Information about Games & Quizzes

Typical gambling includes cards games like Poker and Blackjack, casino table games like Craps and Roulette as well as Electronic Gaming Machines like slots and VLTs.  Let's not forget Sports betting, Lotteries, Bingo and betting on games of skill like billiards or a game of golf.  No matter what the game is, it is important to have the facts, to be a smart player. What is important to know?

Odds and Probabilities

You may have heard the term "The odds are stacked against you." In general, that is true, especially when betting.

Odds are defined as the ratio between amounts staked by parties to a bet.

Probability is the likelihood (or chance) that an event will occur.  Basically, these tell you what your chances of winning are.

Example 1: some scratch tickets advertise odds of 1:3. This translates to an average of 1 winning ticket in three; however a person could buy ten tickets and not win on any of them, because there is no guarantee that every third ticket is a winner. The 1:3 odds come from the number of winning tickets to the number of tickets distributed.

Example 2: think about one die: it has 6 sides, with numbers on each side from one to six. If you were to pick up that die and roll it, what chance do you think you have of rolling a five? Well, probability says that you have a 1 out of six chance that a five will occur. That means 1 divided by 6, which equals .17 or 17%! You might be wondering what happened to the other 83%, this leftover amount is the chance that rolling a five won't happen! This same probability of 17% is the same for each number on the die. There is no number that has a better chance of coming up than another.

Skill vs. Chance

In gambling, there are some events that involve some skill and some that are based purely on chance. Some traditional games of chance are Baccarat, Craps, Roulette, Slots, Sic Bo, Lotto, Keno and Bingo. These games can be entertaining, but do not offer the player any control over whether they win or lose.

Some "skill games" include Blackjack and the various forms of Poker as well as video and Pai Gow Poker. Others might argue that sports and track betting involve skill also because you can increase the likelihood that you will win by researching team stats or horse/dog bloodlines.

Regardless of whether you are playing a game of chance or skill, the house always has the advantage. This means that the probability the "house" (i.e. Casino, bookie, host) will win is better than for the person playing the game. This is where the phrase "the odds are stacked against you" takes it meaning. Learning about the game you play, whether it is skill or chance based is always important, because it is better to understand a little, than misunderstand a lot.