screen so that when
I go to a casino I want to play games where I get
to see people in action with me. Also video poker
has many more losing sessions than winning sessions
-- even when you have the edge -- because you have
to hit your share of four-of-a-kinds and royal flushes
to get into the black.
33. Which games
make the most money for the casinos?
The most overall money is made from slots, followed
by blackjack, with craps and roulette right behind.
More people play those games than any others. However,
there is another way to figure what the casinos
make and that is on a per game per $100 bet ratio.
This is called the win rate. Here are the some real-world
win rates for the various games in both Atlantic
City and Las Vegas. My guess is that other gambling
jurisdictions such as Mississippi and Illinois are
probably consistent with these results as well.
However, these jurisdictions do not release their
figures based on individual games. The percent means
that for every $100 bet, the casino kept that percentage.
Remember that the casino win rate is really the
player loss rate! Hold your breath.
|
Atlantic City |
Las Vegas |
| Blackjack |
12.4% |
14.2% |
| Craps |
14.5% |
14.1% |
| Baccarat |
12.5% |
14.4% |
| Let It Ride |
16.3% |
20.2% |
| Big Wheel |
n/a |
45.2% |
| Mini-Baccarat
|
13.8% |
15.6% |
| Pai Gow Poker |
21.9% |
21.9% |
| Roulette |
25% |
22.6% |
| Keno |
26.7% |
27.8% |
| Caribbean Stud |
21.1% |
25% |
34. I thought Las
Vegas had better games than Atlantic City but it
seems that Vegas players are losing more?
It does and they are. You can find single and double-deck
games in blackjack, 10X, 20X and 100X odds at craps,
and the best of a variety of video poker machines
are in Las Vegas. It’s heaven on earth for
a good gambler. (Even better is Tunica, Mississippi!)
So why are the Vegas figures in this survey showing
that Vegas players are hitting the deck at a greater
rate in many of the games? Some of it can be attributed
to the normal fluctuations that occur in gaming.
When you look at long-range figures, you’ll
note that the casino win rates do fluctuate up and
down from month to month. Some of it can also be
attributed to the fact that many people who come
to Vegas are first timers or just vacationers who
really aren’t schooled in the games. My own
experience is that more Atlantic City blackjack
players play basic strategy than their Vegas counterparts.
Even in the eight-deck monstrosities of Atlantic
City, a basic strategy player is facing a little
more than a half percent house edge. But look at
those figures carefully and realize just how much
money people lose to the casinos -- money that they
don’t have to lose if they played the best
strategies for the games of their choice. A sizeable
percentage of those loss percentages are due to
poor play!
Gambling
Odds 1-5
Gambling
Odds 6-10
Gambling Odds
11-15
Gambling
Odds 16-20
Gambling Odds
21-25
Gambling
Odds 26-30
Gambling
Odds 35-39
Gambling
Odds 40-44
Gambling
Odds 45-50
Gambling
Odds 51-55
Gambling
Odds 56-60
Good
Casinos Home
