Gambling infographic: Why the house always wins & some games are worse bets than others

"All In," this week's cover story on University of Denver professor Robert Hannum and his research on probability and gambling, discusses how casinos try to keep enough of a house advantage for steady profit without driving players away. But some games offer a considerably higher house edge than others. So...

By Alan Prendergast

June 7, 2011

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"All In," this week's cover story on University of Denver professor Robert Hannum and his research on probability and gambling, discusses how casinos try to keep enough of a house advantage for steady profit without driving players away. But some games offer a considerably higher house edge than others. So what diversions should a smart player stick with -- not necessarily to walk away a big winner, but to lose more slowly?

The chart below shows why craps and single-deck blackjack (for a player with some grasp of strategy) are better choices than roulette, slots or the real sucker bets, like keno. For a more detailed explanation of the hard numbers behind the hard luck, check out Hannum's online Guide to Casino Math.

Click the image above or click here for a larger version of this graphic.

Good luck!

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Alan Prendergast is a former staff writer at Westword and is now a senior contributor. He writes about various topics but primarily focuses on news. He’s contributed to Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Outside, USA Today, Men's Journal and other publications and is the author of two nonfiction books, Gangbuster: One Man's Battle Against Crime and The Poison Tree: A True Story of Family Violence and Revenge. He’s earned numerous accolades for his work including the Eugene Pulliam National Journalism Writing Award and two national feature writing awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.

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