These guides are for readers who want more from a casino than a night out: how to play with an edge over the house, or how to work on the other side of the table.
Advantage play means using skill and information to turn a game’s expected value in your favor. Card counting at blackjack is the best-known method, but it also covers spotting slot machines that a previous player has built toward a bonus, playing video poker paytables that return close to or above 100% once comps are added, and using promotions well. Using your own skill and memory is legal, but casinos can refuse your action, ask you to leave or ban you.
Dealing is one of the most common ways into the casino business. Most dealers learn at a dealer school or a casino’s own training program, pass an audition and get a gaming license from their state. Pay is often a modest hourly wage plus tips, so income varies a lot by casino and shift.
Casino guides
- Becoming a casino advantage player: which games can be beaten, what it takes and how casinos respond to winning players.
- How to become a casino dealer: training, auditions, licensing and what the job pays.
Related
- Card counting: the core advantage play skill at blackjack.
- Best blackjack books: a reading list for serious players.
- Why to avoid 6-5 blackjack: how one rule change raises the house edge.
- Low house edge craps strategies: the bets that cost you least.
- Video poker: where paytable choice changes your return.
- How to earn comps: the value casinos give back for your play.
- Las Vegas scams: what to watch for on and off the casino floor.
Gamble for fun and set a budget before you play. If gambling stops being fun, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET (call or text).