First, let's consider the relative advantages and disadvantages the dealer and the player face in the game of blackjack.
While most casino patrons have heard that blackjack can be beaten, they believe that only certified mathematical geniuses can master the skills necessary to beat the game. This is almost a valid criticism with many of the complex card counting strategies, but it certainly cannot be applied to the Power Blackjack strategy.
Many people believe that it is impossible to win in any casino game and that winning is just a matter of luck. Luck may be a factor in winning or losing in any game of chance; however, blackjack is primarily a game of skill, not chance.
Baccarat is the least known casino table game, which is a shame because of its low house edge of only 1.17% for banker bets and 1.37% for player bets. Many casinos now offer a mini baccarat, which is played on blackjack sized tables and offers lower minimum wagers than the full sized baccarat games, which are often played in special roped off areas and are the domain of strictly high rollers.
The house edge in roulette varies from 5.26% for the American wheel with its two green numbers of 0 and 00, to only 1.35% for the single zero European game using the en prison rule. Like craps, it is an excellent game for using betting systems and can be beaten by those who know how.
With a low 1.4% house edge for line bets, and less than one percent for line bets, come bets and don't come bets with odds, craps offers the best bets in the casino besides blackjack. A major difference between craps and blackjack is that at blackjack a bettor can realize house odds less than one percent by judicious use of numerous player options, whereas, in craps, a house edge close to zero is achievable by simply knowing the correct bets to make.
Craps, following World War II, was the most popular casino table game. Blackjack has since surpassed craps in popularity if not excitement. Not only is craps an exciting fast action game, it is a excellent game for applying betting systems and money management techniques.
Slot machines hold anywhere from 25% to 30% to less than 1% of the player's money. It is possible to beat slot machines with skillful play although most players don't even try. Las Vegas casinos make more money from slots than all of the table games combined. There are over 115,000 machines in Clark County alone.
With Keno, the house enjoys about a 30% advantage over the players. This game should only be played for fun as it is almost impossible to win consistently at Keno.
Before we talk about the nature of the house edge in blackjack, let's take a look at the odds facing a player in some other casinos games.
Blackjack is unique among casino table games in that the odds change after every hand is played. How well the player does is also dependent on the player's skill at playing his hands and his betting strategy.
http://howtowinat.casinopoker.co/howwin/Blackjack/032BlackjackPlayingConditions.htm, the house will maintain a constant edge against the player. American roulette wheels have 36 numbers colored red or black, and zero and double zero spots colored green. If the color red has come up ten times in a row on an American wheel, what is the probability of the next spin of the wheel landing on a red number? Regardless of the previous outcomes, the odds of rolling a red number on the next spin of the wheel, there are 18 chances out of 38 numbers or 47.37%.
Blackjack is different from other casino games. Games like craps, roulette, and baccarat are games of chance, where each play is an independent event, which is the mathematician's way of saying that whatever occurs in previous rounds of play has no bearing on the current outcome.