When you go into a casino for the first time, it is most likely going to be with someone who has been to a casino before or you are going to hit the slot machines or at a push you may venture to the blackjack and roulette tables until you get use to being in the casino.
If you are an experienced gambler and a regular casino goer, then you are most likely going to look at the games differing qualities and pick by weighing up some factors involved. Today I am going to look at these factors and to make it even easier for you I am going to break these down for you.
House Edge
The house edge is the percentage win the casino expects in the long run from each initial bet made. I have put “house edge” at number one on my list because it is probably the primary factor that experienced gamblers will take into consideration, simply because it is a very basic indicator on how much the player will lose.
Very much like BlackHat Betting the search for games that offer a negative house edge is like gold to the serious gambler. If the game has “player edge” then the next four factors are drastically reduced which is crucial.
Volatility
Volatility is often referred to as variance or standard deviation, and this is a measure of how large the swings to your bankroll will be.
A game with low volatility will leave you winning almost as often as you lose but your wins and losses will be small. If a game has high volatility, then you can expect to lose very often, however, when you have a winning session you can expect to win a large percentage of your losses back.
Some games you find will offer a variety of volatility like roulette allows you to choose how volatile your betting will be by providing different bets with the same house edge. You can also influence the volatility by using progression betting which I will go into a little a bit later on.
The jackpot factor is a subcategory of volatility, and this is because if the jackpot is significantly high, then this can offset some of the problems associated with a high house edge. Almost everyone will have a punt at the lottery and even though its house edge is often close to 50% and the main reason why we play these games is that it would be life changing if you were to win.
Speed Of Play
The speed of the game not only affects the excitement of the game but also the amount of loses the player can expect per hour. A fast game with a low house edge can result in greater losses to the player than a slow game with a high house edge.
If a game is pushing on then even with people betting on small stakes the house can still make a profit, so the casino is quite keen to keep the pace going in a game which are good because if you are like me and a bit impatient a quicker moving game keeps me interested a lot longer.
Skill Level
The amount of skill and practice required to play a game will often show that it is a good game for the player. All games that require an element of skill indicates that the house can be beaten, and that means that there is profit there to be had.
Most games at a casino do not take a massive amount of skill and games like blackjack you can play on instinct however practising blackjack will make you a better player and so practicing can give you an even better edge and so profits are there to be had.
The other thing about skilled games is that they tend to be fun as well, and that is where I lead you on to this next section which is…
Enjoyment
If you are playing a game with a long-term player edge, then you need to be able to enjoy it. However, it is not critical because we all work jobs we don’t like (well I dont) if you hate blackjack but are good at it, you can always play that and make some money then head to the roulette table and have some fun after making your days money.
However, a general rule of thumb is that the amount of fun you have playing a casino game rises and falls at the same rate as your bankroll…
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