Getting to the bottom of whether one can actually beat the casino

Rule 1: The casino always wins

You have probably heard stories of how people have managed to beat casinos. There is a good chance that the same people telling those tales may have embellished them. If there was a bona fide way of beating a casino, there wouldn’t be any casinos left. After all, nobody goes into business to lose money.

Beating a casino and cheating a casino are two different things, though. Cheating a casino is very possible, and happens more often than you would think. Beating a casino would be developing strategies which guarantee success, and it is rare. Even though MIT and a few other card counters have found ways to “beat casinos”, they have never done so with a 100% success rate. Plenty of bent dealers and crooked croupiers have found ways to cheat casinos, though.

Even if a person has developed a strategy to beat a casino, it will only work for them and them alone. They aren’t likely to share their secrets with the world, even if they are more than willing to share their exploits. Since most casino players aren’t able to use such strategies to beat casinos, you can safely say that the casino always wins.

If there is no bona fide way to win, then, what can you do? Well, plenty of guides have tried to find a way to beat the system. Although they do not guarantee success, some of these tips do certainly help players avoid losing too much cash.

Pick your poison

For starters, players are going to need to pick their poison very carefully. You need to choose the right game for you. If you like blackjack, you need to learn which blackjack variant best suits your needs. Equally as important, you are going to want to find a game which carries the lowest house edge.

Controlled gambling

Controlled gambling is important. Players shouldn’t wager too high to start off with (even if they have a large stack of chips) and they shouldn’t wager too low, either. Players should try to find a good system for increasing or decreasing wagers based on the action. A great way to do this is the Martingale System. This system is not fool-proof, and it can’t be used on every game. While it does not offer a guaranteed way to bag millions, it does ensure that most of the time you will at least break even. Other card systems, such as basic strategy for blackjack can also be very useful.

We would recommend that you read up on these systems, and then use free play casino games to hone your skills. Only once you’ve mastered a good strategy or system should you be confident enough to take it to the tables and wager for real money. Strategies are just one of a few tips to online casino success that you can pick up when playing online first.

Knowing when to bow out

It is very important that you know when to bow out. Don’t be fooled by “hot” and “cold” numbers on the roulette wheel, for instance. When you are playing a slot, if it hasn’t paid out for a while, it doesn’t mean that you are on the verge of pocketing a windfall. Online games that are offered in excellent and safe casinos are built using RNGs (random number generators) and land-based ones use simple chance. No two hands or spins are alike, so know when to walk away.

Verdict

Can you cheat a land-based casino? Yes, if you know someone on the inside. What about cheating an online one? No. What about beating a casino? Honestly, there is no definitive way to beat casinos, but there are certainly ways to ensure that you can effectively lower the casino’s house edge as much as possible. When honing your skills using various betting and gameplay strategies, and using your knowledge of probability, you can ensure that you won’t be going home empty handed at the very least.