Marriages

How Casinos Win in Gambling

To understand how casinos win in gambling we need to see how the law of large numbers works for it.

The law says in simple gambling terms that as we keep trying random games the closer we come to the winning number. That's the law casinos want us to believe in - and that's how casinos win in their game; by getting us to believe in the law.

And they have all the time in the world to experiment with large numbers. After all they're casinos. They're in the business of gambling - and we gamblers are not. We may have gambling as a career but we're not in the casino business.

Look at how casinos win in gambling: with craps the house advantage is 1.41 percent; with penny slots it's 15 percent; with Caribbean stud it's 5.22 percent; and with Let It Ride 3.51 percent. These are just some. This is how they pay for their overhead costs like man power, hotel or land lease, the shows, and others. Add to this their capacity for taking in large numbers of bets a day is how casinos win using the large numbers law.

What they often call our odds in gambling is a concept that works out over the long term. And "long term" means really long - for sure, it's not the usual 4-day vacation with 5 hours a day stint with gambling that we think would make us win over how casinos win. These odds formula are derived from millions and millions of hand plays, slot lever-pulls, and what-have-you computer simulations that meet the requirements of the large numbers law.

We don't spend that much time in casinos daily and do millions upon millions of bets and plays. Casinos - they literally live doing nothing but gamble. When they advertise slot machines, for instance, that payout 88 to 95 percent, it means we have to run the thing over and over again for numerous times - even millions of times - and with the same machine at that. Our 50 or 100 tries wouldn't work.

Does the casino ad really work? Of course it does. The 95 percent payout to the players is true. But we don't expect to beat how casinos win by a few plays now and then, here and there.

The lesson of the story? In casino gambling, at times we win, at times we lose. There's no sure formula for a win. Just set enough bankroll and stick with it.