The 8 biggest gambling myths debunked
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The allure of online casinos is undeniable – the promise of thrilling games, the chance to strike it rich, and the convenience of playing from the comfort of your own home. Yet, lurking in the shadows are persistent myths that have cast a long shadow of doubt and skepticism on the industry. Chief among these myths is the belief that games are rigged, and online casinos are scams.
In this article, we do our best Mythbusters impression and debunk some of the more prominent misconceptions about playing online casino games.
There is a lot of debate among casino fans about which strategy is the best to profit from luck-based games like slot machines. We’re here to put that debate to bed because slot machines are games of pure luck and, therefore, cannot be games of skill.
The randomness of slot machines draws many people who prefer to relax and let lady luck take the wheel rather than try and strategize over a hand of blackjack. Some modern slot machines involve a small amount of skill, such as interactive bonus rounds. Even with a few exceptions, slot machines are games of chance, and the outcome is not determined by anything you do.
While you can give yourself a better chance to beat the odds occasionally, luck-based games are unpredictable. Don’t be fooled into investing money into books or services that teach you how to succeed on slot machines or other luck-based casino games like roulette, baccarat, and craps. It’s like paying somebody to teach you how not to get hit by lightning; there are ways to cut down on your chances, but you can’t learn how to be lucky.
Let us be absolutely clear right off the bat: online casino games are not rigged in the house’s favor. Any reputable casino with a license in the United States operates above board and under strict regulations.
We understand your trepidation with moving from a land-based casino to a virtual platform. Instead of cash in hand, you are risking your hard-earned money via digital coins and chips. You’d think it would be easy for the casino to make you lose. And while it would be easy for them to cheat, strict regulations keep casinos in check.
To ensure that the online casino you want to register with is legit, check to see if it makes our list of best casinos in PA. You can also do your own research and check customer reviews online and ratings on the app store.
At a minimum, any reputable online casino should utilize a random number generator (RNG) to run its games. Using RNG ensures that the results of every spin, hand of cards, or roll of the dice are random and legitimate.
You should distinguish the house edge, designed to guarantee the casino wins in the long run, and outright cheating. One is a well-known part of the industry, while the other would be the casino illegally stealing from you.
Similar to the rigged games conspiracy, another misconception about online casinos is they are fly-by-night businesses with shady practices. While a fair number of sites are out to scam you, they often have different ways of separating you from your money that don’t involve denying you your winnings. Other less reputable sites may give you a headache when withdrawing cash, but outright refusal to pay is a big no-no.
Any casino that refuses to pay its players will face serious consequences, including removing its gambling license. This is essentially a death sentence for a casino and forces them to shut their doors immediately. At the least, the bad press a casino would receive from not paying would have a substantial adverse effect in the internet era.
If you are looking into a casino with a history of non-payment, just move on.
There are legitimate reasons why you may be denied a payout, but they all revolve around breaches in the terms and conditions. Some of the most common infractions include:
- Betting while underage
- Having multiple accounts
- Using somebody else’s credit card
Endless progressive betting systems promise to teach you how to beat the casinos consistently. These betting strategies are often straightforward, which attracts people to them. But be warned, there is no proven scientific way to change the math of casino betting.
In reality, progressive betting systems are among the quickest ways to ensure you lose all your money.
The basic version of progressive betting is the Martingale betting system that instructs you to double any wager following a loss. You reset your total to your base units each time you win and start again.
If you double your bet every time you lose, the law of large numbers stipulates that, eventually, your luck will change, and you will win all your losses back at once.
The first and most obvious pitfall of a progressive betting system is how quickly you can run out of money.
Say, for example, that your first wager on a hand of cards is $25, and you lose. The subsequent bet you make is $50. If that fails, you are now down $75 in total. If you lose six straight hands, your total losses swell to $3,175. You must wager $3,200 to break even and risk losing $6,375. Can you afford to do that? And if so, what about the next hand at $6,400?
Losing nine or ten hands in a row is uncommon, but it’s not unheard of. A ten-loss cold streak could bankrupt you if you use a system like the Martingale. At the least, it could set you back tens of thousands of dollars.
