Virtually all games at a casino are games of chance, and in nearly every instance the odds are in the house’s favor. It’s possible to get lucky and win sometimes, but nearly impossible to win in the long run. However, there are a couple of notable exceptions to the rule, where you can gain a slight advantage over the house.

Steps

Avoid roulette, keno, and slots without a good strategy. Beginners should consider craps, and blackjack because they have considerably better odds, and depending on the variations in the rules blackjack can actually give the player the advantage (although this is rare).
Steer clear of newfangled table games, virtually all of which are constructed to give the house a real advantage.
Polish your poker skills. Poker is unique amongst casino games that you play against the other players, not the house. So if you develop some good poker skills, and get seated at a table with poor players, you could have a significant advantage and high probability of winning.
Learn to count cards in blackjack. Card counting is technically legal but casinos often do not allow it. If they suspect you are counting cards, you will be asked to stop playing or leave the casino. Counting cards involves paying attention to every single card turned over by the dealer, realizing by implication which cards are left in the deck, and increasing your bet when the remaining cards offer you a mathematical advantage.

Tips

Poker is currently quite popular and many players have excellent skills. Furthermore there is often a population of ‘grinders‘ — locals who play technically efficient poker with the goal of earning a steady income. These factors combine to make it difficult to win. Despite that fact that poker offers you the theoretical potential to have an advantage over the other players, the high skill level of many players may also mean you are at a large disadvantage!
Playing to win requires intense concentration, sobriety, a lack of emotion, and many hours of practice in play. You may find that in trying to gain an advantage over the house, you take all the fun out of gambling.

Warnings

Although it is possible to win at Roulette and Craps, over the long term the house has the advantage and will always win. But an individual player can certainly win in the short run. The hard part is quitting when you are ahead.
Gambling is, by it’s very nature, a risk. Make sure you know how much you can afford to lose before you start, and remember it while you’re playing.

How to Be a Successful Gambler

Being successful at gambling can be done, but you must first learn how from someone who has done it.

Steps

Begin with the bankroll. Before you can use knowledge of the game, money management techniques and eventually discipline, you must begin with bankroll. Most people will scrape up whatever money they can find and think that luck, law of averages or some other illogical theory will make them a winner. It doesn’t happen that way.
- A small bankroll causes you to play scared and you will make decisions that coincide with your shortage of money. A small bankroll is such a disadvantage that you will make bad moves just to stay in the game instead of beating the house when you encounter a good hot or cold streak.
- In craps, for example, let’s say a bet calls for taking or laying odds and you don’t have enough money to do it. So you merely make the flat bet. The bet wins, but look what your lack of bankroll has done to you! It affected your play and caused you to change an appropriate betting decision because you didn’t have the proper bankroll, which could range anywhere from $100 to $5,000 or more depending on your current financial situation.
Set a loss limit.
- A loss limit is a limit you set on what your losses will be for a certain day, game or table. It’s the limit of what you can comfortably afford to lose. You never bet down to your last chip. A session should last until your win goal is achieved or your loss limit is reached. When you lose that predetermined amount your play is over. Loss limits completely eliminate the possibility that you will ever go broke. A loss limit of at least 50% of your bankroll (and no more than 60%) should be observed. This means I can lose anywhere up to 60% but never more. The reason you take more money with you than you put at risk is to eliminate playing with scared money. If you are tempted to play with the extra money then you have no discipline. You can make the loss limit lower, but never below 25%. You give up your recovery power the more you lower your loss limit. When you are losing you don’t have to wait for your exact percentage to be reached to quit. When I’m losing at a certain point and can’t get going, I realize I’m in the wrong spot and pack it in at less than my established loss limit.
Set a win goal.
- Just as important as a loss limit is the win goal. This is the amount of money you set as the goal you want to reach. This win goal must be set before your first bet, not after you get ahead. It must be set on your starting bankroll, the same as the loss limit. I usually set my win goal at 50% but never more than 60%. That is not to say I can’t win more than 50% or 60%. When I reach my goal I will continue playing until I have a loss. I will continue as long as I’m still winning or breaking even. The win goal is only a point you want to reach and then guarantee your profit for the session. Win goals must be small so we can attain them easily and then go for the bigger returns.
Accept the fact that gambling is a tough business. You must accept the fact that gambling is a tough business and that winning small amounts consistently is better than always going for that big hit. You’ll have your big days when you least expect them, but the main thing is to minimize losses. If you learn and observe the money management and discipline techniques presented in the numerous Benson systems, you will see how much longer your bankroll will remain active. As long as you have sufficient bankroll allowing you to compete, you’re a threat to the casinos!
Practice good money management.

