Ok, so you go to the roulette table and you put your chip on black. A black number hits and you get paid even money. You then go to the craps table and make a Come Bet: the shooter rolls an 11 and you get even money again. Easy this gambling stuff isn’t it? Make a low risk bet and it will pay off, right? After all; you have a 50/50 chance of winning. Well, this is not entirely true. The even money payout does not mean an even money game.
Low risk bets are there for a reason. They are considered low risk for the player as there is a good chance of hitting. But there is certainly not an even chance of winning. Consider the roulette wheel for a moment. If you bet on any even money bet and the zero hits, you lose. End of story. If you’re on an American table, there’s the double zero to contend with. This means double the trouble. Now, a come bet on the craps table will win initially with a 7 or 11, but will lose if any of three numbers (2, 3, or 12) are rolled. Again, this is not quite as fair as it initially seemed. In all these examples, the casino still has the edge.
Yes the edge is minimal but it is still there. These bets are also considered low risk for the casino. The reason is that any winning bets will not require a large payout. Therefore, players can continue to hit and the casino will be safe financially. The casino will still win more hands than the players on average, and will come out on top. A common term within the gambling world is “the grind effect”. This refers to the way in which casino eventually grind down player bankrolls through a series of misplaced low risk bets.
Though this may sound exaggerated, it in fact makes sense. These bets do not provide enough winnings to cover any losses made. And you will lose eventually; the small casino edge is still stacked against you. If you play only low risk bets then this will eventually sap your bankroll unless you hit an extremely lucky streak. This is fine if your aim when playing is to stay at the tables for as long a time as possible. The low risk bets are good for that purpose. But if you want to make money then they will not enable this. The only way to make money is to accompany the low risk bet with something more risky, but which will reap better rewards.
