The Honest Truth First
No strategy beats the casino long-term. Every game has a built-in house
edge. Your $300 → $1,500 last trip was a genuinely hot run — enjoy that memory, but
don't expect it to repeat. What strategy can do is shrink the house edge from
"brutal" to "tiny," stretch your money into hours of fun, and make sure that when a hot
run happens again, you walk away with it instead of giving it back.
House Edge: Where Your Money Actually Goes
| Game | House Edge | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Blackjack, 3:2 payout, basic strategy | ~0.5% | ⭐ Best table game in the building |
| Video poker (9/6 Jacks or Better, good play) | ~0.5% | ⭐ Best "machine" by far |
| Baccarat (banker bet) | ~1.06% | Good, zero skill needed |
| Craps (pass line + odds) | ~1.4% or less | Good, fun table energy |
| Blackjack at a 6:5 table | ~2% | ❌ Avoid — same game, 4x worse |
| Roulette (double zero) | 5.26% | Meh |
| Dollar slots | ~5–7% | Meh |
| Penny slots (the flashy ones) | ~10–12% | ❌ Worst odds on the floor |
| Blackjack side bets (Lucky Ladies, etc.) | 2–25% | ❌ Never |
The 6 Rules That Are the Actual "Strategy"
- Only play 3:2 blackjack. Look at the felt — it must say "Blackjack pays 3 to 2." If it says 6:5, walk away. This one habit matters more than anything else on this page.
- Play perfect basic strategy. Use the chart tab. Never guess, never play hunches, never copy the guy next to you. Casinos allow printed strategy cards at the table (phones are NOT allowed) — print the chart tab and bring it.
- Never take insurance, never play side bets. When the dealer shows an Ace and asks "insurance?" the answer is always no.
- Set a loss limit and a win-lock per session before you sit down (details in Bankroll tab). Last trip you won because you stopped. That's the skill — keep it.
- Always use a players card (free to sign up at any casino desk). It doesn't change the odds, but it earns free play, meals, and room offers. You're leaving money on the table without it.
- Slow down. The house edge taxes every bet, so fewer hands per hour = losing slower. Full tables are better than heads-up vs. the dealer. Sip, chat, enjoy.
Blackjack: The Goal
Get a hand total closer to 21 than the dealer without going over ("busting"). You're only playing against the dealer, never the other players.
Card values
- 2–10 = face value
- Jack, Queen, King = 10
- Ace = 1 or 11, whichever helps you (a hand with an Ace counting as 11 is called "soft")
Key payouts
- Win a hand: paid 1:1 (bet $10, win $10)
- "Blackjack" (Ace + 10-card on your first two cards): paid 3:2 (bet $10, win $15)
- Tie ("push"): keep your bet, nobody wins
A Hand, From Sitting Down to Cashing Out
- Pick the right table. Check the small sign: minimum bet ($5, $10, $15...) and "Blackjack pays 3 to 2." Bonus points if the sign or dealer says the dealer stands on soft 17.
- Buy in. Sit down, wait for the current hand to finish, then lay your cash flat on the felt — never hand it to the dealer directly. Say "changing $100." The dealer converts it to chips.
- Place your bet. Put chips in the betting circle in front of you before the deal. Once cards are out, never touch your bet.
- The deal. Everyone gets 2 cards face-up. The dealer gets one face-up ("upcard") and one face-down. In these face-up "shoe" games, never touch your cards.
- Insurance offer (decline it). If the dealer shows an Ace, they'll offer insurance. Wave it off or say "no thanks." If the dealer has blackjack, the hand ends; you lose your bet (push if you also have blackjack).
- Your turn — pick one action (check the Strategy Chart tab):
- Hit — take another card. Signal: tap the felt behind your cards.
- Stand — keep what you have. Signal: wave your hand flat over the cards.
- Double down — double your bet, take exactly one more card. Signal: put a matching stack of chips next to (not on top of) your bet, hold up one finger.
