Casinos: Huge Payouts or Empty Bank Accounts?
The promises of scoring big with a jackpot and a quick trip to fame and fortune are what casinos are all about. For some, the risks that casino gambling entail are worth taking. Others play for the excitement and thrills that casinos offer, and for them, that's more than enough reason to play.
But before taking that first step to winning your millions, you have to ask yourself the all important question "Can I Win?".
Gambling is one way to earn hefty amounts of cash in a very short time period - that's a given - but what most people seem to forget is that casino gambling is really meant to be taken merely as a past time; a form of entertainment if you may. If we look at it in a realistic manner, casinos aren't built to make their patrons rich. They're built to make the casino owners rich.
Most games played in casinos - with the exception of blackjack - have fixed schemes that give a predetermined edge in favor of the casino. These are mathematical in nature and are commonly known as the house advantage or the house edge.
As an example, in a game of roulette, there are 38 numbers in the wheel (1 to 36 with the inclusion of 0 and 00). A player is allowed to place the bet on any number in the wheel. If the player wins with the bet, it will net the player a 35 to 1 payoff - that is to say the player will get an amount 35 times the bet plus the initial bet back.
Now, if there were only 36 numbers in the wheel (the 0 and 00 are removed), then the value will be exactly the same as the odds of winning. However, when the 0 and 00 are included then that will increase the odds of winning 37 to 1. A 5.26 percent house advantage thus ensues.
That however, doesn't mean casino goers have no chance at all to win. In fact, many casino patrons do win, and some win a lot. That's one of the main attractions of casinos. In spite of the house advantage that stacks the odds a bit more towards the side of the casino, the edge are often narrow enough that players are still given the chance to win.
One way to offset the effects of the house advantage and be in a better position to win is for the player to study the games first before playing them. There are many strategy guides and tips out there that cover most, if not all, types of casino games.
Obviously these guides aren't full proof. Nothing in gambling is anyway, that's why it's called gambling. But understanding the game will put the player in a more advantageous position compared to a player who doesn't even know the rules of the game. Winning more than losing is certainly possible with casino games.
What the player has to keep in mind is that a winning streak is the exception, rather than the rule. Even if the player knows and understands the game inside and out, the house advantage is there to tip the balance in favor of the casinos.
