Basic Strategy: What Is It and for Which Casino Games Does It Exist?

In most gaming scenarios, players can apply elements of strategy in order to maximise their chances of the optimal outcome. And, although it’s something that often gets overlooked, the same applies to casino gaming, too.

Even though casino games are governed by randomness and luck, there are still ways in which players can increase their chances of winning. Yes, the house will always have its edge, but there are ways for players to minimise this.

Firstly, it is essential to choose a fully licensed casino. You can do it through platforms that review operators and break down their key features, such as Legalbet. You can pick your casino here and skip the hassle of manually checking every site, comparing game catalogues and bonus offers - all just to figure out which one actually suits you.

It’s a practical approach, but it won’t reduce the house edge on its own. For that, you need to rely on basic strategy techniques. Let’s take a look at what they are and which games they apply to.

Blackjack Basic Strategy

In blackjack, players can minimise the house edge from a standard start of around 2% to below 1% by applying basic strategy. This makes it one of the games with the lowest house edges available at online casinos or on the gaming floor.

With blackjack basic strategy, players simply need to memorise (or have a copy by their side if playing online) the optimal decisions to make in each scenario that can unfold. A chart shows what to do to decrease the mathematical edge when any combination of cards is dealt, whether that’s hitting, standing, splitting, or doubling down.

In the long term, applying basic strategy techniques will decrease the house edge and give you a better chance of having a more stable and successful session should the right cards come your way.

Baccarat Basic Strategy

Blackjack isn’t the only card game at the casino in which players can benefit from basic strategy principles.

When it comes to baccarat, the most basic strategy is evident when considering the house edges of each bet type: for the player bet, the house edge is 1.24%. For the banker bet, that edge is reduced to 1.06%.

So, simply by betting on the banker, players can marginally improve their chances of winning – that’s because the banker has the positional advantage of getting to play second, which increases their ability to make the right call through strategy, as opposed to logical guesswork.

It’s also wise to avoid the tie bet, as this – theoretically – will land once in every ten hands and pays just 8:1, with a house edge of 14%.

The same is true of baccarat side bets, such as the player pair or banker’s pair. Even though you might win the occasional wager in this way, in the long run these are losing plays as the payout does not reflect the probability of them occurring.

Poker Basic Strategy

Poker variants like Texas Hold’em, Five Card Stud, and Omaha, are ripe for the use of basic strategy in maximising your edge. These variants rely heavily on strategy and decision-making, though not in the fixed-chart sense of basic strategy used in house-banked games.

But in poker games played specifically against the house’s dealer, there are ways that players can also increase their chances of winning and in turn lower the house edge.

In Three Card Poker, for example, the percentage play is to utilise the Play bet when your hand is at least Q-6-4… anything weaker than that and players should fold immediately.

In Pai Gow Poker, which is commonly available in both standard and live dealer variants at an online casino, players can assemble their hole cards into two hands. If the player wins both hands against the dealer’s hands, they land a payout. If one hand beats the dealer, it results in a push.

So there are different strategies that can be used in Pai Gow, including the splitting of two pairs and three-of-a-kind, to maximise the quality of both hands, not just one.

Basic Strategy in Games of Chance

You can also use basic strategy in games such as video poker, where choosing which cards to hold can push the RTP close to 99%, and in craps by sticking to sensible bets like the Pass Line with odds; you can even apply some basic strategy in games like roulette and slots, believe it or not.

Okay, so you cannot shape the outcome of the spin of the wheel/reels. While roulette and slots don’t offer basic strategy in the same sense as blackjack, players can still make strategic choices that lower the house edge — mainly by selecting the right game variants.

In European roulette, the house edge is around 2.7%. In American roulette, this becomes 5.26% due to the two zero pockets. So by choosing the European version, you are already applying a form of basic strategy.

In slots, the Return to Player (RTP) rate is also a form of house edge. Some games have an RTP as low as 88%, whereas others it’s up to 97%.

These are not guarantees of a positive return from a session due to the law of randomness, but from a theoretical standpoint playing higher RTP games does decrease the ‘house edge’ that online slots have.

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