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Step 1
Stay away from keno. This game has the greatest house edge in the entire casino, with between 25 to 29 percent of the take kept instead of paid out in prizes.
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Step 2
Pretend you don't see the Wheel of Fortune. Sometimes called the Big Six, it's a giant wheel close to the entrance with dollar bills around the edge, a friendly looking dealer...and nobody around it. Why? With a house edge ranging from 11 to 24 percent, it's a miracle if anyone wins back what they originally bet, much less makes a killing.
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Step 3
Focus on slots with a high payout ratio if you can't resist the one-armed bandits. Most casinos have a bank of machines under a neon sign advertising "Loosest Slots in Town!" or something similar with a payout ratio. Play the machines directly underneath that sign. Other ones in the casino don't pay out at nearly the same rate...and it's perfectly legal for them to do this.
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Step 4
Pass up "insurance" in blackjack. Blackjack offers the best odds in the entire casino, usually giving the house below a 1 percent edge. Insurance, on the other hand, gives the house up to a 7.4 percent edge. Serious blackjack players pass it up, and you should too.
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Step 5
Keep away from the center bets in craps. By all means, bet on Pass, Don't Pass, Come, Don't Come and Place on 6 or 8 where the odds are in the 1.4 percent range. Consider taking the odds bet on the Pass line, where the house edge can dip down into the incredible 0.02 percent range on occasion. The center bets? You've just given the house an 11 to 16 percent edge on one of the best paying games in a casino for no good reason.
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Step 6
Ignore the "tie" bet in baccarat. Bet on the banker for the best odds of all (around 1.17 percent), bet on the player for almost as good odds (1.36 percent), but never the tie. Sure, it theoretically pays out 8 to 1, but with a house edge of over 14 percent, it definitely qualifies as a sucker bet. James Bond never takes it, and neither should you.
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Step 7
Choose the single zero roulette wheel over the double zero. These two games are usually side by side, and most players think the odds are the same, or sometimes even better, on the double zero table. Not so. While not technically a sucker bet, why would you want to nearly double the house edge to 5.2 percent from 2.7 percent if you don't have to?
