What Are the Odds?

by Bodog Casino | Apr 9 2009

The house will eventually win. That's really the only thing most gamers know about the odds of winning money playing in casinos.

What some of us don't know is that it's actually easier to win at some games over others. We're not talking about the game's degree of difficulty here. We're saying, statistically, you may have a better chance at winning money by sticking with one game over another.

So where could you find the house edge for your favorite games like Blackjack, Slots and Roulette? Luckily we did all the work for you. Read on.

Blackjack
There are a couple of factors that decide the odds for winning at the game of Blackjack. First it's the amount of decks being used. For example playing four-deck Blackjack is better than playing eight-deck blackjack. It's also about the dealer having to "hit" or "stand" on soft 17, the better option being for the dealer to "hit". And most importantly, it's about the odds they give you; most casinos give you 3-to-2 odds but some cheap you out with 6-to-5 odds.

In this case we're going with Bodog's style of Blackjack (four decks, "hit" soft 17, 3-to-2 odds), which is what most online casinos have and what most veteran players look for. The house edge for Bodog's Blackjack (if you're using optimal strategy of course) is 0.57 percent - which is a solid number compared to other popular casino games.

And if you're thinking of fishing for Blackjack with one or two decks to better your odds, watch out. Most of those games give you 6-to-5 odds and the dealer "stands" on soft 17. This actually makes the house edge worse by .20 percent.

Slot Machines
Unlike table gaming, winning at slots is mostly about getting lucky and searching for that luck with as many spins as possible. The odds reflect that.

Although you'll find a handful of differing Blackjack odds, there are about a million different odds for slots. The games mostly come in three different forms - Real Series Video, 3-Reel Games, and 5-Reel Games - however, how much and how frequently those games pay out can differ. In this case we're going to find the odds and house edge for 3-Reel slots.

Players get back approximately 86.58 percent for every dollar they spend (whether playing one coin or two). Players that play three dollar coins are returned 87.47 percent of each dollar. Obviously, where the real money is really made with slots is with the jackpots. But keep in mind that the chances of hitting one out of three jackpot reels is one in 262, 144.

Roulette
Roulette is not an easy game to beat. Where slot machines have a random number generator that simulates random events, Roulette, with its wheel and spinning ball, does it naturally. Every casino has some crazy guy that thinks if he writes enough numbers down on a piece of paper, he'll one day figure out how to win on every spin. Good luck.

That being said, the payouts make up for its difficulty; Roulette pays 35-to-1 for straight wagers.

There are two different types of Roulette in Bodog’s casino, American and European, and when analyzing the house edge the choice between the two obvious. American roulette has 38 numbered slots: a zero, a double zero, and numbers one to 36. European roulette has numbers one to 36 but only has one zero. Obviously, having only 37 numbers to choose from rather than 38 is much better for gamblers. The house edge in American roulette is about 5.26 percent while the edge for the Euro version is 2.70 percent - nearly two-times better.

Test your skills at Bodog Casino today!