How important is it to you to find the very best odds available while gambling in cyberspace? Take a moment to consider that question before answering. Even though it may seem like an unbelievably stupid thing to ask, the reality is often more complicated.
Your knee-jerk response is probably to say that of course you are only interested in playing online when the very best of odds are in your favor. And yet, as in so many other areas of life, much of our online gaming activities are based on a host of factors that have nothing to do with logic.
Putting a Price on Fun
Obviously, the vast majority of people who log onto the Internet in order to play casino games are doing it for the sheer fun that can be thus enjoyed. Although everyone would be much more content to log off richer than they logged in, studies have shown that the average online casino visitor will consistently choose games with lesser odds if the promise for having a good time in that activity seems certain. Therefore, the question becomes, "Where does the balance between enjoyment and good mathematical odds factor in?" The best way to get to the bottom of this conundrum is to look at some games that offer different levels of odds in your favor.
When you have this information at your disposal, you still may be apt to choose games that do not come with very good odds. However, at least you will be making that decision from an educated basis, rather than simply following the whims of any given moment.
The Dice Are Your Friends
As many gamblers clearly understand, craps is one of the very best games that you can play when it comes to odds. Being indicative of a skill game, craps is one that rewards players who have taken the time to steep themselves in the intricacies involved. Along with poker, pai gow, blackjack and other games that rely on brainpower more than blind chance, craps allows you to lower the house edge such that it does not become an overwhelming impediment against your success.
And yet, even within the game of craps there are some truly terrible odds to be found. Under no circumstances do you ever want to make any proposition bets. These bets are attractive to risk-takers who love the fact that a huge financial stake can be won or lost on a single roll. However, smart gamblers are not to be confused with these adrenaline junkies, and any craps player who truly understands the game will leave proposition bets to suckers who simply can't help themselves.
Which Wheel Will You Spin?
If you are determined to enjoy the game of roulette online and still would like to maintain passable odds, the type of variant you choose to play will have a tremendous impact in this regard. Obviously, the European form of roulette offers much better odds than its American counterpart because there is only one of those dreaded double zero slots to worry about. As an understandable result of this fact, there are far fewer European Roulette wheels to be found in the casinos of cyberspace. Be advised, however, that they do exist and you can find them if you take the time to do a bit of research.
Most gamblers know that money management is a crucial part of online gambling, or any gambling for that matter. Without money, you can't play, and the more wisely you manage your money, the longer you should be able to stay in action. Proper money management will depend on a number of factors.
1. What Online Game Are You Playing?
If you are playing a positive expectation game like online poker, you may have a positive win rate, which means that over the long term, you will win a certain amount per hour. Your goal should be to have a large enough bankroll to cover your swings of bad luck so that you never have to replenish your bankroll.
If you are playing a negative expectation game like online roulette, you cannot have a positive win rate. The game is designed so that the player will lose over time. Your goal in a game like this should be to have a big enough bankroll so that you will be able to play as much as you like between now and the time that you will be able to replenish that bankroll.
2. Bankrolling Positive Expectation Online Games
Remember that a positive expectation game can only be considered as such if you are a winning player. If you are a losing player, you should treat all online games the same. There is no shame in being a losing player; estimates are that 90 percent or more of online poker players are long-term losers.
To bankroll yourself for online poker with a positive win rate, many players feel you should have at least 100 times the big blind available to you. This means for a $3/$6 limit game, you should have $600 to avoid going broke. Some players feel that this may be a sufficient amount to have on the table, but to be sure to avoid ruin you should have 300 to 500 times the big blind available, or $1,800 to $2,000 in this case. No-limit games have more variance, so you should at least double these numbers if no-limit is your game. Remember that the bigger your bankroll is relative to the limits, the less likely it is you will go broke if you are a winning player.
There are, however, other casino games that offer positive expectation. Video Poker is one of them, believe it or not. But far from every video-poker machine offers +EV, but when you stumble across one, you are able to play risk-free video poker (over the long term).
But how can a casino give players an edge? The thing is that very few deploy the perfect strategy while playing, and therefore give up the edge. So the casino can afford to give players the opportunity to break even or win a little - very few manages to do it anyway.
In this type of game, bankroll management is all about handling the swings. You should have enough to survive a cold streak. Signing up at a casino that offers decent casino bonuses is one way to boost your bankroll. Having a larger bankroll improves your chances of surviving a cold streak.
