players to win back 95% of what they bet and to lose the other 5%. The 5% the players lose is the casino's profit. Let's say all the roulette players collectively gamble $1 million on Friday night. The casino expects them to receive $950,000 on winning bets and to lose the other $50,000. That's how the casino makes its money. They don't have to destroy you with terrible odds -- they give you an almost even game and make just a few percent on each bet on average. Of course, the players in our example above might not lose. The point is that the 5% figure is the mathematical average of how much the players will lose, based on the odds of the game. The longer you play, the more likely your loss will equal the house edge. If you make one $10 bet on red or black you can't lose exactly 5% -- you'll either double your money or lose the whole thing. But make that bet 100 times and you might win 48 times and lose 52 times, winning $480 and losing $520, for a net loss of $40 -- or 4% of the $1000 you wagered. Let's say someone offers you an even-money game ($5 wins $5) where you roll a die and win if you roll 1-5 but lose if you roll a 6. You roll, and what bad luck, you roll a six. Would you play again? Of course you would. You know the odds are with you, so if you keep playing you expect to be ahead. It works the opposite way in the casino. The odds are against you, so the longer you play, the more likely you are to lose. And the longer you play, the more likely your actual loss will equal the mathematical loss predicted by the house edge. The tricks to try to come out ahead when gambling are to:
The house edge is one reason why Vegas casinos don't cheat -- they don't have to. They already have the advantage on every game so there's no point. Most players have no idea how to play table games properly, so they're giving the casino an even higher edge anyway. Casinos make most of their money on table games from those players. And even when players become experts at their games, the edge insures that the house still has a small advantage over them. (The other main reason why Vegas casinos don't cheat is that gambling in Nevada is highly regulated, and no casino would risk losing its license by breaking the rules -- especially since most major Strip casinos are now part of the "legitimate" business world and traded on Wall Street.)
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Craps, 1x Odds |
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State Lottery, typical |
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We cover those in the slot machines section.)
Jackpots vs. the House
Edge
My main gambling advice is to avoid slot machines, because they have a high house edge that sucks down your money hand over fist. Play any table game and your money will last a lot longer.
Slot players counter that slots offer the chance of a big jackpot, while table games don't. With slots you can win thousands (or millions) for a measly quarter or two. But a $10 at blackjack will win you only $10 or $15. And a loss will wipe out your $10 -- a much bigger loss than the 25¢ or $1 you lost on the slot.
Okay, I hear you. But there are two things to consider:
- You pay a hefty price for the chance of hitting the jackpot. The high house edge on slots depletes your bankroll much more quickly, which means either less playing time (and less fun) if you bust out, or bigger losses (and less fun) even if you don't lose everything. Take a look at the table again (above), and notice that there's an almost direct correlation between the house edge and the amount you can win from one bet. The more you can win at once, the higher the house edge.
- You can win the same jackpot on a table game, simply by doubling your bet several times in a row when you're on a winning streak. See our article on how to win a million dollars for more on this.
Related articles:
- Figuring your expected loss
- Figure how much you can afford to bet
- All about betting systems
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