Which casino games are worthwhile, which are rip-offs?

If you go to a casino next door, a state casino or try your luck in one of the numerous online casinos, you are initially almost overwhelmed by the enormous number of different games that are offered to you. In some games you actually have realistic chances of winning something, but in others you get ripped off.
This article is intended to shed a little light on the various offers in the casino and to show which games are worthwhile for the player. Every game that you play in a casino, whether online or in a casino, has a so-called payout ratio. This payout percentage indicates how much a game pays the player as profit on average in the long term. This rate is given as a percentage and a payout rate of 85% means, for example, that for every euro wagered, an average of 85 cents is paid out to the player. It is very clear: the higher the odds, the better the game is for the player.

We have rated the most popular casino games in a small ranking according to their payout percentage.

---

1. Blackjack - Over 99% payout percentage

The simple card game blackjack is the best game to play in a casino. In blackjack you try to form 21 points with your cards and get a better total than the banker. Blackjack has a strong strategic component and players who play blackjack with a perfect strategy can achieve a payout percentage of up to 99,7 percent.

In some casinos it is even possible to make long-term profit at blackjack using so-called card counting. However, most casino card counters are quickly expelled from the house. Nevertheless, blackjack (even without card counting) is the casino game with the best odds for the player, if you have the correct strategy applies.

2. Baccarat - 98,9% payout percentage

The next best game in the casino is baccarat. In baccarat, too, a player competes against the banker and both try to form points with cards according to established rules. The rules and counting are different from blackjack, but the really big difference is that the casino plays both the role of banker and player. In the end, you only bet on whether the bank or the (fictional) player will win.

This means that Baccarat is a game with practically no strategy, no effort and if you bet on the banker, the game has a payout ratio of just over 98,9 percent - a good number for a game that you can play without any strategic knowledge.

3. Video Poker - Over 98,5% payout percentage

In video poker you get 5 cards, you can swap as many as you like and receive a payout depending on the strength of the poker hand. Deciding which cards to trade is not very easy and requires a lot of strategic skill. Most of the video poker machines have a very good payout ratio of 98,5 percent or even more.

Tip: When playing video poker, always play with the maximum number of coins, then the machines pay out disproportionately much for the best hands (straight flush or royal flush).

4. Online slot machines - 96% to 99% payout percentage

Online slots or slot machines are the most popular games in practically every casino on the net. Most of these machines have a decent payout rate of over 96 percent online. This is better than practically all machines in casinos or daddle-halls (especially the latter, with a payout rate of less than 75 percent, are definitely a rip-off). But there are a few tips to keep in mind with the machines.

Slot tip no.1: Select the correct slot games. There are several slots online that pay out over 99%, making them the front runners. These slots are Goblin's Cave, Ugga Bugga, Oceans Princess, Tropic Reels, and Cinerama. All of them are offered by Playtech and can be found in Playtech casinos.

Slot tip no.2: No jackpot machines. The jackpot slots attract with millions in winnings, but the chances are astronomical - worse than winning the lottery. On the other hand, these machines pay out significantly less on average and you lose your money too quickly at these machines. The most popular online jackpot machine, Mega Moolah, for example, has a payout rate of just 88 percent - that's almost a rip off.

5. Roulette - 94,7% or 97,3% payout percentage

Roulette is probably the most popular game in every casino. But unfortunately roulette is already very close to ripping off the player with a rather low payout ratio. In particular, the American variant (played here with the normal zero and the double zero) pays damn badly. It doesn't matter whether you bet on colors, numbers or rows or play any systems. In the long term, the casino will keep a stake of € 100 from 5 - and that per game.

With a payout rate of 97,3 percent, European roulette is a good deal better and can still be played with a clear conscience. But roulette is definitely not one of the best games in the casino when it comes to the player's chances of winning.

6. Keno - 71% to 95% payout percentage

Keno is a kind of variant of bingo. 70 of 20 numbers are drawn and the player can select up to 15 numbers on a betting slip beforehand. The more of the selected numbers are drawn, the higher the profit fails.

Originally, Keno was played live in arcades, where drawing the numbers was still a bit of a spectacle and most people were there primarily for entertainment. It wasn't so bad that the organizers only offered very bad odds and happily did not distribute more than a quarter of the stakes at all. In the meantime, however, keno is primarily played online, the game is fast-paced and you can let the computer select your winning numbers at random - only the margin that is far too high for the organizer has remained.

So this game is not fun and you as a player feel - completely rightly - quickly ripped off and exempted.

7. Scratch Cards - 60% to 75% payout percentage

Let's get to the king of the rip-offs among games of chance: scratch cards. You can buy these things at gas stations and they are also offered online in many corners. With these lots, the hope is that three of the same symbols or some other high-quality pattern will appear.

What all scratch cards have in common is that they have a horrific payout rate and in the long run more than a quarter of the stake stays with the provider. Of course, the tickets have some great top prizes that can be won. But the chances of this are so low and the remaining payouts so miserable that these games are pretty damn close to theft.