If someone was to ask you what are the odds of winning a heads-or-tails bet, you would probably answer that it’s 50/50. While this is empirically correct, there’s actually a 1 in 6,000 chance that the coin will land on its side. In other words, your odds are not an exact 50%. Now, if you were wrong about this (the simplest of all betting games), what about some of the more complex games out there. What are your odds of winning?
Here, things are not as simple either. For instance, American roulette has a 00 mark, whereas the classic (European roulette) doesn’t. This one extra field drastically offsets the odds. Then, there are all sorts of programmable games, where the RNG can be quite merciless. This is especially prominent in online gambling. With all of this in mind and without further ado, here are the odds for some of the most popular games in online casinos all over the internet.
Blackjack
Your odds of winning at blackjack can go as high as 42.22%. Now, due to the fact that there’s a third possible result (a push), there’s an 8.48% chance that the house might not win either. Therefore, the probability of a loss is 49.10%.
Now, when it comes to blackjack, it’s mostly an RNG that’s in charge of the situation. Still, there are some online casinos that host a game where a live dealer is shuffling and dealing cards. This is hosted from the studio and it’s the simulation of an actual casino-based blackjack.
With the right strategy (and being consistent with it), you have a chance of reaching a 98% RTP (return-to-player) percentage. This means that by playing safe, you would get at least $98 out of every $100 that you invest. Everything extra is possible and this is why such strategies are so popular.
Slot Machines
The main reason why this is such a difficult question to answer is that there are so many different slot machine games available online. This is why any answer is not definitive and may not apply to a different slot machine type.
With each game, the casino has a high probability of winning. While some of the better games have a 1/5000 chance of you winning, some of the worst games have a 1/34 million chance stacked against you. So, before you proceed, it’s worth checking what your odds actually are.
Next, you need to understand one simple concept – the strategy of slot machine betting is not “go big or go home”. It’s a game of endurance (a war of attrition). The idea is that you should play small and lose small until you (eventually) win. Once you win, the amount of money won is supposed to cover all your previous losses.
Roulette
As we’ve mentioned, the difference between American and European roulette is quite significant. For instance, in American roulette, a house edge is as much as 5.25%, whereas in European it’s as low as 2.6%. As you can see, it’s almost exactly double the difference, seeing as how American roulette has one more “neutral” field (00).
The odds of winning European roulette are 1/35, whereas the odds of winning in American roulette are 1/37. Naturally, this is in a scenario where you’re actually betting on a number. When going for color, split, snake bet, double-street, or street, your odds will be quite different. The same goes with betting on a color or an odd/even number.
If you were to bet on a color, in American roulette, your odds would be 47.4% chance to win. If winning on two numbers, your odds would be 5.3%, when betting on 3 numbers the odds would be 7.9%, and so on. Again, these are the numbers on American roulette. The European roulette has one field fewer, which makes the odds differ quite significantly.
Online Poker
Since this is a skill-based game (as well as being luck-based), the odds of winning are never guaranteed. Now, those who are serious about playing online may decide to use a tool like an online poker odds calculator in order to try and predict the chance of their current hand.
In other words, when it comes to poker, it’s every game on its own. Also, keep in mind that there’s the RNG shuffling involved in the process, which is why every single game is completely random and resets a chance to win.
It’s also worth mentioning that, due to its unique nature, online poker is one of the few games where the house doesn’t have an edge. In order to fund this, an online casino will take a rake out of each pot. This is also true for tournaments, etc.
Baccarat
This popular game is also renowned for being one of the casino games with the lowest house edges out there (just 1.06%).
This means that the Banker actually has a chance of winning 45.8% of the time, whereas the player wins 44.6% of the time. This is only possible because of a 9.6% chance that the game will end in a tie. If, on the other hand, we were to count out the tie, you would come to the conclusion that the banker wins close to 51% of the time.
In other words, outside of heads-or-tails, this is probably the game with the lowest house edge out there.
Wrap Up
Knowing your odds is one of the first steps in managing your expectations and expectation management is the key to not being disappointed. One of the most common reasons why people get mad at these games or just start throwing things is because they believe that the game is either cheating or that they’re especially unlucky. Of course, these assumptions are usually baseless.
The truth is that the odds are just that – a chance. Even if you had a 90% chance to win, it’s theoretically possible for you to lose 100/100 games. It’s just the nature of luck-based games. Still, more likely than not, the higher the odds, the higher your chance of actually winning. With some of these games and numbers on your side, you should have a pretty clear idea of what you’re up against.
