The recent wave of casino-inspired movies has not gone by unnoticed. The successful ‘The Hangover’ franchise continues to be quoted to this day, while Hollywood is also waiting to welcome a remake of ‘The Gambler’, which is set to hit our screens later this year.
Casinos make for a perfect cocktail of entertainment as far as movie producers go – but what is it about them that attracts us to the cinemas time and again? Indeed, the gambling industry is a thrill in itself – but are casino games a game of skill or chance?
The answer to that question will depend on who you ask and to which game you are referring. Some people, perhaps less experienced gamblers, will tell you that all casino games are simply a question of luck, meanwhile the card counters out there will tell you that certain games require hours of practice to master.
Truly, it depends on the game, and with today’s ever-advancing technology, it can be down to luck thanks to random number generators.
Slot machines, for example, are designed using complex algorithms and are truly random, no matter how skilled the player might think themselves to be. While some casinos will tell you that slot machines have a 99 per cent payback rate, it will take a long time to get $99 for a $100 investment.
Likewise, complex number games like keno are truly down to chance, and for those who want to have a bigger chance of winning for a potentially smaller prize, card games may be more advisable.
Counting cards, for example, while frowned upon, can be a very lucrative practice if done right, but it’s a pursuit which takes years to perfect. Films like Rain Man have glamorised the practice, but in reality, it is likely to get you thrown out of a casino.
A far more reliable way of making money using skill would be to use a pre-devised strategy like the Martingale Strategy. The strategy was devised in 18th century France and is based on the principle of betting twice as much as before every time the player loses a game. It’s particularly effective for roulette due to its ‘heads and tails’ effect, but again, this could be down to chance.
While many serious gamblers can devise a number of tactics to try and win big in casinos, the reality is that no matter how many years of practice the player puts in, everything is ultimately down to chance.
