Sometimes this means avoiding stakes with exceptionally high house advantages. But sometimes it also means not making a bet because there is a better option available that does the same with a lower house edge.
Here are bets you should NEVER do:
Baccarat: The Tie Bet
In baccarat, only two hands are dealt: a player’s hand and a banker’s hand.
Everyone can bet on one of the two hands. The banker wins more often than players, so those who bet on the banker hand have to pay the house a commission of 5 percent – the payment is made according to the applicable payout structure minus this 5 percent. Winning player hands are paid out one to one.
Both are among the better bets with a house edge of 1.06 percent on the banker’s hand and 1.24 percent on the player hand.
There is a third option. You can bet that both hands will have the same value (a tie, so to speak).
If you win this bet, you will receive an 8 to 1 payout, which is tempting for those who want to make a quick profit instead of having to deal with the one-to-one payouts.
If you have two available bets with a house edge of just over 1 percent, then why should you complete a bet with a house edge of 14.4 percent? There is simply no reason for that.
Craps: Big 6 And Big 8
There are many stakes that must be avoided with craps, especially with one-roll options. House advantages of 16.67 percent for every 7, 11.11 percent for craps, and others are too high to be able to play profitably at all.
But there are a few multi-roll bets with a hidden high house edge.
In two corners of the layout, you will see a big red six next to a big red 8. These are the so-called Big 6 and Big 8 bets.
You play the same as place bets on the 6 and 8. If you bet on the big six and the shooter rolls a six before rolling a 7, you win. If a seven comes first, you lose. No other numbers matter – if the shooter rolls a sequence like 5, 9, 3, 12, 4, 5, you have neither won nor lost. Your bets either stay in the game, or you can withdraw them.
Because of the 7 to 6 payout on a place bet, you want to wager a multiple of € 6 if you bet on the 6 or 8. With Big 6 and Big 8, there is no such imperative. However, with € 5 bets on Big 6 or 8, there are, on average more losses than with a normal place bet on 6 and 8.