Even if you are a billionaire, there is another problem with using progressive betting systems. Casinos aren’t dumb, and each table has a maximum bet. One reason for max bets is to combat players who try to use progressive techniques. So, not only do they not work, but casinos have safeguards in place just in case you decide to try anyway.
Anyone who offers you a blackjack betting system that does not involve card counting is little more than a snake-oil salesman. In fundamental terms, counting cards is the art of tracking how many face cards are in a deck at any given time. When the deck is heavy with face cards, you should bet big because you have a higher chance of hitting 21, and the dealer has a higher chance to bust.
Learning how to count cards isn’t easy, but the most challenging part of the process is doing it at a casino without alerting security. Brick-and-mortar casinos are always on the lookout for card counters. While it’s not illegal, you will be shown the door if they catch you.
If you do count cards and thought you could just take your talents online, you’d be very wrong.
Even live dealer games have ways to thwart card counters, such as playing games with eight complete decks, burned cards at the start of each round, and some tables that auto-shuffle after each hand. A shoe penetration rate of 50% doesn’t help, as the cards are switched when only four decks have been dealt.
These techniques make it difficult, but possible, to count cards on a live dealer game. We still don’t recommend trying it.
All other blackjack games use RNG; every outcome is 100% random. Think of it like there are no cards in the shoe at all, and an algorithm generates six decks before every hand. Don’t think you can play online blackjack by counting cards. It is impossible.
If you talk to a veteran casino player long enough, they will likely share their strategy for finding a “hot” slot machine and how to avoid the “cold” ones. The idea is that if a machine starts to pay out, it will be more likely to win frequently over the short term. Conversely, if a slot machine is cold, it will be less likely to pay out for long periods.
In reality, the law of averages makes consecutive outcomes far less likely each time they happen. Streaks of a kind are an outlier, and the results will eventually normalize.
Remember the random number generator we talked about before? RNG controls every online casino game’s outcome and puts the kibosh on this myth. If the results of any outcome are 100% random, you can’t draw any conclusions about future outcomes based on what has already happened.
Every spin has the same odds, and your chances to win one is as high as on another.
Long story short, hot and cold streaks are random and cannot be planned for or counted on to help.
The idea that winning in the short or long term at an online casino is impossible is 100% incorrect. Nobody would ever go to a casino and risk even one dollar if that were true. Without a legitimate chance for players to walk away winners, the industry would cease to exist overnight.
In reality, winning over time at a casino is challenging but possible, thanks to RNG. Because every outcome is randomized, the chance of getting lucky and winning big is better than you might think.
One main reason players struggle to win casino games is not fully understanding each title and not playing them correctly. Some games have complicated pay tables and require specific inputs to trigger certain bonus rounds. You’ll never consistently reap positive results if you don’t know how to make the most out of your game.
One way to help tilt the odds in your favor is to take advantage of the myriad of casino bonuses offered to you. With rewards ranging from cash at the casino, free spins, and refunds on day one losses, you can make up for some losses by claiming bonuses regularly.
It’s reasonable to assume that only states that have legalized online casinos can access digital slots and other table games like blackjack and roulette.
An entire industry of platforms offers casino-style games that operate across the country, including states with no legal online casinos. Sweepstakes casinos, also known as social casinos, work in ways that do not fall under the purview of traditional casino regulations. Instead, they operate as sweepstakes sites that do not allow you to make real money deposits or cash wagers.
Rather than directly risk real money, you purchase virtual tokens that can be used to play casino games. Any coins you win can be redeemed for cash rewards or gift cards in most cases. Sweepstakes casinos operate using a dual currency system, with one being free to play and the other a “premium” coin. You cannot buy premium coins, also known as sweeps coins (SC), but you can buy free-to-play coins. Every time you purchase free tokens, the casino will “gift” you sweeps coins that can be used to win real money.
The appeal of social casinos is that they operate in almost every US state except Nevada, Washington, and Idaho. So, even if you live somewhere that does not have legal online casinos, you can enjoy casino-style games at sweepstakes casinos without breaking any laws or regulations.
Some of the best sweepstakes casinos in the country are backed by real-money platforms such as BetRivers.
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If you have a gambling problem and are located in Pennsylvania, call 1-800-GAMBLER or contact the 24-hour helpline chat at https://www.pacouncil.com/chatline.
