What is the worst bet on a table game in the typical casino?

Question

I've heard it's the Money Wheel. You know, the one that Rainman plays... I've also heard that Sic-Bo is relatively bad, but fun because of the potential for a big win. Is there a single bet that should never be made on a table game? (Please do not just answer: "Any losing bet is a bad bet." I've already thought of that answer!) I'm new to gambling and don't want to lose too quickly when I get to the casino tomorrow. I probably should have saved this for another question, but are the table game payouts at online casinos identical to a place like the MGM?

Answer 1

The easist answer is to not take the little gimmick side bets, as they are usually some of the worst. For example, the $1 bonus in Fortune Pai Gow and the $1 side bet bonus in Let It Ride are bets you want to stay away from.

You were also correct in assuming that the Big 6 aka Money Wheel and Sic Bo are awful bets. Some bets in those games have house advantages of over 15% on the player. Also, stay away from hard-ways and one roll bets in craps. Those are awful too.

As for your online gambling related question. The payouts at online casinos for table games are identical to land-based casinos. The games play exactly the same. Slot payouts tend to be higher online, at least at the casinos that are audited by third party auditors like PWC. You can view info about online casino payouts at http://www.ranked-online-casinos.com/payout-percentages.html

There are two perks to playing table games online instead of at land-based casinos. Land-based casinos usually only give cash-back to slots and video poker players. Online casinos give those players cash back, as well as the table game players too! The other perk is that online casinos will give you bonus money with your first purchase!

Answer 2

Poker (against live players) is the game where you can have a huge advantage if your skill level is higher than your opponents. In the long run you will make money. Of course it can take a long time to master. Blackjack is next. If you only know basic strategy, then you have roughly about a 1% advantage over the house. If you know basic strategy AND you know how to count cards (assuming that a given casino has favorable conditions for counting) then you can have a HUGE advantage over the house in certain situations (up to 20%!). The reason I say "certain situations" is because your advantage or disadvantage will fluctuate as the count fluctuates. Craps is next but only if you bet the pass/don't pass where the house advantage is only 1.41% or 1.40% respectively. If you take the odds then the house advantage is lowered even further. All the other bets are sucker bets because the house advantage is prohibitive. For example, people LOVE to bet "field" because they think that they have an advantage (due to all the numbers they get). They put down their money (as one bet) on the 2,3,4,9,10,11,and 12. It is a single-roll bet that pays even money (except on the 2 and 12 where you get double). Lots of chances, right? WRONG. If you add up all of your winning chances you get 16 possible winning chances out of 36 possible combinations of the dice. However if you add up the losing chances (if you roll a 5,6,7,8) you will lose 20 times (out of the 36 possible combinations). So if you bet $1 each for 36 rolls of the dice, you will win $18 (remember the 2 and 12 pay double) and lose $20. This gives the house an advantage of 5.6% on the field bet. If you bet the "Big Red" (any 7), the house has a whopping 16.67% edge! Generally speaking, all of the "one-roll" bets on the craps table are sucker bets. Baccarat is next best. Here, the house advantage is only about 2.5% (if you stick to the side bets). This is due to the 5% vig that the house charges you if you bet the "bank" and it wins. And NO, betting the bank every single time is NOT a winning strategy. If you do that 100 times (betting $1 each time), you will lose 50 times and win 50 times. However the times you lose you will lose a total of $50, and the times you win you will win $45. Roulette has a basic house edge of 5.26%. You get paid 35 to 1 on a number if it hits but there are 38 possible outcomes (if there is a 0 and 00), so they should be paying you 37 to 1 to make the game fair. The carnival games such as Let It Ride and 3 Card Poker are even worse.

Answer 3

Anything that involves very little thought and a ton of luck is a sucker bet. The big flashy things that youmay see at the front of a casino, like the huge slot machine that you can pull for a dollar (just an example, not a table game, granted). Sic Bo is bad and the Big Wheel games are also horrible. Any exotic bet or longshot bets are also bad bets, like the hardways on craps tables and single number bets in roulette. Generally, if you ask, the dealers can even tell you the odds of hitting on certain games...a rule of thumb: if the payout for a certain bet is really high, your odds of hitting it is really low. Very intelligent people who run the casinos and create the games know that the house has an advantage on their games, and you'll see more and more tables where the house has a greater edge popping up in your local casinos.

The recent rise in popularity in poker has given birth to new poker off-shoot games, such as four-card poker and Hold 'Em-derivative games. Of all of them, you're pretty much laying down bad odds on winning, so stay away from them if you can. The one attractive feature of these games is that you usually have betting options after you get your cards, like doubling or tripling your bet in four-card poker or going "all in" in the Hold-Em games. Again, bad odds, and the house holds a huge edge on these games. If you're looking to waste money, though (which you should be prepared to do if you're going into a casino, anyway) play Let It Ride, which gives you the option of placing three equal bets, and the opportunity to pull back two bets as you play if your cards aren't looking good. Honestly, if you like poker, you're better off sitting down at the 2-4 or 3-6 limit poker games that you can find in most every casino nowadays.

The biggest sucker bet (and probably worst) is any "bonus" bet you can make at a table. They odds of hitting the bonus are the worst in the house, so stay away from it, no matter how tempting it may be.

If blakjack is your game, be wary of multi-deck tables and pay close attention to the blackjack payoff. Stick to single deck.

Answer 4

The worst bets are generally the side bets that have high pay outs. Any time the casino will pay like 10 to 1 odds it's a bad bet for the gambler that's why they pay so well. It' like a slot machine then; people look at the big big pay outs and get suckered in--same as on the tables. Best game odds wise is intelligent Black Jack but everyone still loses.

Answer 5

All of the above answers are good. That rule is correct, if the odds or the payout is large then your odds of winning are low. That's a rule for every game.

Bad ones to bet is the insurance on blackjack, even a dealer will tell you it's not a good bet. You can even ask the other people at the table (any table/game) when it is offered, the will tell you 'NO'.

Most of the outside bets on Roulette are ok, they are all either 47% for even money or a 31% for 2 to 1.

When in doubt, ask the dealer. They will tell you what the odds are and how many people play them.

Oh, and the guy above me, "don't bet on the zeros", their the same as any other number their just green. Every single number has the exact same chance of coming in as every other number every single spin (1 out of 38)

Answer 6

The best bet is blackjack. If you play properly at "hit on soft 17" tables, you can actually win money. Any card game against other players & not the house you have an excellent chance of winning.

Worst bet? I'd say putting it all on green at roulette.

Answer 7

Typically, the bigger the payout, the higher the house edge.

For example, on a dice table, the pass line pays even money, and the house edge is 2%.
But the 6-6 (single roll, win if a 12 comes up) pays 30-1, but the house edge is 15%.

Answer 8

There are a lot of bad ones...One of the worst is the field bet on a craps table - 20 ways to lose, 16 ways to win. That's why it is so large on the table and you can place the bet yourself by simply putting your $ in the field.

Answer 9

The worst bet is walking into a casino thinking you are going to win.

Answer 10

i can't believe all these high rollers got it wrong!IT'S ANY 7 on the craps table it gives the house the biggest edge of all .ther are 36 possible combinations and 6 of them make 7 so it should pay 6:1 the TRUE ODDS but it only pays 4:1 -giving the house a HUGE 16.61% advantage( to compare blackjack,rouleete and the PASS LINE on the craps table only give the house between 2 and 5.26%!