Know What The Worst Casino Bets Are? We Do!

You don’t want to play online casinos and lose, do you? No one does, but that’s exactly what will happen if you play bad bets. Bad bets are bets that you have little chance of winning but that are expensive to play. You want to avoid these bets at all costs. Do you know which are the worst casino bets to make?

No? Then you’ve come to the right place! We’re going to walk you through the absolute worst of the worst casino bets.

Blackjack insurance: A humungous No-No!

Blackjack is one of the best casino games to play. The house advantage is relatively low at most casinos – but you should check out the casino reviews to find out which casinos lowest house advantage.

So, the fact that blackjack typically offers such good odds – making it one of the safest casino games – can lull you into a false sense of security. It can make you assume that ALL blackjack bets are safe.

NOT TRUE!

There’s one blackjack bet that falls flat on its face: blackjack insurance.

Here, when the dealer deals himself an Ace, you have the opportunity to place a bet that his other card has a value of 10 (i.e., the dealer has a blackjack). Many people think this is a great bet because the chances of drawing a 10 can seem relatively high.

People have an all-or-nothing view of it: he either has a 10 or doesn’t, meaning there’s a 50-50 chance. It doesn’t work like that. The dealer is far more likely not to have a 10-value card than to have a 10-value card.

You’re making a bet that actually increases the house advantage. It’s the bet that gives the house the biggest advantage. Why would you ever take it?

OK, it does feel a bit exciting, but if you’re out to win, don’t place an insurance bet in blackjack.

Avoid the “tie bet” in baccarat

I love baccarat! It’s brilliant and always a time sink for me. It’s probably the friendliest game for beginners too because it’s easy to pick up and fun. But there’s one trap you need to avoid: the tie bet.

Don’t make the tie bet. There are only three possible bets that you can make in baccarat: the banker bet, the player bet, and the tie bet.

The other two are fine. Tie bet= No!

Again, it gives a huge advantage to the house – as much as 15% in some cases. It’s not the worst house advantage you can find, but it’s definitely up there.

Compare the house advantage of the player bets and the banker bets (typically both between 1% and 1.5%), and you can see why the tie bet is a terrible idea.

Lottery & Progressive Slots

I’ve lumped these two games together because they share the same problem: the chances of winning anything worth talking about are minuscule. If you read our recent article about the problem with lotteries, then you’ll understand why it’s a bad choice.  The return to player (RTP) is bad, and definitely the worst of the common gambling games.

But progressive slots are not far behind the lottery in terms of the RTP. You spend a lot of money winning small prizes, but the bigger prizes are elusive. With some of the larger jackpots, your chance of winning can be as bad as 1 in 50,000,000.

Normal slot machines are a lot of fun – they can be compulsive, but they’re fun and you won’t lose too much money. Progressive slots are fun to play but don’t play them with the belief that you’ll win the jackpot. One of you reading this might, but it probably won’t be you!

Summing it up

Different casino games offer different chances of winning. Some of the most alluring bets are actually some of the worst gambling bets you can make. These bets can be a lot of fun, so you don’t need to avoid them completely. But just remember that if you play them, you’re very likely to lose, then they may not feel fun anymore!

A picture of fanned out playing cards. All the same suit (hearts), Ace, king, queen and jack..

Harvey Dickenson

Safe Gambling Specialist

Harvey Dickenson is our safe gambling specialist. Harvey is a recreational poker player and an expert in online casino safety, cons, and scams.

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