3. Bankrolling Negative Expectation Online Games
For negative expectation games, calculate your loss rate by learning the house edge. Determine how much you bet per hour and multiply by the house edge. This is your loss rate if you play perfect strategy. Play limits that will allow your bankroll to withstand your loss rate until the time you are scheduled to replenish your bankroll.
Most gamblers know that money management is a crucial part of online gambling, or any gambling for that matter. Without money, you can't play, and the more wisely you manage your money, the longer you should be able to stay in action. Proper money management will depend on a number of factors.
1. What Online Game Are You Playing?
If you are playing a positive expectation game like online poker, you may have a positive win rate, which means that over the long term, you will win a certain amount per hour. Your goal should be to have a large enough bankroll to cover your swings of bad luck so that you never have to replenish your bankroll.
If you are playing a negative expectation game like online roulette, you cannot have a positive win rate. The game is designed so that the player will lose over time. Your goal in a game like this should be to have a big enough bankroll so that you will be able to play as much as you like between now and the time that you will be able to replenish that bankroll.
2. Bankrolling Positive Expectation Online Games
Remember that a positive expectation game can only be considered as such if you are a winning player. If you are a losing player, you should treat all online games the same. There is no shame in being a losing player; estimates are that 90 percent or more of online poker players are long-term losers.
To bankroll yourself for online poker with a positive win rate, many players feel you should have at least 100 times the big blind available to you. This means for a $3/$6 limit game, you should have $600 to avoid going broke. Some players feel that this may be a sufficient amount to have on the table, but to be sure to avoid ruin you should have 300 to 500 times the big blind available, or $1,800 to $2,000 in this case. No-limit games have more variance, so you should at least double these numbers if no-limit is your game. Remember that the bigger your bankroll is relative to the limits, the less likely it is you will go broke if you are a winning player.
There are, however, other casino games that offer positive expectation. Video Poker is one of them, believe it or not. But far from every video-poker machine offers +EV, but when you stumble across one, you are able to play risk-free video poker (over the long term).
But how can a casino give players an edge? The thing is that very few deploy the perfect strategy while playing, and therefore give up the edge. So the casino can afford to give players the opportunity to break even or win a little - very few manages to do it anyway.
In this type of game, bankroll management is all about handling the swings. You should have enough to survive a cold streak. Signing up at a casino that offers decent casino bonuses is one way to boost your bankroll. Having a larger bankroll improves your chances of surviving a cold streak.
3. Bankrolling Negative Expectation Online Games
For negative expectation games, calculate your loss rate by learning the house edge. Determine how much you bet per hour and multiply by the house edge. This is your loss rate if you play perfect strategy. Play limits that will allow your bankroll to withstand your loss rate until the time you are scheduled to replenish your bankroll.
Poker players often look with contempt at those sitting hunchbacked over slot machines, shouting for sevens in craps, or praying to the gambling gods for the ball to land on their number in roulette. They walk through the casino on their way to the poker room shaking their heads. "Look at the fish. You can't beat casino games. Don't they know that," you hear these people mumbling.
Let us freeze the picture there for just a moment and try to analyze the situation. We have a bunch of self-proclaimed poker players looking down on people playing games that can't be beaten in the long haul. And they are right. You can't win at roulette, which most of the people playing the game are well aware of. But the odd thing is that at least 90 percent of those playing poker also are going to lose - something they habitually tend to forget.
When you play poker money constantly leave the table in form of rake. To become a winning player it's not enough just being an above-average player. Far from it. Since a large portion of the cash on the table is destined to end up in the casino bank vault there isn't much left for the superior players to share - and that is exactly what you have to be to win - a superior player.
Poker players often mix up "it's possible to win" with "I'm a winning player". Let us call it the poker player's fallacy. They overestimate their skills which often have disastrous effects on their economy.
Naturally there are casino players who don't gamble responsibly, well, quite a few to be honest. But I think most casino gamblers know that they probably not are going to win. Just as someone who buys a lottery ticket realizes that the chance of winning is extraordinary slim, a slot player understands that hitting that humongous jackpot is almost impossible.
"BUT THE CASINO HAS AN EDGE," the upset poker player screams on the top of his lungs. Well, that's true. But there is a 90-percent chance that the casino together with your opponents has an edge on you. Only one poker player in ten actually plays with positive expectation.
To speak poker lingo, that is the same odds as hitting a gut-shot straight draw or turning a two pair into a full house from turn to river.
What would you rather be, a recreational blackjack player who knows that he will lose a little in the long run or a poker player who believes he's a winner but in reality will be stuck a fortune in the long haul?
Only fools choose the latter.