Casinos Line

Casinos, both live and online, make their money in three main ways. Their core games are set up so that they are 'mathematically un-exploitable 'meaning that even someone playing perfectly will lose over time. Secondly, they make money by offering an enticing range of side-bets and games which have huge house-edges, these appeal to many casual and fun gamblers. Third they reply on players to make mistakes with their strategy, giving an extra edge away with each error.

While experience can help you avoid making mistakes and dodge the bankroll sucking side-games, a little knowledge can go a long way in avoiding those games which seem to be fine - but actually offer worse odds than you might expect. Below we have listed 5 games which the savvy casino gambler should try and avoid when playing online!

1 - American Roulette
There are actually two different roulette wheels, one is the American Wheel and the other is known as the European Wheel. While both essentially play the same, smart casino gamblers should always choose the European Wheel when available. This one has only one zero instead of two, increasing your odds of hitting a particular number and halving the house edge when betting on a color or odd / even outcome.

2 - Progressive Jackpot Slots
Big jackpot numbers often attract players to progressive slots, where hitting 5 of a kind (for example) can trigger a payout in the hundreds of thousands or even more. Players need to be aware that the payout percentages when you exclude the jackpot rake are far lower than for the non-jackpot equivalents!

3 - Multi-Coin Slots
Old-school 3 reel slots usually let you choose the number of coins per spin, up to 5 are allowed and the payouts can jump for the last coin. Our warning is for playing these slots with less than the maximum coins. The headline percentage includes the larger jackpot for the last coin, once you exclude this then the average payout goes way down - making these machines bad bets.

4 - Blackjack Side-Bets
Played correctly Blackjack is a game with a comparatively low house-edge. Casinos make up for these by taking advantage of players mistakes and also by offering some seemingly alluring side bets. We recommend that you avoid side bets such as 'prefect pairs' or 'aces only', these are heavily weighted in favor of the house and make a reasonably good return into a bad one very fast.

5 - Scratch Cards
Online scratch cards are becoming more popular as technology gets better. These are entertaining games if played with money you can afford to lose. However they do suffer from the 'jackpot' issue - that is that the occasional big payout means that, on average, you will lose more quickly. Each card taking a few cents to add to the big one makes this a game which can eat through your cash surprisingly fast - even when the headline reads that 1 in 3 are winners.