Sports Betting Odds

WAGERING KEYS | CASINO ODDS | CASINO RULES | GAMING STRATEGY GAMBLING TIPS

CASINO ODDS: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3

Poker Game Odds

Cyber Stud Poker
(picture courtesy of Capital Casino)
Both regular and progressive versions lucky-tiger-casino.net
can be found at all the casinos listed in the payout chart to the right.

Without a doubt, Poker is one of the casino games in which understanding the odds can bring players a sizable advantage over opponents. Just like Kenny Rogers sang in The Gambler, it's all about knowing when to hold 'em, and when to fold 'em. The odds in the game of poker are similar to those of blackjack in that they are constantly shifting as cards are dealt. Figuring out what they are and whether or not they favor you at any given moment can be estimated by considering a couple variables. First, you know that your odds of landing a particular card, like the ten of diamonds, is 1 in 52. And that your odds of landing a card regardless of suit is 4 in 52. As cards are removed from the deck, the odds will shift accordingly. Depending on what game you are playing, there will be more or less information available to influence your appraisal of the odds at each stage. For instance, if you're playing common five-card stud, you will only be able to make predictions based upon the cards you have in your hand. For games like Pai Gow and three card poker where the dealer's cards are usually laid out for you, more access is provided to help determine your odds of making a hand.

Odds of Hands Occurring

There are just under 2.6 million different hand combinations possible in poker. The chart to the right illustrates which ones are most and least likely to happen. As you can see, the high-ranking hand of Royal Flush is only expected to happen once every 649,740 hands while a low-ranking hand of a single pair should happen about every ther hand.

Implied Odds
When you're playing any one of the numerous variations of pot poker, where you and other players vie for the chips in the middle of the table, an important factor that helps determine the odds of making your hand is the implied odds. The implied odds refers to the risk, or chance of getting the card you need, versus amount of money in the pot plus the amount you can expect to get from fellow players. If you believe that there is enough loot in the pot (combined with what other players have yet to contribute) to cover the odds of you making your hand, then it is the right call to proceed with your bet. For example, if you have two pair and need a five or a jack to complete a full house, and you figure the odds of getting one of the remaining fives or jacks to be 8 to 1, then there should be at least eight times your wager sitting in the pot (or thereabouts by the time everybody is done).

Roulette Game Odds

Roulette Royale was introduced in 2002 as the internet's first progressive Roulette game. Jackpots begin at $60,000 and often exceed $200,000.
(picture courtesy of Piggs Peak Casino)
Roulette, like Craps, is another independent variable game where Lady Luck decides the winners. An air of French sophistication presides over the table and the possibility of winning up to 35 times your bet creates a strong attraction for many gamblers. The odds in Roulette are very easy to calculate. The wheel is divided into either 37 or 38 slots, depending on whether you are playing the European version (single zero), or the American version which has an extra space in the double zero slot. The zero space(s) represent the house edge. If there were none, it would be an even money game. The house advantage in single zero Roulette is 2.7% and is 5.26% for the double zero game.

How to figure the Odds
You may calculate the actual odds for house advantage in Roulette as follows:

Single Zero wheels Double Zero wheels
(35 - 36)/37 x 100 = -2.70% (35 - 37)/38 x 100 = -5.26%

Roulette Odds versus Payouts chart

As you can see from the chart, the European single zero game offers the same payouts, but better odds than the American double zero game (because there is one fewer space on the wheel). While it is rare to find the single zero game at a casino in North America, this game is standard among most all online casinos. Online casinos generally offer better odds than those found in land casinos across the board, and this holds true for the game of Roulette.

Don't Bank on it
The bets to avoid in this game are probably all single number bets and the five number bet (only found on double zero wheels) because these types of bets have the largest disparity between true odds and actual payouts.

Reasonable Odds
If you plan to play Roulette, stick with the bets whose odds almost mirror their payouts. These "even money" bets include betting on Even, Odd, Low (numbers 1 through 18), High (numbers 19 through 36), Red, or Black. All of these wagers pay out at 1 to 1.

Slots Machine Odds

Major Millions (pictured) made online slots history when a lucky player won a jackpot worth over $1.6 million in
February 2003. You can find the Major
at all of these online casinos...

Choose a Casino All Jackpots Trident Lounge South Beach Palace Vegas USA Colosseum Desert Dollar Havana Club Miami Paradise All Slots Roxy Palace First Web Sun Vegas Wild Jack Crazy Vegas King Neptunes Aztec Riches Jackpot FLASH Lucky Emperor Big Dollar Piggs Peak Golden Reef Vegas Towers River Nile
Trying to pinpoint exactly what the odds are for slot machines is a daunting task. With such a variety of machines and games available, the odds can vary a great deal. Generally slots odds are expressed in the form of a payback percentage. The closer to 100%, the better. Some machines even pay back at percentages greater than 100%, giving the lucky players who find them a positive expectation for winning. These "loose slots" are frequently mixed into the sea of machines on a casino gaming floor. For a while, casino operators placed the highest paying machines in high traffic areas like entrances, bars, and near lines for buffets or shows - basically any place a crowd of people was likely to be. The strategy behind the prominent placement of higher paying machines was that since they produced winners more frequently, they would also generate more excitement from passers-by, making other players more likely to play at average or low-paying machines.

It didn't take long for avid slots players to figure out this simple strategy, so managers shuffled things up a bit. Reverse strategies were employed, putting low-paying machines in high traffic areas, and vice versa. These days, there really is no standard procedure except that the machines, themselves, still offer a mix of payout percentages with some high and most being low to average. However, a few rules of thumb will hold true regardless of where you play.

Average Slots Payout at Land Casinos

When playing at land casinos, you will likely have the option of playing at slot machines that offer nickel, quarter, dollar, five-dollar, and hundred-dollar betting denominations. Which ones offer the best return rates? The highest denomination ones of course! Casinos make money by getting a large monetary turnover. Operators know that less money will go in and out of any give nickel slot during the course of a day, than will in a dollar machine. Because more money turns over in the higher-denomination machines, casinos can afford to offer higher return rates for players. Your bankroll may not be able to support playing a five-dollar coin slot for several hours a day, but with a 98.4% payout, it offers significantly better odds than a quarter slot. To take it a step farther, although you'd really have to be a high roller, the hundred dollar slots offer a near-100% return rate. Even though the machines don't see nearly as much action as the quarter and dollar slots, so much is at stake on a single pull that allows the casino to offer a near even money return.

So how much bankroll do you need to play each denomination of slot machine? Based on a three-coin maximum bet averaging ten spins minute, and matched against the according payout rates, to play for an hour you would need:

$6.75 to play the nickel slots

$26.75 to play the quarter slots

$74.00 to play the dollar slots

$145.00 to play the five dollar slots

Keep in mind that these bankroll figures are only estimates, based on the average payout across all slots. While playing, your actual return should vary a good bit from these numbers. To be conservative, I would suggest doubling the amounts listed above to ensure one hour's worth of play. Who knows? Lots of people have won huge jackpots with much less. In late 2001, an Arizona businessman on vacation at Harrah's Las Vegas won the multi-million dollar Megabucks jackpot after investing a mere $22.00! The simplicity of the game, and the high win potential is a big part of what fuels the popularity of slot machines.