Can I gamble with $100?

The US Sun

15 January 2024

YOU don't need a lot of money to enjoy taking a quick flyer at the local casino or even online.

But suppose you are working on a budget but still want to enjoy an hour or two of gambling. In that case, I would head over to the online casinos, as you will probably find that due to a much lower minimum bet and a slightly lower house edge, the online casinos will stretch your gambling budget a bit further.

�� Can you win money at an online casino with $100?

You can absolutely win money with just a $100 bill. As a table games manager, I've personally witnessed many gamblers run $100 buy-ins into thousands of dollars on blackjack and craps games.

On Carnival games like Mississippi Stud or Three Card poker, the right hand on a $100 buy-in can win even more. I've personally paid two $25,000 jackpots on Ultimate Texas Hold'em in just the past six weeks.

And, of course, the sky is the limit with slot machines. While they may often have a higher house edge than other casino games, slot machines can pay out tens of thousands of dollars or more on a jackpot hand.

And, of course, slot machines come in many varieties. If we want to play for a massive jackpot, we should be willing to accept that it's a bit of a long shot; should we just be looking to double our money, perhaps we could find a game with low volatility that pays out more frequently but in much smaller amounts. I prefer more frequent payouts as they keep us in the game longer.

�� Top 5 tips on how to make the most of playing at online casinos with $100

1. It's no secret that online casinos want your business and are willing to pay initial deposit bonuses to get you to try out their casino games. A 100% match on your deposit will ensure we get the most bang for our buck with our $100.

And, of course, we should keep an eye out for free spins, ongoing promotions, and other giveaways, as well as a strong comp program that rewards us for every dollar wagered.

All of this will help us with the house edge and give us our best chance at either winning or at least gambling longer and earning some rewards. Lady Luck can be fickle, so we should cover our bases.

2. While that $100 may be burning a hole in your pocket, there's nothing wrong with playing some demo games first. Get a feel for that slot machine, and make sure you've practiced your blackjack basic strategy or know what hand to raise with at Three Card Poker.

I've spent many hours on demos working on video poker and blackjack strategy. Trust me, you will feel much more confident if you know what you are doing.

Demo games, either at the casinos or at the game providers' home page, allow us to study the games, ensure that we understand the rules and the risk to our bankroll, and generally have a better sense of our chances before risking real money.

3. Bankroll management is crucial. Yes, we could put the whole $100 on the Carolina Panthers to actually win a game, but sports betting has a high house edge.

And we want to avoid risking our entire bankroll in one bet, let alone string out football bets in smaller amounts when the house has such a considerable advantage.

4. We want to play games where we can use our deposit bonus and other promotions to work against a slight house edge to further our chances of winning more money with our limited budget.

5. A good table game RTP should be over 98%. Certain games like Double Deck Blackjack with surrender can reach around 0.2% house edge. That's a 99.8% RTP.

But at the very least, I would be looking hard at wagers on European Roulette or the pass line in Craps with Odds, or Player/ Banker bets on Baccarat that have a low house edge.

�� What are the best casino games to play with $100?

The best game is going to depend on what you want to do. You'll want to choose games that match your expectations. If you're looking for a good chance at doubling your money, you might want to take a closer look at some of the games with a lower-than-usual house edge that we've listed below.

If you're hoping to get lucky and land a big win, then perhaps slots is going to be your best bet, or if you're just looking to spend a night out at the casino gambling and having a good time, then perhaps smaller bets on something like keno or bingo or perhaps pai gow will get us the most gambling for our money.

Blackjack

If you're looking for the best odds to make a bit of money, online casino blackjack offers some spectacular games. With house advantages measured in the tenths of a percent, blackjack will be as close to an even money proposition as we can find.

I would be looking for very low minimum bets, and if we download a basic strategy chart from the internet, we can play each hand perfectly. Combine all that with a good deposit bonus, some free spins, or some free blackjack tournaments, and we have a fighting chance at making some money or at least playing for a while.

Craps

Craps is another game that has a low house edge on some of its bets, especially the pass line with odds. And playing Craps with some close friends in Las Vegas on a hot table can be an unforgettable experience.

Even online, the quick pace and the ability to press winning bets can make for an exciting game. But be careful; not all the craps bets are low house edge. In fact, some, like the prop bets and field, can be downright awful. So make sure you know the difference.

Roulette

European Roulette can often be found at online casinos, and in many cases, you can find the French version with La Partage or En Prison, which makes the game much better. European Roulette has a house advantage of 2.7%, which isn't bad but is approaching ten times worse than some of the online casino blackjack games that can be found.

The French variation of the online roulette will knock the house edge down to 1.35% on even money outside bets, but those aren't always the most exciting or fun to play. Roulette will also have a low minimum bet at any casino online. Sometimes, it's as low as a dime. The max bet can go $10k or higher, so the sky is the limit if you get on a winning streak.

I've noticed many internet casinos now have live dealer roulette, which lets you play with a real dealer, spinning an actual ball on a regulation wheelhead. This can be much more exciting than a random number game where the computer picks which compartment the ball will "land" in.

But note the minimums will be higher, and low-house edge games, like French Roulette, are harder to find when dealt by a live dealer.

Poker

Poker can be a great game to play at an online casino. The trick here is you really need to know how to play poker. The internet is full of excellent poker players, some of whom may be using computer-assisted play to help them try to beat you.

