Which gambling game gives you the best odds of winning?

Worst Odds

First, let's start by covering the games you should always avoid if you're really playing to win.

Now, it just so happens that the two games with the worst possible odds are two of the most popular casino games to play. There's nothing wrong with playing these games, after all, casinos are meant to be fun, but bear in mind that you're most likely to lose your money.

Wheel of Fortune: Roughly 30%

The Wheel of Fortune works by using your wager to bet on which segment the wheel will land on and it will pay out whatever value shows when it stops- the segments are usually $1, $5, $10, $20 and a joker.

The maths shows that a $1 bet provides the best odds, with only an 11% edge for the house, but of course, a low bet comes with a low payout.. The Joker segment usually offers a 36x payout, but it also has a much higher house edge of 74%.

Slot Machine: 1 in 50-100 Million

Slots are one of the simplest games in the casino, but with that comes some pretty awful odds.

To play slots, you place your bet and pull a lever or push a button to spin a wheel, and depending on where it stops, you'll either win or lose.

Now, each slot machine has different odds which should be printed on the machine itself, so you can always check the odds before you place your bets.

Generally, the higher the wager requirements for the machine, the higher the odds for the player, but of course this means risking lots of money for the payout. You'll also have better odds to win smaller payouts compared to the jackpot prize.

The jackpot for slot machines tends to come with odds of 1 in 50-100 million - as you can tell, your chances will vary greatly between individual machines and casinos.

Best Odds

Now that you know which games to steer clear of in the casino, let's move on to where you're most likely to win.

Table games as a whole may be more intimidating than slots but they have far better odds.

Blackjack: Roughly 49%

Blackjack is one of the easiest casino games to play. It's a simple card game that involves some skill and basic strategy, along with the element of luck. The game is played against the dealer, and while multiple players can participate, each player is solely focused on beating the dealer rather than competing with each other.

The objective is to have a hand that is as close to 21 as possible without going over, also known as "busting". If your hand is closer to 21 than the dealer's, you win. If you win, you double your wager. If you are dealt an Ace and a picture card or 10 (otherwise known as blackjack) you win 2.5x your wager.

Achieving victory in blackjack requires a combination of luck and some skill in knowing when to draw another card and when to stand. The dealer's success also depends on chance, making the odds of winning fairly balanced. Casinos typically give the dealer a one percent advantage over the players.

Roulette: Roughly 50%

Roulette is one of the casino games with the best odds of winning.

Roulette consists of a wheel containing 38 numbers, where numbers 1-36 are coloured either red or black, and 0 (and in American casinos, also 00) is green. The croupier, who is responsible for spinning the roulette wheel, tosses the ball, which lands on one of the numbers.

Multiple types of bets can be placed in roulette, with the simplest one being to predict whether the ball will fall on a red or black number, offering a near 50/50 chance of winning - great odds for a game that takes no element of skill. However, due to one or two green tiles located at 0 and 00, the odds are not precisely 50/50.

If players want to increase their payout, they can bet on specific numbers or ranges of numbers such as "1 to 12" or "1 to 18." This approach, however, also lowers their odds of winning.

Craps: Roughly 50%

Craps is a dice table game where players place bets on the outcome of a roll by a designated "shooter." The shooter wins if they roll a seven or eleven on the first roll, but if they roll any other number, that number becomes the "point." To win, the shooter must match the point before rolling a seven.

As a non-shooter, there are various bets you can place, such as predicting whether the shooter will win or lose on their next roll or whether they'll hit another number before rolling a seven. Each bet applies only to the next roll, and the more specific the bet, the lower your chances of winning, but the higher your payout.

If you place a "pass line" wager on whether the shooter will win, your craps odds of winning are close to 50/50. However, if you opt for more specific bets, your chances of winning decrease.

So, there you have it. If you want the best chance of winning in the casino, stick to table games, specifically Blackjack, Roulette and Craps.

If you have some experience playing table games, you should be able to up your chance of winning over the average, so the pure luck of Roulette may not be your best option.