Can You Beat the Casinos?

Can you beat the casinos? From the casinos' point of view, that's like asking if you can buy things for free in a department store. Casinos are here to take your money, not give it away. So no matter how big the progressive jackpots they advertise, they really don't want you to win. But can you?

Short answer: Yes, you can. But not all promised methods work and those methods that do work do not work for all casino games. Casino games may involve skill, chance or a mixture of both. Depending on the game, you can win with either skill or luck or, again, both.

Games of chance are those that depend "on the luck of the draw." Little to no skill can influence the outcome. Games that fall in this category are keno, roulette, baccarat and slots. There is no sure way to win in these games. Don't believe anyone who tries to sell you a "sure win" gambling system for these games. Some strategies may help you stretch your bankroll and minimize your losses, but nothing can guarantee that big win.

Now games that can be influenced by skill are a different story. Games like blackjack, poker and video poker fall in this category. Luck plays a role here too, as in all gambling, but the skill factor is big enough to be able to turn the odds in the player's favor. If you play them with optimal strategies, you can in fact, beat the casinos. And in table poker, the casino does not even play; it just takes a rake from the total wagers.

Blackjack can be won using various strategies. Basic strategy, developed in the 1950s, is a set of mathematically verified decisions that give the player an edge over the long term. Card counting from the 1960s and more recently, shuffle tracking track the composition of a deck so that the player can see favorable and unfavorable trends.

Video poker is different from slots in that the player can choose which cards to hold and which to discard and replace. One game, Deuces Wild, can give a positive expectation when played flawlessly. The jackpot, too, can grow so big as to turn a profit for the lucky winner.

Slots, keno and other games have jackpots too. Casinos can afford to give them away by taking money from losing players. Jackpot prizes then, come from one's fellow players who do not win. The more players that lose, the bigger the jackpot prizes can be. When you play in jackpot machines, choose those with smaller top prizes. They will pay medium and lower prizes more often since they need to "raise" less money.

To answer the question, "Can you beat the casino?" the answer is yes, the casinos can be beaten. But you have to play the right games in the right way. Most of all, the people who beat the casinos must always remain a few. In this way, the casinos will be able to sustain their business.