Money management is one of the four key ingredients to winning at gambling. Money management is in essence a system in and of itself. It is your ability to control, manage, preserve and build the bankroll you started with. Every bet you make must be automatic and predetermined. There can be no emotion, no guesswork, no hunches and no depending on luck. Every bet must be logical and calculated, whether you are progressing or regressing. Your ability to properly manage your money must always focus on minimizing losses.
Money management must be practiced at all times. A lot of gamblers practice good money management until they get ahead. That is when greed takes over, after people get ahead. Greed pushes them to try to win huge amounts. Greed replaces good money management and causes the player to make dumb bets. Greed erodes the small profits that had been accumulated and leads to disaster. It has happened to all of us. How often have you been ahead in a casino and instead of quitting a winner you gave your profits back to the house along with your original starting bankroll?

How to Make a Living at Gambling

It is possible to make a living at Blackjack, because the game is designed to ensure mathematically that statistics and the inclined mind can overcome the casino and will win money over the long term.

This article will list gambling games that have a possible player advantage.

Steps

Some people claim that they can control the dice, throwing them as to raise or lower the probability of rolling a 7, however it has not been conclusively shown that any can do so well enough to overcome the house edge.
Card counting can turn blackjack into a profitable game for the player.
In very rare situations, lotteries can have a positive expectation.
Progressive keno games can theoretically have jackpots grow large enough to give a player advantage, though this situation is not known to have ever occurred.

Warnings

Martingale and other betting strategies do not work. Varying one’s bet size on the basis of previous outcomes can never change the house edge.
Advantage players may get asked to leave the casino. This is more marketing than loss prevention. Casinos make more money from people who think they can count cards than they lose to those who actually can. Nevertheless, you are required to leave when told to.

Roulette Strategy

Want to risk relatively little money with a chance to cash in big? Try a roulette strategy that could pay off nicely at both, online and land based casinos:

This method calls for straight-up inside bets where you get paid 35 to 1 if one of the numbers you bet on is rolled. Unless you can afford to splurge, I suggest you select a casino offering $1 chips and $5 minimum inside bets. (Most internet casinos qualify.)

Risk no more than 40 $1 chips. By limiting yourself to relatively small stakes, you’ll never get badly hurt. Pick any five numbers you like, birthdays and anniversaries or other favorite dates come to mind. If you hit twice in a row, the winnings are nothing to sneeze at!

Start by placing one $1 chip on each of your five chosen numbers. Repeat this same wager until you win; you have enough chips for eight spins. When one of your numbers hits, you’ll win 35 chips. Now it gets exciting!

Divide the 35 chips you’ve won over your five numbers, seven on each. If you hit again the pay-off will be 7 X 35 chips, which equals $245 real dollars!

At this point you have to make an agonizing decision. You could quit and cash out –- the profit will cover several past or future losing sessions – or you could bet-back 100 chips by placing 20 on each of your five numbers. If you hit a third time you’ll collect $700!

On the other hand, if Lady Luck deserted you, you’re still ahead by more than $100. Always remember that no betting system is infallible, that’s why I suggest you don’t risk more than $40.

Good Luck!