The No Brainers

So far, our best bets have all involved a bit of thinking on your part but a couple of the very best games in the casino require almost no skill at all and have returns as good or better than either video poker or blackjack. Those games are craps and baccarat. Your initial reaction might be that both of these games are a bit intimidating to a beginner and you wouldn’t be wrong. The craps table is usually the noisiest spot in the casino and all the wagers can seem a bit exotic but, for our purposes, you need only learn a few basics about how the game works and about how to make a simple pass line bet. Of course you can look online but my recommendation is to find a casino that offers a class on how to play. They are often offered on weekday mornings so ask around. That way you can see the game play out and not just have to imagine what it looks like. A simple pass line bet has a house advantage of only 1.4% and, if you also “take odds” on your bet, it can get significantly lower. As for baccarat, it is often thought of as a rich man’s game and, indeed, the full baccarat tables are usually in the high limit rooms and can have high minimum bets. If it is too high for you, look for a mini baccarat table as they will typically have minimums more in line with other table games. And, here’s the kicker. If you take the banker bet, the house edge is only 1.06%. And the game involves no thinking at all! So learn craps and/or baccarat if you want a game where you have a fighting chance to come out ahead without doing much work! Tomorrow we’ll talk about some games you might want to avoid and why.