- Split — if your two cards match (e.g., 8-8), put up a second equal bet and play them as two separate hands. Signal: matching chips beside the bet, two fingers in a "V".
- Surrender (only some tables) — give up the hand, get half your bet back. Say "surrender" out loud and draw a line behind your bet with your finger.
- Dealer plays. The dealer flips their hole card and follows fixed rules: hit until reaching 17 or more, then stop. No decisions, no reading you — it's pure procedure. If the dealer busts, every player still standing wins.
- Payouts. Beat the dealer: paid even money next to your bet. Blackjack: 3:2. Tie: push. Then the next hand starts — bet again or sit one out (just say "I'll sit this one out").
- Leaving. Push your chips forward and ask the dealer to "color up" (exchange small chips for big ones). Take the big chips to the cashier's cage to turn them into cash. Chips from one casino generally can't be cashed at another.
Etiquette (So You Look Like a Regular)
Do
- Use hand signals for every decision
- Tip the dealer now and then — easiest way: place a small side bet "for the dealer" in front of your circle
- Ask the dealer questions! Say "first time at a table, help me out" — most dealers are happy to coach at a quiet, low-limit table
- Wait for the shuffle to join a game if the table asks for it
Don't
- Touch your cards (in face-up games) or your bet after the deal
- Use your phone at the table — printed strategy cards are fine, phones are not
- Hand cash directly to the dealer — lay it on the felt
- Blame other players for "taking the dealer's bust card" — it's superstition, ignore it
Basic Strategy Chart
This is the mathematically best play for every hand vs. every dealer upcard (multi-deck shoe, the standard Vegas game). It's not a guess — it's a solved table. Print this page and take it to the table (allowed everywhere; phones are not).
How to read it: Find your hand on the left, the dealer's upcard across the top.
Check in this order: ① Is it a pair? Use the Pairs table. ② Do you have an Ace
counting as 11? Use Soft Totals. ③ Otherwise use Hard Totals.
H Hit
S Stand
D Double (if not allowed: hit — except soft 18: stand)
P Split
Hard Totals (no Ace, or Ace counted as 1)
Soft Totals (Ace counted as 11)
Pairs
* If the table offers surrender: surrender 16 vs 9, 10, or Ace, and 15 vs 10 (otherwise hit). † If the dealer hits soft 17 (common in Vegas — the felt will say): also double 11 vs Ace, double A,7 vs 2, and double A,8 vs 6. These tweaks are worth pennies — don't stress them.
The "Never Forget" Short List
Always
- Split Aces and 8s
- Double 11 (vs everything but an Ace)
- Stand on hard 17+
- Stand on 13–16 when the dealer shows 2–6 (let the dealer bust)
- Hit soft 17 (A,6) — never stand on it
Never
- Split 10s or 5s
- Take insurance or "even money"
- Play any side bet
- Stand on 12–16 vs dealer 7 or higher — you must hit, even though it feels scary
Why hit 16 vs 10? It feels wrong because you'll often bust. But the dealer's
10 makes them a huge favorite to reach 17+, so standing loses more often than hitting.
Basic strategy is full of plays that feel wrong and are right. Trust the chart over your gut,
every single time.
How Slots Really Work
Every modern slot uses a random number generator. There are no hot machines, no "due" jackpots, and nothing you do (bet timing, stopping the reels, rubbing the screen) changes the outcome. The only number that matters is RTP (return to player) — the percentage the machine pays back over millions of spins. You can't see a machine's exact RTP, but the patterns below are consistent in Nevada Gaming Control Board revenue reports year after year.
