Viva Lost Wages, Not If You Have a Choice

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"Bright light city gonna set my soul/ Gonna set my soul on fire/ Got a whole lot of money that's ready to burn.." Ready to burn huh? Ok, Elvis maybe you had the money to burn but not me, I thought as the song, Viva Las Vegas  played in the car. "Here you are, the Queen of the strip." the Uber driver muttered. Stepping into The Bellagio, the over-the-top butterflies hung from the ceiling, purple, pink, yellow. "Wheel, of Fortune!" the slot machine rang out. Vegas wasn't built by winners, it was built by people depositing money into its lavish slots, tables, bets, and everything they could place a wager on. Ahhhh! Vegas the adult playground, I relished in the fun about to be had.

Have you ever been to Vegas and wanted to make sure you went home with a extra cash in your pocket? And wanted to know what had the best odds? Slots, roulette, craps, blackjack, or poker?

It may be difficult to beat the odds but smart gamblers can at least play games in a way that will reduce the house edge to give themselves the best chance to win.

1. Learn how to play Poker. You will take on other players and skilled Poker players can win in the long run. 
2. Play higher denomination slots. The payback is set to a lower amount on penny and nickel slots and a higher amount on the dollar slots, so you can reduced the house edge by playing higher-denomination slot machines.
3. Avoid table games with big advantages for the casinos. Any bet on a roulette table, for example, carries at least a 5 percent house edge. Those are odds you cannot beat. Other games with high house edges include Caribbean Stud and Let it Ride. 
4. Play blackjack. The house edge on this game is less than 2 percent if you make the best plays and wagers. To play blackjack well you must study the game to learn all the best plays, such as always doubling down on 11 and splitting sevens against a dealer upcard of six. You can buy laminated cards that list the best plays. These can even be found in many casino gift shops
5. Give craps a try. The game can be confusing at first, but with a house edge of less than 2 percent it is one of the better games for beating the odds. When playing craps avoid the "inside bets"—that is, those bets located on the inside of the craps felt layout. Stick to pass line or don't pass bets with full odds. The casino will allow you to place an odds bet after a point number is established with the dice that will pay the true odds. For example, if the point number is four you will be will be paid 2 to 1 on an odds bet that a four is rolled before a seven.

 Image from Flickr Creative Commons license CCO 

"Cover all the hardways." I said throwing four $5 chips to the dealer to cover each one of the four hardways. "Off on the come out roll," I acted like I knew what I was doing. The night before the dealers had given me a lesson on the best way to bet craps. "Let's go shooter." I said as the man with the Australian accent began to roll. A hour an a half later he continued to roll, a shooter he was, I smirked. But his luck ran out, with his first crap I got paid out and walked away with $1500 playing the hard ways as I was taught, you got to love Vegas.

Next time you go to Vegas, try covering the hard ways when you play craps hopefully you will have some luck. 

Tips to win big:

Before you go gambling: The best and worst casino game odds

Casino house advantage

The secret of the hard times 

#LasVegas #craps #ics119 #ElvisPresley #TheBellagio #TheHardways