When to Play Slots vs. All Other Casino Games

Mobile Casino Slot Machines – To Spin or Not To Spin?

Casinos are jam-packed with all sorts of gambling amusements. There’s single player electronic games, multi-player table games, virtual sports, big money wheels. So many ways to take money from gamblers, and give a little back too, of course. But when we think of casino games, most of us immediately think of slot machines and/or blackjack.

It makes sense. Slot machines make up at least 95% of the games in every casino in North America. They are played more often than any other game on the floor. At the same time, blackjack is the most popular of all non-slot games, followed closely by roulette. It’s not just familiarity that makes them so popular, either.

Mobile Casino Slot Machines vs. All Other Games

The difference between slot machines and all other casino games are fewer than you might think. Most people believe slot machines are the worst games to play; that they have the worst house edge of all games in the casino. There was a time when this was true, but those days are long gone, swept aside by the introduction of online casinos.

The internet brought with it online slot machines with RTPs averaging 96%. That’s a far cry from the 85-88% averages land-based casinos were once so infamous for. Today, mobile casino slots are so much easier to win, even the land-based casinos had to up their payouts to compete. They’re still lower, averaging about 90-93% – they have a lot of overhead bills to pay, you know – but those online and mobile casinos have turned things around dramatically.

That doesn’t mean you should be spending the majority of your time at the slots. While they do have higher payout percentages – some boasting RTPs as high as 97% and 98% – online slots are still the fastest gambling games online. No matter how small the casino’s edge is over you, the faster you play, the faster you lose.

The truth is, slots are beloved for their entertainment value, and in that regard, are worth playing. For every player type, there’s a theme to match. From hit movies, television, and music bands, to sports leagues and athletes, to sci-fi fantasies and dreamy vacation destinations – everything we love can be found on the spinning reels of a slot machine. If you love the games, there’s nothing wrong with playing, so long as you take your time and mix things up. Move between games often, and try to spend at least 70% of your time playing non-slots games, like these…

The King of Table Games – Live and Mobile Blackjack

Blackjack fans are drawn to the tables for the simple and well-known fact that it’s the lowest edge game in the casino (usually). Of course, you have to play smart to get that ultra-low edge. Too many players think they’re smart, but follow their gut instead of basic strategy, which is why casinos make so much money off it. But the fact remains – knowledgeable gamblers love blackjack.

Aside from learning to play with proper strategy, my foremost advice would be to play live dealer blackjack at full tables. Forget those “infinite” games where every player decides on the same hand. A full table slows the game down, giving you more time to think and make good decisions, and slow the all-but-inevitable drain of your bankroll. Plus, you’ll get the added benefit of social interaction.

High Risk + High Reward + Socialization = Roulette

Roulette is for the risk taker who doesn’t always like the singularity of slot machines. If you prefer a small crowd where you can partake in communal bragging rights upon victory, and if nothing else, bear witness to the joyful wealth of others, roulette presents a great break in the monotony of spinning slots reels. You can make simple 1-to-1 bets with near 50/50 odds, or take greater risk on long-shots like singles, doubles, corners, streets, and rows.

Don’t spend too much time here, though. In today’s modern age of mobile casinos, some roulette games have worse odds than most slot machines. American Roulette is the worst, with an RTP of 94.74%; (well below the average online slots RTP of 96%). European Roulette isn’t so bad, but still comes in at 97.3%; not much better than slot machines. So long as you’re playing in a live mobile casino environment, the elapsed time and socialization of the community will slow the pace and keep the entertainment value high.

Pai Gow, Casino Hold’em and Other Card Games

The problem with card games such as these is that the returns are generally quite low, and rarely are they found in live dealer settings – not on the internet, anyways. Pai Gow Poker has an RTP of 97.16%, with the majority of hands resulting in a tie. Casino Hold’em has a variable edge, depending on the pay table involved. The average RTP is 97.8%, which isn’t bad, except that you have to employ strict strategy to get it.

Then again, that rule of thumb applies to pretty much every card game. If you’re going to all that trouble, you might as well play blackjack with 99.5% RTP or better. Suffice to say, these games should have a label that reads, “for entertainment purposes only”.

Video Poker – The Hidden Gem of Casinos

One of the most overlooked options in the casino is video poker. People naturally assume it’s harder to win than blackjack (it’s not), or that it’s boring because it’s a solitary game. While it does lack the limitless thematic entertainment of mobile casino slot machines, video poker can be quite fun. If you can enjoy blackjack, you can enjoy video poker just the same. And the payout percentages are better than you might think.

Most mobile video poker variants carry an RTP between of 98.5% and 99.92%. That ultra-high mark belongs to Microgaming’s All Aces Video Poker. There’s no online blackjack game that pays out that well. At 99.54%, Jacks or Better is closer to a typical blackjack payout percentage, and it’s the most commonly offered video poker game in the world, online or on land. The trick is to avoid gimmicky video poker games, and ‘power poker’ models. Playing 10, 20 or even 100 hands at once does not better your odds.