7 Things I Hate About Casino Games

Over the last few decades, I’ve spent a lot of time in casinos and even more time gambling through other ways. I’ve had plenty of great sessions in the past. And every now and then, I even win enough to make a little bit of money.

But like everything else, there are some things I hate about casino games. I know what you’re thinking,

“Why should I care about what you think of casino games?” Well,


this really isn’t about me. It’s about what you can learn from my years’ worth of gambling experience.

Reading this page might just help you learn more about the disadvantages of gambling in general.

So, without further ado, here are seven things I hate about casino games.

1 – Most New Games Are Terrible

Name the last casino game that was released that you genuinely thought was a good game. Of course, your definition of a “good” casino game might be different than mine. I define a good casino game as one that’s fun to play and doesn’t have a terrible casino edge.

Many new casino games are fun to play when they first come out, but they all tend to have a lower return to player percentage than some of the games that have been around for years.

I compare all new games to blackjack and baccarat. The main reason why I use these two games for comparison is because baccarat offers a high return to player without the need for strategy, and blackjack offers an even higher return if you’re willing to learn and use advanced techniques.

The return to player for baccarat is as high as 98.94%, and blackjack offers as high as 99.75% depending on how well you use strategy and the rules at the table where you’re playing.

I remember when Let It Ride came out. It was extremely fun to play, and the truth is that it’s still fun to play. But when I looked up the return to player numbers, I realized that it was a terrible game.

And every new casino game release I can think of fits in the same category. They might be fun to play, but none of them come close to baccarat and blackjack when it comes to payback percentages.

The only category of casino games that has a constant influx of new games is the slots category. But I haven’t found a single new slots game with a return to player percentage anywhere close to baccarat or blackjack.

2 – All the Old Games Can Get Boring

I’ve spent plenty of time playing all of the traditional casino games. Blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat, video poker, and slot machines are the staple casino games that most players are familiar with. And the fact is that these games are starting to get a little boring.

How many times can you watch the roulette wheel spin until it gets old? How many hands of baccarat can you play before the anticipation wears off? Maybe my point of view is slanted because of my age and how much I’ve gambled throughout my lifetime, but sometimes, you do get tired of the same old thing.

And I do my best to keep things interesting. I’ve learned how to use the best strategy for all of the popular casino games, but most of them either don’t have a good strategy or the strategy is so simple that it doesn’t really add much to the game at all.

Real money blackjack is now my favorite casino game because I learned how to count cards pretty well. This can be a bit challenging to do, and it’s certainly a challenge to get away with it without getting caught. But even this has turned into a bit of a tiresome game rather than fun.

If I want to have fun, I usually don’t gamble anymore. The closest thing I can get to having fun when I gamble is when I play poker, and I’ve played it so much that it’s almost systematic at this point.

3 – The Minimum Cost to Play

I remember when you could play most games in the casino for $5. This tells you more about how old I am than much of anything else. But now, it seems rare to find a table where you can play for less than $20.

I do find $10 tables sometimes, but these are usually at a game that I won’t play because the return to player percentage is so low that you shouldn’t even bother to play. The sad fact is that you have a better chance to win when you bet $20 at most blackjack tables than risking $10 at tables with worse games.

The good news is that this is mostly a live casino problem. You can play the exact same games that are available in live casinos on your phone or computer, and the minimum bets are much smaller. You can still find mobile and online casinos where you can play most games for $1.

4 – Too Fast or Too Slow

When I’m counting cards in blackjack, the dealer can’t work through the shoe fast enough. The more hands I can play before I have to switch tables or find another casino, the more I can make. But the game seems to drag on slowly forever.

On the other hand, if I sit down at a slot machine, I quickly fall into the slots trance and make hundreds of spins every hour.

Every casino game I play either operates too fast or too slow. And when I play casino games online, they all play too fast, unless I consciously slow everything down.

5 – No Strategy or Complicated Strategies

You can argue that baccarat and roulette have strategy, but it’s so simple that I don’t think it counts. Baccarat strategy consists of always making a bet on banker, and roulette strategy is simply finding a French wheel.

Even craps strategy is doing the same two things over and over again. In craps, you bet on the don’t pass option and use odds.


You can’t use a strategy that works when you play slots machines, keno, and many other casino games. You might find a system that claims to beat these games, but in the end, these systems don’t work.

On the other end are games like blackjack and video poker. These games do allow you to use strategy, but it’s much more complicated than that. This doesn’t mean you can’t learn the best strategies for these games, but there are no games in the middle.

You either don’t use strategy at all, play a game with a simple strategy, or go all in and play a game using a complicated strategy.

6 – Side Bets

I learned a long time ago that casino game side bets are terrible. Many of them add a fun element to the game, and some of them even look like a good wager. But when you take a closer look at them, they all just add more money to the casino’s pocket.

I used to look at every new side bet in the same way I looked at new casino games. Would this new side bet be a decent option that I could use? But every new side bet option is just like all of the old ones.

At this point in time, I usually ignore all of the side bets regardless of whether they’re old or new. In fact, the only side bet I’ve made in recent years is insurance at the blackjack table, and I only use this when the count is particularly high. Otherwise, it’s like all of the other side bets and just makes you lose more money.

7 – It’s Almost Impossible to Win

The thing that I hate the most about casino games is that it’s almost impossible to win. Sometimes, I get lucky and win. But unless I’m counting cards while playing blackjack, I know that I’m losing more money than I’m winning.

I suppose this shouldn’t come as a big surprise, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Casinos have to make money if they want to stay in business, and the way they make money is taking it from gamblers.

The only thing you can do if you’re going to continue gambling is learn as much as you can and use strategies and techniques that give you a chance to win.

Conclusion

I have to admit that there are plenty of things that I love about casino games. But there are some things about casino games that I just hate.

Every time a new casino game is released, I hope that it’s a great new game, but I’m almost always disappointed. And all of the old casino games have been around so long that they’re boring.

The minimum bet amounts have been going up for casino games, so you can’t play for cheap unless you play online or on your phone. The side bets get worse every year, and most of them need to be avoided. And the worst thing about casino games is that it’s almost impossible to win.