Understanding the math behind casino games gives you the knowledge that you need to understand how the games work. Understanding casino math can tip the balance in your favor when you play your favorite games for real money.
Slotocash Casino and other top casinos use different mathematical principles to ensure that, over time, they will profit from the games that they offer. Knowing how the math works can guide you in choosing the right games and the right gaming strategies so that you can increase your wins.
Casinos use elements of probability statistics, and game theory to design their games. Take a look at how knowledge of house advantage, player value, comp policies, confusion about win rates, game volatility, casino pricing mistakes and regulatory issues can give you a more satisfying casino experience.
Casinos and Money
Nico Zographos, famed 1920s Monte Carlo dealer described casino gaming by saying, “There is no such thing as luck. It is all mathematics.” The mathematical advantage that the house enjoys – the “house edge” -- ensures that the house enjoys an advantage that keeps it winning the majority of the time. The casinos rely on those mathematical principles to stay profitable.
Ways that understanding the mathematics of casino games can help the player include helping gamers overcome superstition, giving them information that will allow them to better budget their time and money at the casino, guiding players in choosing their game and informing players' expectations as to the consequences of various gambling activities.
What are the most important mathematical elements of casino games?
The House Edge
Your chances of winning a casino game and the rate at which you win or lose depends on the game and, for some games, your skill level (mostly blackjack and poker.) The amount of money that you can expect to win or lose -- in the long run – is known as the “expectation.” The casino calculates the expectation based on the long run. For instance, in roulette, for a $5 bet, the expectation is –$0.263 which translates into the casino’s House Edge. The house edge represents the price of playing the game to the player.
That means that if you’re playing a game with a 4% house edge, you’ll lose your money twice as fast as if you were playing a game with a 2% house edge.
So if you’re focused on the payouts, you want to avoid games and bets where the house edge is high. Games of pure chance have the highest house edge and there’s no way to lower them. Games that require some betting savvy, like baccarat and craps, have low house edges. Games where gaming skill combines with betting savvy, including video poker games of Caribbean Stud poker, Three Card poker, Pai Gow poker and Let ‘Em Ride poker have the lowest house edge. Blackjack offers the skilled player some of the best odds in the casino.
Probability versus Odds
“Probability” represents the number of times the event has occurred to the number of times a specific outcome occurs. “Odds” represents the number of times an outcome occurs to the number of times that the outcome does not occur.
If you randomly select a card from a 52-card deck, the probability that it is a heart is 1 out of 4 and the odds against it being a heart are 3 to 1. The odds in a casino game refer to the payoff on an event. For instance, in American roulette, if you bet on a single number, there’s a probability of 1/38 that you’d win. You’d have to be paid 37 to 1 to break even in the long run – the actual payout is 35 to 1 in American roulette.
Win Rate
Win percentage, hold percentage, house edge and theoretical win percentage refer to different aspects of the theoretical win rate. House edge and theoretical win percentage are the same thing. Win percentage is win over handle and hold percentage is win over drop. The more you play, the more the win percentage will approach the house edge which will bring the win percentage increasingly closer to the theoretical win percentage.
Player Value
Casinos compute the player value (also called theoretical win) based on the player’s average bet size, duration of play and pace of the game that s/he’s playing. The casino uses the formula “Earning Potential = Average Bet + Hours Played + Decisions per Hour + House Advantage. For example, if you play baccarat at $5 per hand for 12 hours at 50 hands per hour and you use a house advantage of 1.2%, this player’s worth to the casino is 5 x 12 x 50 x 0.012.
Many casinos offer comp points by giving the gamer back a set percentage of their earning potential. Most comp points are based on theoretical loss.
Volatility
Volatility refers to the frequency that a slot game pays out wins. If you’re playing a game with higher volatility, you’ll have fewer wins but the wins will be more. A game with lower volatility will have a shorter period of time between wins but the wins will be lower. If you prefer a game with many wins, even though the payouts are of a lower value, choose a low-volatility game.
Casino Pricing
Be aware that if you find a promotion (game with side bets or increased payouts), it’s likely that those promotions will reduce the house edge, giving you an edge that you might otherwise not have. Just don’t forget that you may “get lucky” in the short term but in the long term, the house edge will always win out. So it’s best to keep your gaming sessions short and sweet.
When you play at the casino, remember that it’s all mathematics in the long run. You can’t beat the casino’s edge but you can increase your own edge by understanding the mathematics of casino gaming.
