Do casinos cheat?

Some people see casinos as the Devil’s branch offices on earth and demonize them. They blame gambling houses for all deadly sins and especially for unfair play. Also, Unfortunate gamblers believe that they have lost a fortune in Roulette because the wheel was biased, or because the croupier put a magnet under it. Plus, all the Poker tables were using cold decks, and even the slot machines were rigged: they didn’t pay out even once!

And how many lashes do online casinos receive daily? The whole world is sure that they are all rigged, and anyone who dares play online pokies for real money in Australia is destined to be deceived and robbed.

We will not try to persuade you that casinos have never done such things. Also, Shady places like these exist in the online world and on land, for sure. We will tell you, though, that fair play is, in reality, in the best casinos’ interest. And here is why.

The games casinos play

Gambling houses don’t need biased equipment, magnets, cold decks, and croupiers who major in card-sharpening. Just think about it: intelligent people created casino games for casinos to make a profit. And not for gamblers to beat the House any day of the week. There is no sense in cheating and adjusting casino equipment; the odds will do all the work. The mechanics of the games already give the advantage casinos need to stay in profit in the long run. Also, The House always wins, you know that? And that is not just a catchy phrase: the principle is based on cold math and statistics.

The Gambling houses Edge:

The only thing casinos need to take care of is the guest flow. The formula for their success is many games played many times. Casinos will never rely on biased equipment and unfair gameplay, thus risking their reputation. Empty halls are what will destroy them.

To put it simply, every game of chance played at a gambling venue has winning odds. And, mathematically, they are never in the player’s favor from the very beginning. However, The House always has a slight advantage (called the House Edge) which works excellently in the long term. For example, if you are playing slots, you will have to face the House Edge of about 15%-20%, in Roulette – around 5%, and Blackjack offers casinos something about 1% advantage (making the ‘21’ the game with the best chances for gamblers).

Casinos are not saints, but they are more into psychological mind games than any tricks we’ve mentioned before. 

Interesting things in Gambling houses:

As we already know, casinos are interested in only one thing: they want gamblers to play as long as possible, as many rounds as possible. And this is where a few legal tricks come in handy.

1. Casino halls might have no windows at all, or they will be completely shut.
2. Also, Some casino ceilings are sky-blue and might even have clouds painted on them.
3. Usually, there are no mirrors and clocks on the walls of casino halls.
4. Croupiers are not allowed to wear watches.
5. Casino halls are designed like mazes.
6. Cashiers, where players exchange casino chips for money, are located at the end of the ‘maze’.
7. Casinos serve free snacks and drinks.
8. Casinos treat regular clients and VIPs like royalty and sometimes pay for their hotel suits.

All the tricks are designed to make a gambler lose track of time and get fully immersed in the gaming world. As we’ve already said earlier, all the casinos want is to bring their guests back and make their experience enjoyable. That is how they really make their money.

Can you beat the almighty Gambling houses?

Even though it’s possible, the chances of beating a casino are smaller than finding a suitcase full of banknotes somewhere on the street.

Do any kinds of strategies or algorithms ensuring a victory at a casino actually exist? You can find plenty of articles online claiming that someone has finally found a way to beat the House. Most often, the author will talk about Roulette and provide the readers with a link to register. He/she will assure that you just need to follow the link and place your bets on red (or black), doubling the stake every time you lose. The strategy is based on the idea that winning once will compensate for all the previous losses, and losing 20 times in a row is highly unlikely.

The only thing such authors ‘forget’ to mention is that all the casinos in the world are aware of the Martingale, Fibonacci, D’Alembert, Labouchere, and other strategies. And that they took precautions against such smartie-pants a long time ago: they introduced Bet limits.

Stakes:

Yes, stakes at all the casino games, especially in Roulette, are capped. If you follow one of the strategies we’ve named and don’t manage to win before reaching the maximum bet limit, you will never return your losses in a way the plan suggests. Casinos know about the Martingale strategy and make sure gamblers don’t take advantage of it. And what about the kind of author who shares knowledge and wisdom on the Internet? The writer is likely to be paid for every player who joins the casino via the affiliate link. 

The closest strategy that comes to boosting winning chances (not beating the Gambling houses – it is impossible) has been figured out for Blackjack. The ‘Blackjack Basic Strategy chart’ lists different solutions for various situations that might develop during the game. 

Here it is:

Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart (1 Deck, Dealer stands on all 17s)
	Dealer Upcard
Hard Total	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
5-7	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
8	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
9	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	R	R
17	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
Soft Total	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A, 2	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A, 3	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A, 4	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A, 5	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A, 6	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A, 7	S	DS	DS	DS	DS	S	S	H	H	S
A, 8	S	S	S	S	DS	S	S	S	S	S
A, 9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
Pairs are listed on the back of the card. By Kenneth R. Smith.

Following this table is the best thing you can do playing Blackjack.

Many seasoned gamblers tend to laugh at the chart; they believe that it can’t overshine the most powerful thing in the world – the gambling experience. Sadly, we have to admit that they are wrong. Experience and skills don’t matter at a casino table, whether you play Blackjack or Roulette. At the end of the day, it all comes down to Chance. The only game where skills and experience can help is Poker.

Conclusion:

Many brightest minds have tried to develop a perfect casino strategy for centuries and failed. We won’t advise you to spend time and money trying to do the same, but we don’t want to discourage you either. If you still decide to go for it, never forget the first casino rule: the Gambling houses always win.