The other day I wrote about The Worst Bets in ANY Casino. Today is a new day, a new week, and a new year – so let’s start the year off as we should – by highlighting instead the BEST bets in any casino! Playing these bets exclusively will help to make your bankroll last longer, and will increase your chances of winning.

All bets shown here have a house edge of less than or equal to 2.5% – I consider that figure to be the MAXIMUM house edge you should tolerate on any casino game. The best bets featured are not listed in any particular order.

1) Baccarat – the house edge of the banker bet is 1.06%. The house edge on the player bet is 1.24%. However avoid the TIE BET (it has a huge house edge of 14.4%).

2) Blackjack (Basic Strategy) – typical house edge, dependent on number of decks played and rules, is around 0.5%. Spanish 21 is worse for the player, but the house edge is still only 1.8%. Blackjack pays 6 to 5 is again not ideal for the player, but the house edge is only 1.5% – so still acceptable.

3) Three Card Poker – the main “ante” and “wager” combination game has a 2% percent house edge. Pairs Plus, the secondary game, has a 2.3% percent edge.

4) Craps – the pass line has a house edge of 1.4%, the don’t pass line slightly less. The same is true for the Come and Don’t Come bets. In any case, you should take ODDS to the FULLEST amount allowed by the casino (1X, 3X, 5X, 10X, 20X, or 100X). Odds bets pay out at true odds, which reduces the house edge overall on the bets you are making on the pass line or don’t pass line. There are some other good craps bets: you can PLACE the 6 or 8 at a house edge of 1.52%. You can LAY the 4 or 10 at a house edge of 2.44%.

5) Carribean Stud Poker, or Pai Gow Poker – these games are both alive and strong in casinos, and both feature a non-jackpot (i.e. no side bet) house edge of around 2.5%. AVOID the SIDE BETS however – their edge can be a LOT higher.

You’ll notice a few omissions here – deliberately. These are roulette and slots – that’s no surprise since those games make the lions share of money for any casino. The house edge is higher than that 2.5% maximum you should tolerate.

Good luck beating the casinos! Let me know how you get on so we can celebrate together!