Some might say that the fun in gambling only comes from winning, although that’s a controversial opinion. If you only enjoyed the casino when you walked away a winner, casinos would go out of business fast. 80% of the time, the average bet increases after a loss at the casino.
When you eventually realize how hard it is to win at betting, it might seem like the best strategy is not to bother trying to win at all.
In this post, I’ll share some thoughts on how to win at betting and still have a good time at the casino.
Practically Unlimited Funding for the Casino
If you’re gambling at a casino, whether it’s a physical one or online, you need to understand that the casino has two weapons it uses to take your money.
Any time you’re dealing with random events—like gambling and betting games—you’ll notice streaks that don’t reflect the actual probabilities. You’ll see winning streaks and losing streaks. Some will be short, but others will be long.
You might think it’s impossible for the roulette ball to land on black 8 times in a row, but this happens at least once a day in every casino.
What this means for the player is that sooner or later, they’ll hit a losing streak long enough to break them.
The casino never runs out of money to pay players when they’re lucky. But when the casino is the lucky one, the player doesn’t have the funds to keep playing and catch up.
The Casino’s Other Weapon: The House Edge
Every game in the casino—and almost every bet—has a built-in mathematical advantage for the casino. In most cases, this edge is impossible to beat in the long run. That’s why you see online casinos offering such big bonuses.
Here’s an example of how the math works:
Let’s say I want to play a game with you where I put two marbles in an opaque bag.
One marble is red and the other is black.
You bet on black and, without looking, pull a marble from the bag.
If you draw the black marble, you win the amount you risked.
But if you draw the red marble, you lose the amount you risked.
This is called an even-money payout, and it’s essentially a break-even game. Over time, you’ll lose about as much as you win at betting, so you won’t see a profit or a loss.
The difference between the odds of winning and the payout odds gives the house its edge.
But let’s say I put 3 marbles in the bag—one black, one red, and one green.
You bet on black, and 1 out of 3 times, you win. But 2 out of 3 times, you lose.
Keep doing that over and over again, and eventually, you’ll run out of money.
You can change the number of marbles and reduce the size of the house edge, but it’s still there.
For example:
You could have 2 red marbles, 2 black marbles, and 1 green marble.
In that case, out of every 5 bets, you’d win two and lose three.
That’s exactly how roulette works—except instead of marbles, you have a spinning wheel with 38 numbers: 18 black, 18 red, and two green.
Over 38 spins, you’ll win at betting about 18 times and lose 20 on average.
Understanding that the math is against you is the first step toward enjoying betting at the casino—despite the odds being stacked against players.
How to Beat the House Edge
In most casino games, there’s no way to beat the house edge in the long run.
But you can beat it in the short term. That’s called “getting lucky.” It’s also known as “variance.”
One way to win at betting is to put yourself in a position where you can benefit from that variance. And the way to do that is by embracing the short term.
If you want to win at betting, the best way to do it is to win a big bet—and get lucky. Then walk away. For good.
I’ve written about this before. It’s called the “maximum boldness” strategy.
It’s fun for a certain type of person—like Ashley Revell. He bet $135,000 on a single spin of the roulette wheel—and won.
I’m not suggesting you do that, but if it sounds like fun, I wouldn’t blame you.
When you bet on black in roulette, you have a 47.37% chance of winning an even-money bet.
But that’s just the probability of winning one bet.
Another Way to Overcome the House Edge
Another way to beat the house advantage in the casino is to choose a game where a gambling technique with an edge is applied. A card-counting technique is a strategy for playing a casino game that gives you a mathematical advantage over your opponent. This makes the casino the better gambler. The classic example of a card-counting strategy is blackjack.
The casino edge in blackjack is less than 1% if you play with perfect basic strategy, but that won’t allow you to win in the long run. Even if you play every hand of blackjack in a mathematically perfect way, you’ll lose all your money if you play long enough.
Gambling with Other People Can Present Profitable Situations
You’re not limited to gambling at casinos. You can also gamble against individual opponents. If you want to buy a roulette table and offer to let some people play at your house, you can enjoy yourself and win at the same time.
You’re not limited to opening a casino. You can also start playing poker. Since you’re competing with other poker players, you’re not dealing with a situation where your opponent has a mathematical advantage over you.
However, there’s a catch: In order to have a mathematical edge in poker same with online poker, you need to be a more skilled player than your opponents.
If they’re better than you at the game, you’re still fighting against a mathematical disadvantage.
You might think cheating would be a fun way to win at betting.
I’d like to point out that real cheating is illegal at the casino. You can—and probably will—go to jail if you try to cheat at casino games.
Conclusion
Yes, you can win at betting and have fun.
But you must understand that no one wins all the time.
However, you can learn useful gambling techniques that will help you win consistently in the long run. It just takes some effort.