Casino Game Tips For The Cautious

Discover great ways to balance risk and reward when you play casino games.

Follow our Top 5 tips when playing casino games like slots, roulette and more.

Top 5 Casino Game Tips For Players

Everyone knows that there are no guarantees in gambling. In fact, this element of unpredictability is half the fun! But then there is that exhilarating feeling you get when the dice, reels or cards do fall in your favor.

The smartest players know how to enjoy the thrill of the game without throwing caution entirely to the wind.

Here are our Top 5 tips for careful casino game players:

1 – Check Each Slot's Requirements

Why is it that, sometimes, even though you have landed the top-paying slot combination, you don't win the jackpot? The most likely reason is that you haven't wagered the slot's maximum bet, which is often a requirement to be eligible for the top payout.

Always check the pay table, before you play any new slot game. This way, you will have a solid grasp of the rules, terms and conditions before you try your luck. For simpler slot games, you are likely to find the pay table displayed on the front panel of the machine.

Also, keep an eye out for any fine print near the bottom of or alongside the pay table.

By making sure you understand how any game works, you can enhance your likelihood of beating the odds, while also managing your own expectations.

2 – Keep Your Bets Small

If anyone tells you to “go big or go home”, tell them to go home!

In the long run, larger bets do not equal greater total winnings. That is simply the nature of the game. For the best odds of actually turning a profit, always play with the long game in mind.

Why is this? Because the more bets you place, the more chances you have to land a win. Since larger bets eat into your bankroll far more, it is likely that a high-roller approach will deplete your funds before you see much of a return. Such an approach relies entirely on you being lucky enough to land a big win before your bankroll runs dry…

and there is no guarantee that this will happen.

Don't allow big shiny jackpots to distract you. carefully before you start playing and decide on what you can afford to put on the table.

Then consider how many bets you'll be able to place, depending on the wager amount you select.

If you are working on a tight budget, games that pay out the same winnings, regardless of wager amount, are your safest bet.

3 – Err On The Side Of Smaller Jackpots

The biggest slots jackpots you'll find in any legal and licensed are the progressives.

They can grow to such massive amounts because all the bets by all players of that particular game are pooled together to make up the jackpot total. The larger the player pool, the larger the progressive jackpot. These big-jackpot slots tend to take much longer to ultimately pay out.

Fortunately, there are many slots with smaller jackpots that pay out daily, before they have grown to a particular amount, or even by the hour. The smaller the jackpot, the shorter the time gaps between payouts. Naturally, you have a greater chance of actually hitting the jackpot on such a slot game.

4 – Understand House Edge & RTP

Two terms you must be familiar with in order to be a savvy casino game player are “theoretical return to player (RTP)” and “house edge”. These vary from game to game, dependent on the rules of the game, which determine the statistical frequency of wins.

The RTP reflects how much a player can expect to win in relation to their total bets and is indicated as a percentage. The house edge, meanwhile, represents the opposite side of the same coin. It is the casino's statistical advantage, also indicated as a percentage, over time.

So, for example, a casino game with an RTP of 85% will have a house edge of 15%.

Here are the typical house edges of some popular casino games:

Slot machines:2-15%

Single-zero roulette: 2.70%

Double-zero roulette: 5.26%

Blackjack: 0.28%

Jacks or Better video poker (full pay): 0.46%

Because the RTP is always a higher number than the house edge, some novice gamblers make the mistake of thinking that the odds are, therefore, overwhelmingly stacked in favor of the player.

This mistaken thinking is based on the erroneous assumption that the RTP/ house edge is precisely applicable to each individual bet. It is not.

RTP and house edge are calculated over a period of months or even years. They do not apply specifically to any single wager or roll of the dice.

So, for example, a house edge of 10% does not guarantee that you will retain at least 90% of your money.

However, this does not make RTP or house edge irrelevant to you. The lower the house edge, the less the basic rules of the game will disadvantage you.

Keeping this in mind will help you make smarter decisions when you play. Smarter decisions lead to more frequent wins.

You should also not consider house edge/RTP in isolation. Volatility is equally important.

5 – Understand Volatility

In essence, refers to a combination of the frequency and size of payouts.

It indicates how winnings are statistically distributed and may be high, medium, or low:

Low-volatility games deliver small wins fairly frequently. Low risk for low potential reward.

High-volatility games deliver large payouts on an infrequent basis.

High risk for high potential reward.

Medium volatility obviously refers to games that present medium risk for medium potential rewards.

Bottom Line And Bonus Tips

Ultimately, all of these casino game tips are about balancing risk and reward.

Doing this really is the best way to keep playing for longer, with no chance of breaking the bank.

Here are some bonus casino tips for the cautious:

In craps, stick with “Pass” or “Don't Pass”

In roulette, play only outside bets

In horserace betting, keep your wagers modest

In blackjack, be prepared to split