Playing online casino games like blackjack, slots and roulette can be fun. But if you don’t know how to play the right kinds of games - and by that we mean the ones that pay out the most in hard cash - then a fun time can quickly become an expensive hiding to nothing.
The first rule is to always play at a jackpot casino you can trust. One that has an excellent reputation, positive user reviews and a customer support team that is readily available to take your calls and respond to your emails.
Once you have found a properly regulated gambling destination that provides certified fair games, a secure platform and quick cash outs of winnings, it’s time to take stock of your gaming strategy.
As the core reason for visiting a casino is to win money, your choice of gaming category is crucial. Ideally you want to play games with the lowest house edge and the highest return to player (RTP).
Let’s take a look at these two terms and why they are so important to your decision making.
The Nuts and Bolts of House Edge and RTP
House edge and RTP are different sides of the same coin. The house edge is the profit the casino earns on a particular game over the long term. Conversely the RTP is the portion of the wagers that is paid back to players in the form of winnings.
Together the house edge and the RTP account for 100 percent of all the bets placed on a game. If, for example, the house edge is 4 percent the RTP is automatically 96 percent.
It stands to reason that you’ll want to play casino games that have the lowest house edge and the highest return to player.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you will win money every time you play the game. It simply means the probability of hitting paying combinations is comparatively high.
Which Online Casino Games Have a Low House Edge?
Now that you have a better understanding of RTP vs house edge your next step is to identify the games with the best payout rates. You can do this by conducting your own online searches. Alternatively, you can find the information you require right here as we have listed a few options to get you started.
Video Poker: The Gaming Category with a High Average Return to Player
Video poker is fast, fun and potentially rewarding. It is based on five card draw poker and comes in a wide variety of exciting variants, many of which offer bonus pays and eye popping top wins.
The aim of the game is to form the best possible five card hand based on the conventional poker hand rankings such as two pair, straight, full house, royal flush and so on. Along with the thrill factor that playing video poker always provides, it’s a gaming category that has a high average RTP.
Exploit the RTP: Learn an Optimal Strategy
The one caveat is that to fully exploit the low house edge it’s essential to learn how to play the game the best possible way you can.
For that you will need an optimal gaming strategy unique to the particular variant you intend playing - whether its Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Aces or Eights or any of the other popular video poker games you’ll find at all online casinos.
How do you get hold of optimal gaming strategies? There are dozens of gaming websites that supply detailed strategy tables covering all the popular video poker variants and table games.
The best online game strategies are available to download or you cut and paste the information onto a Word doc and refer to it while you’re playing the game online.
Video Poker Games with Top Payout Rates
You can enhance your chances of winning by choosing to play the games that have the best win rates. Here are a few choice video poker games, together with their average return to player quoted as a percentage:
Jacks or Better full pay - 99.54
Double Joker Poker - 99.63
All American - 99.60
Aces and Eights - 99.78
Bonus Deuces Wild - 99.45
Blackjack: One of the Best in Terms of Low House Edge
If video poker isn’t your game perhaps blackjack is? If so, there are several different types of blackjack that offer great returns. Again, it’s essential to implement a best-play strategy in order to gain from the genre’s predominately low house edge.
Besides the standard blackjack games, you’ll find online there’s usually a few thrilling variations that offer side bets and bonus features.
When you play any of these games in the real money mode the odds of banking a few pounds here and there are firmly in your favour - Super 21, Perfect Pairs Blackjack, Pontoon, Face Up 21 and Match Play 21.
What About Online Slots?
The vast majority of players who visit casinos online do so because of the infinite selection of slot games. Technology has transformed slots into multifaceted entertainment packs that are brimming with bonus features and creative game mechanics.
However, quantifying the RTP of slots is virtually impossible. Outcomes are random and driven by algorithms integrated into random number generator software. If there’s no viable information on the average RTP or house edge of slots, how do you know which slots offer the best win rates?
Slot Variance and Volatility are Key
Many of the casino software providers rate their slots as low, medium or high in variance or volatility. What this means is some slots pay out small winnings on a frequent basis while others pay out relatively large average wins but only once in a while. Which is the case with low and high variance slots, respectively.
Which variance or volatility measure should you choose? That is really up to you but if you are starting out, we can recommend low volatility slots. They are more fun to play and they will allow you to build the balance in your casino account slowly but surely!