Best Table Game Odds In Vegas

You’ve got one night on the Vegas strip and $100 to spend on baccarat, craps, or blackjack but which table game has the best odds? Caesars Gaming Blog has your answer. If you’re hoping to beat the odds at the casino, the game you choose to play matters.

Roulette wheel Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Spending a weekend gambling in Vegas may be fun, though you’ll probably have an even better time if you win big at the tables. If you’re hoping to beat the odds at the casino, the game you choose to play matters. You’re more likely to come home a little bit richer if you sit down at the blackjack table rather than settling in with the gray-haired set at the slots.

It all comes down to math. Amateur gamblers may hope luck is on their side when they walk through the doors of the Bellagio or Caesars Palace, but what they really need to think about are the odds of winning at different games. While the house always has an edge, it’s much bigger in some situations than in others. That’s why you never see smart gamblers wasting their time playing keno or wheel of fortune – games where you’re almost guaranteed to lose money.

Casino games with the best odds

Savvy gamblers are going to cluster around the blackjack tables, where the casino’s edge is usually between 0.5% to 1%, though the number varies depending on the number of decks and other rule variations. You can calculate the house edge on a particular game of blackjack using the Wizard of Odds online calculator. Those numbers also assume you’re playing with what’s known as basic strategy, or making the best possible decision based on the cards you’ve been dealt. For the average player who’s going to make some mistakes, the house’s edge increases to 2%, according to the University of Nevada’s Center for Gaming Research.

Blackjack table Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

“Blackjack is one of our easiest games to play,” Jay Bean, a floor manager at Caesar’s, told Cleveland’s Newsnet5. “You’re just looking for a number that beats the dealer’s number without going over 21.”

“You are somewhere between 44% to 48% in every single hand of winning,” Michael Magazine, a professor of analytics at the University of Cincinnati, said of blackjack.

After blackjack, the games with the best odds are baccarat and craps. In baccarat, which is a game of chance rather than skill, the odds are close to 50/50, though your chances are slightly better if you bet on the banker rather than the player. At the craps table, the house edge on a pass line bet is 1.4%.

Roulette is one of the easiest casino games to play, and the odds are also fairly good. If you only bet on red or black or evens or odds (as opposed to a specific number) the house edge is 5.26%, assuming you’re playing in an American casino with double zeros on the wheel. Your odds of winning are better in a European casino with a single-zero wheel.

Video poker is another game with fairly good odds for players. “For video poker the statistical advantage varies depending on the particular machine, but generally this game can be very player friendly — house edge less than 3% is not uncommon and some are less than 1% — if played with expert strategy,” per the Center for Gaming Research.

Casino games with the worst odds

Slots may be less intimidating to novice gamblers than table games like blackjack, but the house is more likely to take you for a ride. Each slot machine is different, but the Wizard of Odds estimates the house edge for penny slots at between 6% and 15%. If you can’t resist the slots, chose a higher-denomination machine, since these tend to have a higher payout percentage than lower-denomination slots.

“The average slot machine is probably two, three times more costly to players than the table games,” Bill Zender, a former professional gambler, told Mental Floss.

Even worse than slots are “sucker games” like wheel of fortune and keno. The house advantage on keno averages 27%, according to the Center for Gaming. For wheel of fortune games (which also go by names like “big six” and “lucky wheel”), the house edge ranges from 11% to 24%, depending on your bet.

Whether you choose to take a chance on the wheel of fortune or are a high-roller playing baccarat, understanding how the game is played will put you ahead of most other players.

“Ninety percent of the people who walk into a casino have no idea of the odds stacked against them,” Zender said.

Also keep this in mind: The more you gamble, the likelier you are to lose. An analysis of online gamblers found that those who bet the least also had the highest winning percentage. But even then, the numbers weren’t great. Seventeen percent of the lightest gamblers ended up in the black over a two-year period. Only 5.4% of the heaviest gamblers came out ahead.

“[T]he average person doesn’t understand the math” of the multiplier effect, Jim Kilby, who has written books on casino management, told the Wall Street Journal. “Casino games are nibbling machines, and the more nibbles you have, the bigger your losses.”