Playing cash games at your buddy's house will likely not give you the exposure to online poker you will need to be a winning player over time.

That being said, if you want to blow off some steam, can find the sucker at every table, and have excellent bankroll management, along with right-sizing your bets to your available cash, you could have a great time spending your $100 and seeing if you might get lucky with a big hand. I would probably think twice about playing no-limit poker with only a $100 buy-in, I see it done all the time, but even a semi-pro will put you all in pretty quickly.

Slots

If we've decided that we want to see if we can hit the casino for a big win while only putting at risk our $100, slots will be the right place to be. If we see a big progressive jackpot, we should realize that a large chunk of every dollar is going to that big win. While it may pay a lot, the odds of hitting just that one jackpot hand is small.

If we see that a slot machine doesn't offer a substantial top jackpot but, instead, its paytable has many smaller wins, then we can infer that this machine probably hits smaller amounts much more frequently. A quick check in Google with the name of the slot machine followed by the word "volatility" should confirm.

Lower volatility machines pay back small wins more often. So when choosing a machine, we should have an idea if we intend to take a chance on a life-changing progressive or if we are hoping for smaller wins to play longer or possibly make a profit.

Pro Tip: I talk a lot about House Edge or Return to Player, which are two sides of the same coin. If we bet $100, on average, over millions of spins or throws of the dice, how much money would be Returned To the Player(RTP)? The answer expressed in a percentage can help us see how much we might lose on that game with a set average bet over time. The House edge, then conversely, is the amount of money the house keeps out of a $100 wagered over millions of hands. These two numbers equal 100.

�� Does it matter how much money you put into slot machines?

A common mistake, especially with today's penny machines, is that the max bet to trigger all the paytables and jackpot lines will never be a penny.

In many cases, it will be several dollars. But it's vital to play enough to be eligible for every pay line because the best odds and top jackpots play into the machine's Return to Player. This was obvious on the old three-coin machines, as you might see the payables for just one coin bet were smaller than three and that the top jackpot often was only available with the max bet. But this is not always as obvious today.

Another factor to consider is that $1 machines almost always have a slightly higher RTP than penny machines. On the Las Vegas Strip, penny machines return just over 88%, while $1 machines pay back 92.4%(1). I expect it is something similar in online casinos. This is a substantial difference over time, so we should consider it when sizing the proper bet for our bankroll.

�� How much should you bet on blackjack?

Proper bet size in blackjack is also crucial. In a brick-and-mortar casino, we might have our hand forced, as it were, because it's challenging to find games at even $10 a hand, but playing online, we should be able to bet as small as $1 on the same game. If this $100 were our entire bankroll for our lifetime of blackjack play, we might consider a $1 bet to give us time to earn our deposit match and get into the longer term, where we can expect a minimal house edge.

But since we will likely try another $100 at some point, a good starting bet might be $5 or about 1/20th of your bankroll. Still, if I'm playing for a deposit bonus and have some level of playthrough that I must meet, I always make sure to size my blackjack bets appropriately to meet the requirements before I go bust.

�� Is it better to bet big on blackjack?

Mathematically, even with a tiny house edge, a big bet might make sense in that the house still has the advantage and will grind you down over time. Meanwhile, with card counters who have an advantage over the house, it is best for them to grind away at that advantage over time instead of pushing everything in.

But as we've mentioned above, due to deposit bonuses, prizes, promotions, and other free giveaways, sometimes it is best to keep our blackjack budget at the point where we can make many bets in order to see some desired amount of hands.

Strategic use of limited funds, some research into each blackjack game's RTP, strict adherence to a basic strategy chart, and a knowledge of each casino's terms and conditions can get you a much longer playing time and maybe even a chance at some great prizes.

�� How does bankroll management change for online vs live dealer games?

As noted several times, a $100 just doesn't go as far as it used to. As true at the grocery store as at the casino, a $100 in a busy land-based casino might only get you four rolls of the dice or spins of the roulette ball, and you'd be waiting for seats at the low-limit slots.

Online gaming has reduced some of that inflationary pressure, and you are likely to find $1 blackjack, ten-cent Roulette, and as many slot machines at whatever denomination you want to play. This allows us to reconsider our bankroll and have many more options for approaching our intended goal.

Carefully evaluate the game you want to play, what you want to win, and what the house advantage is, then proportion your $100 to meet that goal best.

�� Our Advice -What is the golden rule for gambling?

I have always heard, "They who have the gold make the rules," which applies to this case.

The casino has the gold, they have the mathematical advantage, and they have infinite patience. It's one thing to set a budget, think through what you want to do, and have a little fun at the casino.

But it is another to throw away hard-earned money with no budget and no plan. Never bet more than you can afford to lose, and if you or a friend have a problem, please call 1-800-GAMBLER.

�� Can I win at a casino with $100?

This is an absolute yes. Even if I took my $100 and bet it on Black on French Roulette, I'd have a better than 48% chance of walking away a winner. But the odds aren't in our favor, so have a budget. Have a clear intent, perhaps even a goal of what you want to win. Have a plan and execute it. But most of all, have fun.

Kevin Lentz

Kevin's journey in the world of casinos began as an advantage player, giving him a unique perspective on the industry. But he eventually earned three decades of experience in casino management and has successfully overseen diverse departments, including slots, table games, poker rooms, and sportsbooks within land-based casinos. Now, he channels his passion for all things related to blackjack, card counting, advantage play, and the dynamic realm of online casinos into his writing.