Online Gambling: A Geeks’ Guide That Isn’t Quite Designed for Novices 

Tom Venter
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You enjoy gambling, but as a bit of a math whiz, you know that the bulk of games are designed to trick players into paying more money than they should. The good news is that there are numerous techniques to increase your chances of winning when playing slot machines or tables in a casino. You don’t have to be some type of walking supercomputer or a character like Rain Man. Following a few easy guidelines will boost the likelihood that things will go your way. 

Only engage in games with a modest house edge 

The “house advantage” is how gambling facilities such as casinos generate money. It’s true what they say about how the casino always wins. Because the odds are stacked in favor of the casinos, they rely on the fact that when players play their games, they have a higher than average probability of losing. Some would consider this conduct to be plain fraud. Customers are, however, made aware of the casinos’ house edges. When you order online, the fine print is usually quite small and hidden deep within the terms and conditions section. The information on slot machines in casinos is typically posted in a small type on the machine itself. 

A look at the roulette wheel is a good example of the house advantage at work. If you stake one pound on black or red and win, you will receive your initial pound plus an additional pound. If about half of the numbers are red and the other half is black, shouldn’t this be considered fair? In reality, this is not the case. 

The house gains an edge over the player by using the green zero places on a roulette wheel. A European wheel has 37 numbers that can be played. The first 18 are black, and the last 18 are red. What is the 37th numerical value? It’s the color green. If you wager on black or red, you have no chance of winning if the green number appears. As a result, your chances of winning your stake are slightly lower than fifty percent. If you bet £1 on roulette 37 times, you should win 18 times and lose 19 times, according to probability principles. This is the situation’s projected outcome. This means that the casino would be one pound ahead after 37 spins. 

Attempting this experiment just once is unlikely to yield the same results as it did this time. On the other hand, if you repeated it hundreds of thousands of times (akin to what happens at an online casino every day), the numbers would eventually converge around the amounts indicated above. 

In many ways, the house holds an advantage over different games. If you want to increase your odds of winning, play one of these games: 

  • These games include video poker and “return-to-player” slots such as Blackjack High’s Goblin’s Cave (Playtech), Ooh Aah Dracula (Barcrest), and Nemo’s Voyage (WMS). 

The following are some fundamental blackjack techniques that can help you obtain an advantage over the house: 

  • Never split a pair of tens into halves. 
  • Anything higher than a 12 beats the dealer’s six in position. 
  • You can double your bet if you have an Ace or a King in your hand and the dealer has a 5. 

The following are some examples of fundamentals that can help you improve your edge when playing video poker: 

  • Choosing the suitable games to play (in an ideal circumstance, you would be playing “Jacks or Better”). 
  • Keep a low pair (except for in certain circumstances). 
  • Further knowledge can be obtained by consulting a perfect strategy guide for blackjack or a Jacks or Better video poker strategy guide. 

A casino makes money regardless of the outcome when you play blackjack or video poker. They will, however, make a lot less money if you execute a flawless strategy! 

Play with bonuses that do not require a deposit 

The great majority of online casinos provide new players bonuses that do not demand an initial cash commitment. Prior to making a real money deposit, these are a wonderful method to test out a casino, see what games they have, and assess whether or not you like the location. It is not difficult to find one of these types of bonuses for a casino that you want to try because guides like NodepositHero.com are always releasing new ones. 

Play numerous games against other players 

If the possibility of losing money when playing against a casino makes you nervous but you still want to try your luck, why not gamble against other people? By far the most successful technique for this is to play poker. If you put in the effort to learn the game, you may be able to greatly improve your chances of winning to the point where you can make a livelihood off of it. There is a reason why the World Series of Poker final table includes players who have competed in previous tournaments. These professional players are exceptionally good at assessing their opponents and evaluating the odds to choose whether to chase or let go of hands. 

Poker is an extremely deep game, and the caliber of your opponents will have a big impact on your level of success. Even if you frequently win your Friday night home game, that doesn’t imply you’ll be able to compete with the pros in a massive cash game! 

The following are some guidelines to help you become acquainted with the concepts required to become a professional card shark: 

  • Learn how to read a starting hand chart. The game of poker relies heavily on positional play. When you are one of the last players to act, you have a much better chance of playing many inferior cards than when you are one of the first to act. Using a starting hand chart will help you win numerous online micro stakes tournaments and low-stakes cash games. 
  • Learn about money management. Entering a tournament with a $100 buy-in if you only have $100 to participate with is a bad idea. It would be in your best interests to enter a hundred $1 tournaments. This is a basic example of how to manage your bankroll. 
  • A book can help you learn the game of poker. The Fundamental Theorem of Poker by famous poker theorist David Sklansky comes highly recommended to me. Although virtually little of this will make sense at first, sticking with it is an excellent technique for progressing to increasingly challenging games. 
  • Make use of a tracking program. The most important thing to remember when playing poker online is to play as many hands as possible, as efficiently as possible, in order to maximize your wins. Do you recall what you observed about house edges only becoming obvious after witnessing the same situation several times in a row? The same reasoning can be applied to poker. 

Participate in an online discussion group

The book “Two Plus Two” offers a wealth of information. Get this book and employ these tactics,  then you should notice an improvement in your success at both land-based and online casinos. They are not difficult to learn, and who knows, you might even come out ahead – at least on one occasion.