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Las Vegas craps has some of the best odds bets around. On top of this, there are high roller betting limits and huge multipliers when doing the pass line and odds bet combination. In case you didn't know, the odds bet actually pays out true odds and the house has absolutely zero edge against the players. This bet is formally known as the 'free odds' bet. The way Las Vegas gets you is with the small house edge with the pass line bet, but in Vegas casinos, players can make odds bet multiples larger than any ordinary casino.

Las Vegas Craps - Pass Line and Odds Bet

The chart below shows Las Vegas craps table odds vs. the pass line bet in complement with the free odds bet. In general, the house edge decreases as the table odds increase.

Las Vegas Craps Strategy

Notice that when you increase your odds bet multiplier, the house edge decreases. The strategy that should be used in Las Vegas craps is to make as large a bet as possible or a hundred times the pass line bet. Recall that the free odds bet itself has 0% house edge. This table is actually reflecting the combination of the house edge from the pass line bet with the zero house edge from the odds bet, so it's just an average.

Normally in craps, the largest house odds bet you can do is 3x. This is a very typical limit at local casino craps tables and with online casinos. This is what makes Las Vegas craps so special and it improves your strategy.

Best Table Game Odds In Vegas 2020

An even better strategy is the Don't Pass bet with the free odds. The Don't Pass bet is actually the opposite of the Pass Line bet but the house edge is actually 0.15% lower, which is a huge advantage. So the total house edge when combining the don't pass with the free odds bet is only 0.01%, which is microscopically small! This bet is usually not played in the land based casino because you are betting against the craps shooter. This is more of a psychological excuse from peer pressure, but the odds really are better, especially in Las Vegas.

High Limits Craps in Downtown Vegas

Best Table Game Odds In Vegas 2019

There are certain downtown Las Vegas casinos offering 100X odds. There are very few craps tables in the world that offer the same kinds of odds so it's pretty amazing. Casino Royale, located on the downtown Las Vegas strip has only a couple craps tables with 100 time odds. Sam's Town, located on Boulder Highway used to offer 100X odds but this has been reduced to 20X odds, which is still rare to find. Another casino located downtown on the strip offers 20 times odds in Las Vegas craps. This place is known as Main Street Station and they have just a few tables as well. Sam's Town resort in Las Vegas has a couple more craps tables than Casino Royale. This just shows how scarce it is to find these kinds of odds.

Best Table Game Odds In Vegas

Below is a short list of other famous casinos located in Las Vegas that offers very high odds betting.

These are just a few of the major casinos located in Las Vegas that offer these kinds of craps odds. In fact, many online casinos offer even these kinds of odds. You can even find 10x odds at a few online craps tables as well. Even more amazing is even 20x and even 100x odds available at a few places on the internet but these craps tables are usually reserved for the high rollers with high bankrolls.

One topic that should be pointed out is the 3-4-5x odds. Many of the casinos listed above have these kinds of odds. Basically when players make the maximum odds bet, payout will be 7 times your original bet while using these odds particularly. Note that this is different than paying the true odds. You are paid 7 times no matter what and the betting limit for these depends on what point number was rolled. This is how it works:

• When the point is 4 or 10, the maximum odds is 3X.
• When the point is 5 or 9, the maximum odds is 4X.
• When the point is 6 or 8, the maximum odds is 5X.

Best Craps Tables to Play in Las Vegas

Many of the best craps games can be played at the casinos listed in the chart above. All of these are located in Las Vegas and these are actually some of the best craps in the world. If you are looking for the odds, the chart is all you need. The best casino for craps just depends on what kind of casino you are looking for. For example, some casinos offer better comps programs and services than others or some have better hotels and resorts to stay at. Other factors that determine the best craps tables can even be how friendly the table or environment is and even the cocktail waitresses. It just depends on your tastes.

If you are looking for the lowest betting limits in Vegas, you can find tables with minimum bets of $2, which is great if you have a low bankroll and want to save money. Sunset Station, Boulder Station, Arizona Charlies, Orleans and a few others offers these kinds of tables. Nevada Palace even offers 25 cent chips with very low betting limits. Some online craps tables have 10 cent chips and even $0.01 single penny chips. These are truly micro betting limit craps tables. These low betting limit craps tables provide great fun and a long night of playing without having to worry about losing your bankroll too quickly. Please check out our probabilities of dice numbers being rolled and the payout odds charts for more statistical information.