In online casinos and brick-and-mortar establishments alike, we can find a rich assortment of entertaining games. They vary significantly on many levels, but everybody should be able to find something for themselves. 

While recreational players can just focus on how much fun they are having, more dedicated casino enthusiasts should be looking at games' odds. They are, ultimately, what decides the probability of success in the long run. 

Sports betting

When you think about odds in general, even without in-depth knowledge about how they work, the first thing that comes to mind is sports betting. It isn't something you can enjoy in most traditional casinos, but major online companies often include real money wagers in their offer. So, it is good to start with learning the betting odds, if only to understand the concept. 

When picking out a sporting event to back, you always work with odds. The idea is simple: the more probable is the occurrence of a particular event, the lower the potential rewards get. Suffice to say, making a bet on slim odds does not make much sense, as it's too big of a risk with too insignificant potential earnings.

Another thing is placing accumulator bets that consist of two or more events on a single ticket. For those wagers, the odds multiply, which can lead to considerable winnings. However, it should be advised that just one miss will cancel the whole coupon. It is also worth remembering that odds aren't always displayed in the same manner, as there are a few ways to write them down: American odds, fractional and decimal odds.

Roulette

When the game's outcome can be decided with the occurrence or non-occurrence of a certain thing, just like in sports betting, calculating odds becomes relatively simple. Similar goes for an absolute casino classic that is the game of roulette.

The most typical roulette move is deciding whether the ball is going to land on black or red. You have about a 50% chance of success. It isn't exactly like a simple coin toss because the number 0 (also 00 in American variant) is marked as green. 

The hardest to pull off and the most profitable are the inside bets. You put your money on a single number or sets of numbers. For example, for the straight-up bet, you pick a specific number you expect the ball to land on. It pays 35 to 1 and has odds set at 2.7% (2.6% American).  


Baccarat

Although baccarat was once considered quite a complicated game, with simplified contemporary rules, it's now one of the most popular choices among high rollers. It is also believed to be a casino game with the lowest house edge. 

Typically, there are three options in baccarat. Those are: to bet on the "player," "banker," or a "tie." The first two types are paid one to one unless a commission is charged on bank bets that change the odds slightly anywhere from 0.95 to 1. The winnings from betting on "tie" can vary from casino to casino. Usually, the payout is either 8:1 or 9:1. 

The above puts a baccarat house edge on the banker bets at 1.06% and 1.36% on player bets. The casino advantage on the house edge rises to a quite high 14.4%, which is understandable, given the generous payout.

Keno

Being a lottery-like game, keno relies largely on chance. Participants pick numbers, typically ranging from 1 to 80, and make their wagers. Then about 20 random numbers are drawn, either using devices similar to bingo machines or the random number generator. For those reasons, keno is not considered a game with high winning odds, and they can vary a lot, depending on the different combinations.

While all that is essentially true, there are still things to do to make it worth our time. Adopting a fundamental keno strategy is the way to go. One of the fundamental things to remember when playing the game is to choose casinos and games with better payouts. You should be looking at Return to Player ratio – the higher, the better.

Slot machine games

Return to Player is an essential value to take under consideration when playing slot machine games. RTP represents the amount of wagered money a particular machine or online slot gives back to the players. It is usually displayed as a percentage. 

There are other characteristics of a slot game that might be attractive to players, such as special features, bonus rounds, pleasing graphic design, and so on. However, only by minding the RTP factor can you increase your chances of success in the long run. To achieve the best results, the specific games should have an RTP of 96% or more.

Craps

The game of craps is another casino classic that can be appealing to recreational gamblers. After all, you only need a pair of dice to play. That doesn't mean the game is boring.  In casinos, players make wagers on the outcome of a roll or a series of rolls. There are a few types of bets. A pass line bet is especially recommended to beginners, as it represents one of the lowest house edges (1.41%) and the highest odds of successful landing (251 to 244).

In certain situations, the house edge in craps can rise to as much as 16.9% on some wagers. It can result in some heavy losses during a game session. One of the basic strategies in craps is reducing the house edge as much as possible. The best outcome a player can hope for is to do something called "laying the odds".

Blackjack

Blackjack is one of the most popular card games you can enjoy in a casino. It involves the element of luck and a little skill. Whoever goes the closest to reaching 21 without busting out (exceeding that number) wins. The main objective is to defeat the dealer who behaves according to specific rules, such as always taking another card when the current value is 16 or less.

The dealer's chances of winning depend on luck as much as the Player's, which seemingly puts the odds at 50%. However, it's worth remembering that a bet is lost every time you bust out, even when a dealer does the same. It puts a house edge at 8%. Only by following all blackjack rules and assuming basic strategy can significantly lower that number over a more extended period.