Which Machines Pay the Most
| Machine type | Typical return | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ⭐ Video poker — 9/6 Jacks or Better | 99.5% (with the strategy card) | The best machine in any casino. "9/6" means the paytable shows 9 for a full house and 6 for a flush at 1 coin — check the screen before playing. |
| Video poker — lesser paytables (8/5, 7/5) | 96–98% | Same game, worse paytable. Always read the paytable. |
| $5+ reel slots | ~95% | Higher denomination = higher return, reliably. |
| Dollar slots | ~93–95% | Decent middle ground. |
| Quarter slots | ~91–93% | |
| Penny video slots (the big flashy licensed ones) | ~88–90% | Worst return in the casino — the fancy screens and bonus wheels are paid for by the paytable. |
| Airport / gas station machines | ~85–88% | Never. Captive-audience pricing. |
The counterintuitive rule: one $1 spin on a dollar machine beats a $1 spin
spread across 40 lines of a penny machine — same money, meaningfully better return. If you
love the penny-slot bonus rounds anyway, that's fine! Just know you're paying extra for the
entertainment, and size your bets accordingly.
Where the Loose(r) Machines Are
Location matters more than machine choice. Strip casinos return roughly 92% overall; downtown and locals casinos run 94–95%+ because they compete for repeat local customers. Since you can drive:
| Spot | Drive from the Strip | Why go |
|---|---|---|
| El Cortez (downtown) | ~10 min | Famous for the loosest slots in Vegas, real coin-payout machines, cheap 3:2 $5–$10 blackjack. Old-school and genuinely fun. |
| Fremont Street casinos (Fremont, Four Queens, Binion's, Circa) | ~10 min | Better slot returns than the Strip, low table minimums, great 3:2 blackjack availability, and the light show is free. |
| Palace Station | ~7 min | Locals casino = better machines, good video poker inventory, cheap food. |
| Sam's Town / Boulder Station (Boulder Hwy) | ~20 min | Where locals play. Some of the best video poker paytables in town. |
| Your own hotel casino | You're home | Fine for convenience — sign up for the players card wherever you're staying; hotel guests get the best offers. |
Slot Session Rules
- Card in, every time. Insert your players card before every session — comps are based on tracked play.
- Pick denomination by bankroll, not excitement. Playing $20 of fun money? Penny machine, minimum lines. Playing $100+? Move up in denomination instead of betting max on pennies.
- Try video poker for one session. 9/6 Jacks or Better with a $2 strategy card from the gift shop is the closest a machine gets to a fair game — and it feels like a skill game, because it is one.
- Lock the jackpot. Any single win over ~5x your session budget: cash the ticket immediately, put the money in your pocket, take a walk. That's how last trip's $1,500 happened.
- Never chase. A machine that "owes you" doesn't exist. When the session budget's gone, the session is over.
The $300 Battle Plan (scale to whatever you bring)
The bankroll plan matters more than any strategy chart. It's the difference between "played all weekend, great time" and "broke by Friday midnight."
- Split the bankroll into sessions. $300 = three $100 sessions (or four $75). One envelope per session. When an envelope is empty, that session is over — no reloading from the ATM, no dipping into tomorrow's envelope. Casino ATMs charge $8+ per withdrawal for a reason.
- Size bets to the envelope. At blackjack you want ~20 bets per buy-in: $100 → a $5 table. If minimums near you are $15+, that's the signal to drive downtown, not to play shorter.
- Set a win-lock before you sit. Simple version: if a session envelope doubles ($100 → $200), pocket the original $100 immediately and play on with winnings only. You are now literally unable to lose money that session.
- Rat-hole big wins. Up big like last trip? Take half off the table, walk to the cage, cash it, and physically separate it (hotel safe is ideal). Money in the safe has a 100% return rate — best odds in the building.
- Time limits too. Fatigue and free drinks wreck discipline after ~90 minutes. Set a phone alarm per session. Also: the free drinks aren't free — tip $1–2 each, and alternate with water. Every bad gambling decision in history involved drink #4.
- Decide the "trip win" number now. Example: "If I'm ever up $1,000+ on the trip, the gambling portion of the trip is complete." Write it down. Future-you at a hot table will need past-you's note.
The real win condition: you spent your entertainment budget, played the
best-odds games in the building, had a blast, and any hot streak went home in your pocket
instead of back across the felt. Everything else is luck — and you've had good luck before.