You’ve been looking forward to this for months — you’re off to Vegas for what you hope will be a week of winning, good eats and good fun. You’ve been saving your pennies for this trip and throwing them away just isn’t in the cards. So how do you make them go further when you’ve got endless casinos and games that will be more than happy to take them off your hands? How do you find the best odds in Vegas?
Avoid the slots.
“They’re an awful form of gambling. The odds are terrible,” says Michael Shackleford,
“That’s why 60% of the casino floor is devoted to slots. People like them, but the rate at which you lose money is quite fast.”
He’d know. He’s made a career of analyzing casino games to gauge their value to a player and runs the numbers on new games for casinos and game developers. He has also helped design many of the popular slot machines on the internet. So for the best odds in Vegas, he’s our man.
He launched his site, The Wizard of Odds, more than 20 years ago while working as a government actuary in Baltimore.
- Slightly better odds are video poker, but it does require skill, whereas slots require none, just your patronage. An easy game is roulette. You can bet either red or black. There are 18 black numbers, 18 red numbers, and two green numbers. If you bet say on black every time the house will hold a 5% edge over you b/c of the two green numbers.
- The NFL Las Vegas Odds are listed in order of rotation and those numbers are generated and produced by the sportsbooks. Above each matchup and rotation is the Time of the game, which is subject to change. All game times are Eastern Standard Time. One of the best features on the NFL Vegas Odds is the Open Line.
- The Las Vegas Raiders (2-2) have an AFC West divisional battle in Week 5, visiting the Kansas City Chiefs (4-0) Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Arrowhead Stadium.Below, we preview the Raiders-Chiefs Week 5 betting odds and lines and make our NFL picks and best bets.
- You can find your niche very quickly with a slew of different games that you are able to get involved in. Everything from slots to blackjack to sports betting is available here. If you enjoy Spanish 21, the Venetian offers some of the best odds for winning at this game in Las Vegas. The Venetian By Ricky Barnard via Wikimedia Commons.
Gamblers - whether you are a 1st timer or seasoned gambling veteran, knowing what your odds of winning per each game in a casino is vitally important. Please enjoy the information below and best of Luck in the casino. Based on typical Las Vegas Casino rules, please note variations will occur. How to play goldfish game.
“There were no good gambling sites in 1996,” he says. “They were banner farms for internet casinos. I think in one day I made the best gaming site on the internet.”
He’d always enjoyed gambling — and is the first to admit he’ll bet on anything, and it doesn’t have to be in a casino. Case in point: as an American, he often likes to make bets with his dinner companions about whether their waitress will be able to name the capital of Canada.
He knows the odds are in his favour that they can’t.
“I’m good in math and computers, so I have the perfect skills to analyze casino games. I felt it was like my destiny choosing me.”
He quit his government job in 2000 to turn to the site full time and has called Las Vegas home since 2001. His site offers up mathematically correct strategies and information for the best odds in Vegas casino games like blackjack, craps, roulette and hundreds of others that can be played at online casinos.
No surprise, it’s become one of the most recognized authorities in the world for accurate playing strategies.
So do people realize how bad their odds are while playing slots?
For the most part, no, Shackleford says.
“And when you tell them, they just don’t care. They like slots and they don’t care if they lose more. They’re there for the enjoyment. I have been preaching ‘don’t play slots’ for 20 years now and I don’t think I’ve made a single convert.”
Since its inception, the site’s philosophy has been that if you’re going to gamble you should have the best information possible so you can have the best chances of winning — and can minimize your losses if you do lose.
To that end, the good news is that when it comes to the best odds in Vegas, not all slots are created equal. Some ARE better than others.
“If you must play slots, you should play a nice simple slot machine like Cleopatra, Let’s Go Fish’n, Fiesta Chihuahua or Da Vinci Diamonds. Your money will last longer if you stick to a more simple game.”
Where the odds get awful is with big, brand name games like Breaking Bad, Wonder Woman and Sex and the City.
“Those machines are set to pay back about 85%, whereas with the more generic machines, its between 90% and 92%,” says Shackleford, who has taught casino math at the University of Nevada.
“They have huge monitors, seats that vibrate — they’re works of engineering, I give them credit. But ultimately it’s the player that pays for that. With so many people looking for a piece of the pie, it leaves less pie for the player.”
When it comes to the best odds in Vegas, practically everything depends on the game, he says. But lately it also depends on where you are and the amount you’re betting.
“As a rule of thumb, the nicer the casino, the tighter the slots. And the more you’re betting at a time, the better the odds.”
Wherever you choose to play, getting the best odds in Vegas means you can’t believe what you’re telling yourself in the process. You can’t know when a machine is about to hit — no matter what your gut might be saying. Nor are your odds aren’t going to get better the longer you sit there — so by all means, don’t hold off on bathroom breaks.
As it turns out, your odds are the same every time you pull the lever or push the bet button.
“I think 99% of slots players believe that (the longer they play the better their chances). That’s what keeps them at the machine,” Shackleford says.
![Best Odds Game In Vegas Best Odds Game In Vegas](https://www.theonlinecasino.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/TOC-Blog-Which-Casino-Games-Have-the-Best-Odds.jpg)
“It’s called the gamblers fallacy. It’s probably the biggest myth in a game of independent trials that if something hasn’t happened, it’s overdue. The past doesn’t matter and it has no sympathy.”
