Casino guides: odds, rules and how the games work
How each game is played, what the published figures mean and where the house edge comes from. Start here before reading a game page.
17 guides in this section
Are slot machines rigged? What is fixed and what is random
Slots are built to return less than is staked, and that is disclosed. How random number generators work, how games are tested and where real cheating occurs.
Baccarat odds: banker, player and tie compared
Baccarat odds and house edge for banker, player and tie bets in the standard eight-deck game, with commission-free variants and side bets explained.
Blackjack house edge: the table rules that change the odds
How blackjack rules move the house edge: 3:2 versus 6:5 payouts, number of decks, the dealer’s soft-17 rule, doubling, splitting and multi-hand play.
Bonus buy slots: what a feature buy costs and what it changes
Bonus buy slots let you pay a fixed multiple of your stake to trigger the bonus round at once. What it costs, how it affects RTP and where it is not allowed.
Craps odds: the house edge on every common bet
Craps odds and house edge for the pass line, don’t pass, odds, place, field and proposition bets, so you can tell the cheap bets from the expensive ones.
Do casinos pump oxygen onto the gaming floor?
No. The claim that casinos pump oxygen to keep people gambling is a long-running myth. Where it came from, why it would not work and what casinos really do.
Highest RTP slots: how to find them and check the setting you get
What a high slot RTP means, why the same game can run at different settings in different casinos and how to check the RTP you are actually given.
House edge explained: the price of every casino bet
House edge is the share of each stake a casino keeps on average. See how it is calculated, how it relates to RTP and what it costs per hour of play.
How crash games work: the multiplier, the RTP and “provably fair”
Crash games such as Aviator pay a rising multiplier until the round ends. How the odds work at each cash-out point and what “provably fair” really covers.
Jacks or Better: pay tables, RTP and basic strategy
How to play Jacks or Better video poker, how to read 9/6 and 8/5 pay tables, the return each one offers and the strategy rules that matter most.
Progressive jackpot slots: how the prize grows and what it costs
How progressive slots fund their jackpots, what that does to the base-game RTP, and the difference between local, network and must-drop jackpots.
Roulette odds and payouts for every bet on both wheels
Roulette payouts, win probabilities and house edge for every bet on European and American wheels, with the French rule that halves the edge on even-money bets.
Roulette strategy: what betting systems can and cannot do
Martingale, Fibonacci and other roulette betting systems tested against the maths. No system changes the house edge; table choice and stake control do.
Roulette table layout and wheel layout: where every number sits
The roulette table layout and the order of numbers on European and American wheels, with inside bets, outside bets and the French call bets explained.
Slot volatility explained: what low, medium and high really mean
Slot volatility describes how a game’s return is spread across wins. Learn how low and high volatility slots behave and why two 96% games can feel so different.
Surrender in blackjack: what it is and when to use it
Surrender lets you give up half your blackjack bet instead of playing the hand. The rule explained, with the exact hands where basic strategy uses it.
Three Card Poker: rules, payouts, odds and the one strategy rule
How Three Card Poker works, what the Ante and Pair Plus bets pay, the house edge on each and the single strategy rule that covers the whole game.