What is Advantage Playing?
The Casino Advantage
Most people play a losing game when they go to a casino. The games there always put the casino at an advantage over the gambler. A basic example is this: If there was a coin toss in the house and you had to risk 1.0 betting unit for heads, the casino might pay you at 0.8 betting unit if your bet wins, but take the full 1.0 unit you wagered if you lose. The payoff odds are always lesser than the true odds of the bet. And the greater the difference between the two, the more money the casino takes from the player.
It does not matter what game it is; the same principle applies. In roulette, your one-number bet which may have odds of 36 to 1 is paid back at only 35 to 1. In slots, the non-paying spins occur more often than paying spins, thus negating what profits you could make. And by the time a significant prize is won in keno, the player will have lost so much money that he or she will probably only break even.
This default casino advantage is known as the house edge. It is measured in percentage and can range from as small as .5% to 25%. That is the percentage of a player's bet that the casino keeps on average. By this means, it secures its profits.
Overcoming the House Edge with Advantage Playing
However the house edge is usually very small. In addition, the mechanics of casino games are flawed; that is, they are not "tamper" proof. An informed gambler can manipulate such flaws in a game's setup to decrease or even remove the house edge. This is advantage playing.
The techniques of advantage playing vary with the game being played, but in all cases knowledge of the mathematical probabilities is necessary, as well as perfect strategy, skill and bankroll management.
Blackjack is arguably the most popular game in advantage playing. Unlike some games like roulette (see below), blackjack does not fall under the Law of Independent Trials. Since the decks aren't shuffled before each hand, the odds of the game change. If, after five hands, four kings and two aces are used, you know that the shoe now has much fewer "high cards" and the odds of a blackjack are lowered. In advantage playing, you use card counting and betting strategies to make use of this feature.
Video poker works similarly. Because only one deck of cards is used in each draw (plus the second draw), the odds of each poker hand being made can be known. Advantage playing here involves making those hold/discard decisions which give the best odds of hitting.
Craps shooting is also advantage playing, if the shooter can control how the dice falls. And if you have large-enough bankroll, you can play progressive slots until the jackpot hits.
Limits of Advantage Playing
Advantage playing does not work with all games. There are no proven techniques for keno and roulette, for instance. In these games, the game is "reset" after each draw or spin so that the odds are the same every time. Every keno draw picks from the same amount of numbers, so the odds of hitting and missing are the same. If a particular number "missed" for ten straight draws, it is no more likely to appear in the next draw. With roulette, it is the same: every spin is independent of previous spins.
Advantage playing works not only for casino games like blackjack, video poker and craps, but also in the realm of sports betting.