7 Reasons to Love Casino Games

There’s a lot to love when it comes to casino games. I like the constant battle and challenge of trying to find ways to overcome the odds that the casinos offer, and I like to check out new casino games when they’re released.

Another reason why I love casino games is something that most gamblers don’t love. Every casino game is built on a foundation of math. I like figuring out how the math for each game works, because once you do that you might be able to improve the odds.


Here’s a list of seven things that I love about casino games.

1 – Using Strategy

When I started playing casino games, I played just like most other people. I simply went with my gut when the game required a decision. But I eventually learned that many casino games are designed in a way that the decisions you make influence your chances of winning.

When you have the opportunity to make decisions that influence the odds, this means you can use strategy. The two casino games where strategy is most important are blackjack and video poker. When you’re playing these two games strategy can change the return to player percentage by 2% or more.

Over the years I’ve spent gambling, I’ve learned that some casino games are designed so you can’t use strategy when you play. When you play slots, you can’t influence the return to player percentage using strategy.

I usually don’t play casino games when I can’t use strategy. I simply enjoy the challenge of making the right strategy plays, and don’t get as much enjoyment out of games where strategy doesn’t matter.

2 – The Search for Advantages

Strategy can only take you so far when you’re playing casino games. Strategy alone only improves the return to player numbers. It doesn’t do enough to push them to 100% or more. And you have to get them to 100% or more if you’re going to win in the long run.

Don’t let this discourage you or convince you that using strategy isn’t important. The first step toward finding an advantage is to become a master of strategy. Once you play perfect strategy, the next step is finding an additional method to find an advantage.

The most common way to get an advantage when you’re playing casino games is to play blackjack. You can learn a special technique called card counting in combination with strategy to push the return to player percentage over 100%.

You can also find advantages other places when you play casino games, and searching for advantages is one of the challenges I love about casino games. The casino doesn’t want you to win, but smart gamblers find ways to beat the casinos.

3 – Math

I know I’m in the minority, but I love math. This comes in handy when I’m playing casino games because all casino games are built on a mathematical foundation. The math is fairly easy for some casino games, and it’s extremely complicated for others.

The casino games that use a deck of cards like blackjack and most table games use fairly basic math. You know the value of every card in the deck, so you can use math to predict what can happen and determine the odds of something happening.

For example, when you’re playing blackjack and the dealer shows an ace, you know that there are four ranks of cards in the deck that give the dealer a blackjack and nine ranks that don’t. This is useful information because, when you know this, you know that the insurance offer that only pays 2:1 is a bad bet.

Even slot machines are built using math. It’s more difficult to understand the math because of all of the possible outcomes, but at their core, slot machines are mathematical.

The more you learn about the mathematics of gambling, the better you can play all casino games.

4 – An Occasional Gamble

I usually stick with the casino games where I can use strategy and hopefully find an edge. But I love the fact that there are games where I can take a gamble on a big prize. When I see a slot machine with a jackpot over $500,000, I might take a few long shot chances to try to get lucky.

This is why I occasionally buy a lottery ticket for the Powerball or Mega Millions.

I know that in the long run, casino games like slot machines and lottery tickets are a bad bet. I’m going to lose in the long run playing these games, but it’s worth it to risk a few dollars for the chance at a huge payment.

The important thing to understand is that you can’t take this too far. Every time you make a long shot gamble like this, it costs you money. This is true for these types of games and every other casino game. If you make plays using your gut instead of strategy when you play blackjack, it costs you money. So, don’t take a gamble too often.

5 – Trying New Games

Where I gamble the most, they don’t introduce new casino games very often. But when they do release a new game, I always check it out. I love seeing and trying out new casino games, because it’s easy to get bored with all of the old games.

The best place to look for new casino games is at online and mobile casino apps. They can launch new games quickly, and it doesn’t cost them as much to put a new game in the casino.

While new casino games are fun to check out, there are two problems with them. The first problem is when you play a new casino game you have no idea how good or bad the return to player percentage is. It might be high like blackjack or baccarat, or it might be terrible like most table game.

The second problem is that you don’t know what the best strategy to use is for the new game. If you can’t use any type of strategy, it’s a good indication that the game has a low return to player percentage. If you can use strategy, the faster you learn how to use strategy with a new casino game, the faster you can improve your odds.

6 – Testing Theories

A big part of using math is developing and testing theories. You come up with a theory using math, then you test the theory to see if you’re right or wrong.

The nice thing about using theories is that it takes emotion out of the equation. The theory is either right or wrong, and you learn something new either way. If the theory is correct you use the information to make better decisions in the future.


And when the theory is wrong, you also use the information to make better decisions in the future. When a theory is wrong, you adjust your theory and try again.

I love developing and testing theories using casino games. I usually use the free online games when testing theories, because it can be costly when you’re playing for real money.

7 – Trying New Systems

You need to understand something before I talk about gambling systems. Gambling systems don’t work. Gambling strategies work, while most systems don’t work. But it’s still fun to test new gambling systems sometimes.

Just like when I’m testing theories, I always use the free online or mobile casino games when I test gambling systems. I know the systems are likely going to lose in the long run, but I love seeing how close they come to being useful.

If you’ve never done this, look up the Martingale system and give it a try using free online roulette. It usually works for a while before it wipes out your money. Don’t be fooled into thinking that it actually helps you win, even if it works for a long time. The Martingale and other gambling systems always end up destroying your bankroll.

Conclusion

I know that most gamblers aren’t fond of math, but I love being able to use mathematics to improve my odds when I play casino games. The constant search for an advantage is the type of challenge that keeps me coming back.

But I’m like all gamblers in some ways as well. I like to take a long shot gamble on a progressive jackpot from time to time. And I really enjoy trying new games when they come out.

Like most things in life, there are some things to hate about casino games, but I think the list of things to love about them outweighs the bad.