Are Casino Games Rigged?
If you have ever gambled in a casino, you know that it is harder to win than it appears in the movies. But are casino games really rigged?
To be clear, you should not gamble in a casino expecting to win; however, rigging casino games is illegal, and therefore, businesses don’t do it. Read on as we discuss how casinos make income, as well as some ways to ensure you gamble wisely.
Do Casinos Rig Games In Their Favor?
As mentioned in the introduction, the actual rigging of casino games is illegal. Legitimate casinos, both online and brick and mortar, face strict legal scrutiny to ensure they aren’t rigging games in anyone's favor.
That being said, casino games are set up so that casinos are able to make money. Let us explain.
If you’ve ever been to a casino, you know that a large, air-conditioned building like that is not free to run. Essentially, casinos must make some money in order to keep the lights on. They do this by assigning rake to table games (a small amount withheld by the casino from every pot) and by setting a win ratio on slot games.
The average “rig” or payout setting for a particular machine depends on the location of the casino. Online casinos are able to give much more money back to gamblers because they have less overhead. In general, the “setting” for online casinos is 0.95 or, in other words, about 95% of bets are returned or “paid out” as winnings to players, while 5% is retained by the casino to cover operating costs.
In-person casinos obviously need much more capital, and therefore, it is rare to see a payout percentage of anything over 0.87. And even then, this setting is high (most often found in smaller, less opulent casinos) while casinos in famed places like Las Vegas often have returns as low as 0.85 or 0.8…85% or 80% respectively.
Now, this doesn’t mean that if you put in a dollar, you will get 85 cents back. This “percentage” is overall, and the casino must be able to prove it if they are audited. In layman’s terms, it means you may bet a dollar and lose it all, while the man next to you bets a dollar and receives $1.70. Of course, the reality is there is no way to predict these winnings, and who will get them, the point is just that the casino must prove their rate if asked. They generally do this by showing tracked records of bets made on particular machines and the payouts later given.
So, in summary, yes, the machines in casinos are rigged in the casino’s favor, but not in the way you may think. There is still quite a lot of luck involved in gambling, though casinos must prove their return rate when asked by government officials.
Are Any Casino Games Not Rigged?
Unfortunately, because running a casino is not free (whether online or in person), all casino games in all casinos are set to take a small portion from gamblers in order to cover the cost of doing business; this does not mean that the games are rigged, or that you can’t make money gambling.
The only way to use this in your favor is to take the time to find casinos with lower rake or higher payout rates and frequent those casinos above others. While this won’t change your luck any, it may increase the amount of money to return home with after regular gambling sessions.
What is Rake?
Rake is the word used to describe the small amount of money removed from each pot bet in table games in a casino. This small amount can be considered a “fee” for using the table and the casino’s dealers.
Although the concept of rake can sound bad, it’s important to recognize that this is how a casino is able to afford putting on table games and card tournaments. Rake can get pricey fast, however, so it is always better to search for casinos with a lower rake percentage if you pay frequently.
Rake, like the win percentage set on machine gambling, must be specified by the casino when asked. Most casinos additionally post their rake somewhere in the table game area so gamblers can review it if they want to.
What Casino Games Make the Most Money?
As we already mentioned, most of gambling comes down to luck; however, if you want to try your best to avoid funding a casino, then you should learn to play card games with live dealers—more specifically, poker.
Poker, unlike other table games, returns most of its money to the players (besides the small rake taken from each pot), and it involves some skill on top of luck. Blackjack, which usually attracts a fair number of players on a casino floor, involves the dealer playing against the players—meaning that when the dealer wins, so does the casino. Poker, on the other hand, is played only against the other players, so beyond the rake, all funds go to people rather than the casino.
Beyond poker, there is no way to predict what machines or games in a casino will make you the most money. While you can typically find out the approximate win rate of a casino, this does not mean that playing a certain game will make you more likely to win than playing others.
While there are some gambling strategies you can use to increase your odds of winning games like blackjack or slot machines, there is no way to ensure you will win. Of course, playing in online casinos, like MintDice.com, increases your chances of winning because the casino is able to return much more to the players than an in-person casino.
Other than that, know that when you gamble, you are taking a risk, so only gamble with money you can afford to lose. So, pick your favorite game and good luck!
