Gaming Tips : Table Games Strategies for Roulette, Baccarat and Mini Baccarat

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., the largest gaming company in the world, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, reported that the two most played table games in the casinos are blackjack and craps. They are played by 11 percent of all gamers. The rest of the table games get together a 15 percent of all casino players. The big profits are collected from the 74 percent casino gamblers which play the machines.

Below are listed some strategies for the table games which gather 15 percent of all players of casinos. These tips will keep the house edge covered and give you a good chance to come home wealthy!

Roulette
There are two kinds of roulette wheels: the single-zero wheel (include just one 0) more common in European casinos and the double-zero wheel (has 0 and 00 opposite each other) very popular in American casinos.

The house edge on the single-zero wheel is of 2.70 and for the double-zero wheel is a 5.26 percent. The casino attains its edge by not paying back the true odds of the bet, which are 37 to 1 or 36 to 1. It pays back only 35 to 1.

The lay-out closest to the wheel has zero(es) at the peek, and then lies in three columns, with the numbers running across the columns. 1-2-3 is at the top under the green zero (es); then under them is 4-5-6, and so on. Players can lay down bets directly on a number or group of numbers; or they can place bets on certain "expressions" on the outside of the layout.

The dealer will then twist the ball, announcing: "No more bets." As the ball finishes its spin and descends into the pockets where it ultimately stops in one pocket, the dealer will announce the winning number and its color. All the losing bets are collected by the dealer with which he will pay the winning bets.

Roulette has a multitude of bets. You can gamble on one or more numbers, or you can gamble propositions such as odd-even, red-black, high-low, first, second and third dozens.

There are casinos which take only half of the losing wager on the outside "even-money" bets of red/black, odd/even, high/low if the 0 or 00 is the winner. This “rule” size down the house edge to 2.63 on the American double-zero wheel and 1.35 on the European single-zero wheel.

The roulette wheel cannot be beaten. You only can size down its house edge by playing in single-zero games where the casino offers “give up” or en prison. In these casinos only play the outside "expression" bets of red/black, odd/even, high/low.

Baccarat and Mini Baccarat
In Baccarat players have to guess which of three “entities” may happen to win on the next round: Bank, Player, or Tie. Two cards are dealt to the Bank hand and two cards are dealt to the Player hand. Sometimes a third card is dealt to one or both hands. The game is dealt from a six- or eight-deck shoe. All tens, jacks, queens and kings equal zero. The ace equals one. All the other cards keep their number value. That’s why the hand closest to nine is the winner.

After the Bank and Player hands have received two cards it is possible that one or even both players might need to select an extra card. The rules for selecting cards are prearranged and irrelevant since the players do not have to make any decisions. At the end of the deal it only matter which hand totals nine or closest to nine to win the pot.

With a winning hand you win back the same value of your bet, paid 1 to 1. If the winning hand is of the Bank the player money is returned to him at 95 percent. And finally a winning Tie hand is paid eight times more. The idea is that whether who lose, Bank or Player, and the Tie wins, your wager is still yours.

The Tie bet has a 14 percent edge in favor of the casino. The house has a 1.36 percent edge on the Player bet and a 1.17 percent edge on the Bank bet when the bank charges a five percent commission.

Baccarat is played on the large table in the high roller rooms of casinos for table minimums of $25, $50, $100 or more and players have to deal the cards. Mini Baccarat, on the other hand, is played at a blackjack table. In this case the house dealer deals the cards. Because, this form of baccarat is a very fast game it is played usually for minimums of $5, $10 and $25.

If you want to win at Baccarat, then play the popular form in the high roller rooms of casinos. Here you can manage the casino edges, as the game is slower than Mini Baccarat. It is better to bet on Bank because it has the lowest house edge. It keeps only 5 percent of the bet. A good advice to follow is to never wager Tie.