Ouch.
Want to up your chances of winning? The best odds in vegas are found playing blackjack, video poker or Ultimate Texas Hold’em. Shackleford says on average, the typical blackjack player is going to give back one half of a percent of their original bet.
“It’s what’s called the house advantage and it’s a lot thinner, so your money lasts a long time.”
By comparison, that advantage rises to 5.62% playing roulette.
With video poker, it’s not hard to find games where the house advantage is less than 1% in large competitive markets like Las Vegas. But again, it all depends on the game and the pay table.
Best Odds Game In Vegas World
If poker or craps are your cup of tea, it turns out some of the best odds in Vegas are at those games when they’re played properly.
The problem?
Best Odds Game In Vegas
“Most people play terribly,” Shackleford says. “Gut feelings? They don’t help you. I don’t believe in premonitions. Bet on whatever number you want to, but they’re not going to help you.”
If you’re not interested in the best odds in Vegas and are in a hurry to burn through your money, video Keno is where it’s at.
“They’re the worst. With these machines you can bet so quickly. At least with a table game a human being has certain steps to go through (so it slows things down),” he says.
While the return of video Keno is about 90%, compared to about 70% in live Keno, the rate of play is much faster in video Keno and the losses per hour are probably greater, depending on the exact speed and amount bet per game.
Despite the bad odds people are up against, ultimately, Shackleford thinks people get addicted to the adrenaline of it all or they’re there to escape the real world for a little while. They get drawn into the machine and don’t want to be bothered.
Super jackpot party. Moderation is key, he notes, but there’s no magic system to determine when to call it a day — or improve your odds, for that matter.
“But when it’s no longer fun, that’s a good time to walk away.”
- Where to Bet:
NFL Week 11 Opening Line Report
How to read NFL Las Vegas Odds
The point-spread was developed to provide a balance for both teams involved in a contest to entice bettors to potentially back the weaker team and receive points. The two squads in a game are listed with a title, either a favorite or an underdog. The favorite is usually the perceived better team in the game, as backing them means giving up several points.
The favorite is always listed with a minus (-) sign before the point-spread while the underdog is labeled with a plus (+) label.
Ex. Favorite -10, Underdog +10
On the VegasInsider.com odds page, there is another number associated with the favorite and its listed as -10. This number is simply defined as “vig” or what many in the sports betting industry call vigorish. Another common term is called “juice” and it’s technically the price the bettor has to pay on a straight wager.
Ex. Bet $110 to win $100 (10% juice)
Ex. Bet $100 to win $90.91 (10% juice)
It's not uncommon to see other values posted other than -10. Examples seen on the NFL Vegas Odds pages could include -08, -12, -15 and -20. The -10 price is the most common value in the industry while many books offer reduced 'juice odds' and that would fall into the -08 category.
The lower-juice sportsbooks are normally found outside of the state Nevada. If you are in a state where sports betting is legal, please check out our online sportsbook directory to find the best and most secure places to make NFL bets.
Another number that’s posted on the NFL Las Vegas is the total or ‘over/under’ for the specific matchup. If the favorite is designated as the home team, then the total will be listed above and vice versa if the visitors are favorites.
All of the above numbers are listed next to the teams, and before each matchup is a Rotation number. The NFL Las Vegas Odds are listed in order of rotation and those numbers are generated and produced by the sportsbooks. Above each matchup and rotation is the Time of the game, which is subject to change. All game times are Eastern Standard Time.
NFL Open Line
One of the best features on the NFL Vegas Odds is the Open Line. This numbers consists of the first betting line received from one of our Las Vegas or Global Sportsbooks. The opening line varies depending on the sportsbook but it provides a clear-cut rating that the oddsmakers use. If you’re betting on the NFL or any other sport, it’s a great idea to view the open line first.
VI Consensus NFL Line
The VegasInsider.com Consensus NFL Line is just as important as the Open Line and also a key resource on odds platform. The Consensus column could be called a “Median Line” since it shows the most consistent number provided by the sportsbooks on VegasInsider.com. The consensus line will be the same as the open line but once the wagers start coming in, this number is often different than the openers.
How do I bet on the Super Bowl?
We know that you can bet on the Super Bowl and all of NFL Futures or bet on the NFL Draft at any time of the year, but what’s the process? The future wager or the “Odds to Win” bet on the Super Bowl is correctly selecting a team to win an event that takes place at a later time. A bettor will have his wagered money tied up until there is an outcome and bettors will receive fixed odds when they place the wager. In the case of the Super Bowl, you’re not a winner or loser until you see zeros on the clock in the final game.
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Most sportsbooks offer different ways to read to Super Bowl Odds. In the fractional NFL Futures Odds format below, you simply take the odds and multiply by the amount wagered.
Ex. Green Bay (8/1) to win the Super Bowl
The Packers are listed as an 8/1 betting choice to win the Super Bowl. If you wager $100 on Green Bay to win the NFC and they capture the championship, then you would win $800 (8 ÷ 1 x 100). Your online betting account would then credit your account $900, which includes your win and stake ($100).
The American Format would see Green Bay listed at +800 and for the Decimal Format, the Packers would be 9.00.
Best Odds Game In Vegas
If you are in a state where online betting is legal, we encourage you to check out our sportsbook directory to find the most trustworthy and reputable sites and mobile apps to place your Super Bowl bets. Lucky fish games.