5 Games to Avoid at the Casino

Casino Games, Casino, Avoid, Cards, Roulette, Tables, Slots

While most casino games are simple and fun, over years of experience, I’ve learned you should avoid certain casino games. Usually, it comes down to math; most of the games you’re about to read about have large house edges that give the casinos an unfair advantage.

Are these bad casino games? Not necessarily. Some of them are a lot of fun, but I feel the casino’s advantage just doesn’t balance out against the potential rewards in most cases.

This isn’t a list of terrible casino games, but rather ones you should avoid in favor of better alternatives.

Keno

Keno is a lot of fun and one of the best casino games for relaxing. However, when you understand the math of this game, there’s little doubt it’s one of the casino games to avoid.

Keno is renowned for its ridiculously high house edge. The exact figure will depend on the variant you’re playing, but it can be anything up to 40%. In these cases, the house collects $40 of every $100 you wager on this game in the long run.

Note:

While it’s true that keno does offer big prizes, the chance to win hundreds of thousands shouldn’t come at such a high price. For example, the house edge on a typical video slot with similar top payouts is about 5-6% – a staggering difference that adds up quickly.

I recommend skipping keno and checking out the many video slots at BetUS Casino instead. This site offers a 150% welcome bonus of up to $3,000 for all new players. It also accepts cryptos like Bitcoin and pays quickly when you win.

American Roulette

Good old American roulette is available at most of the iconic land casinos in Vegas, and it’s also featured at plenty of online casinos. The casinos like the game and love it even more when you play it.

Why so? Because the house edge on American roulette is 5.26%, whereas it’s 2.7% on European roulette. That’s because American roulette has two zero pockets, whereas European roulette only has one. In dollar terms, this difference means that the casino makes almost double on American roulette.

As you might have guessed, I recommend choosing European Roulette whenever possible. You can find it at Bovada.lv. This casino offers a $3,000 welcome bonus for all new players and extra bonus cash for crypto depositors.

Online Scratchers

Much like keno, online scratchers are cheap, quick, and easy. You can buy a card, hit ‘scratch’, and see what you’ve won (or not) in seconds. Most casino sites offer them these days due to their popularity.

What’s the RTP of online scratchcards? Not all that bad, to be fair. The typical online scratchcard has an RTP of about 95%, in line with most video slots. However, the typical online scratchcard doesn’t pay anything close to what slots pay. Most of them pay out a few thousand dollars maximum.

While it’s true there are online scratchers with huge payouts in the tens or even hundreds of thousands, the RTP on those will be much higher. For that reason, I’m adding scratchers to my list of games to avoid at the casino.

What should you play instead? Jackpot slots are a great alternative. You can find a number of them at Las Atlantis Casino.

It offers all new players a 280% deposit match. I recommend starting with Cash Bandits 2 slot, it’s one of my favorites, and the jackpot is often insane.

Monopoly LIVE

This is the one section in my list of casino games you shouldn’t play where I recommend playing a game with a lower RTP. You see, it’s not always about that one factor. Sometimes, when there’s not a huge difference in RTP, other factors like bonus rounds and potential winnings take priority.

For those who don’t know, live gaming powerhouse Evolution has released a series of popular money wheel games with live dealers. Dream Catcher, Monopoly LIVE, and Crazy Time are the best ones. Monopoly LIVE has been a huge hit, thanks to its interactive 3D Monopoly bonus round.

Futher Info:

However, after playing both Monopoly LIVE and Crazy Time extensively, I realized that the optimal RTP on Monopoly LIVE is 96.23% and 96.08% on Crazy Time. That’s a negligible difference, and Crazy Time offers a much more enjoyable experience despite the slightly higher house advantage.

While Monopoly LIVE has a fun interactive bonus round that involves skipping around a Monopoly board collecting cash prizes, Crazy Time has four, including Cash Hunt, Coin Flip, Pachinko, and the supercharged Crazy Time money wheel.

As far as fun is concerned, I definitely recommend Crazy Time over Monopoly LIVE. You can play it at PlayAmo Casino with a 100% welcome bonus and lots of other live games to choose from.

Mega Moolah Slot

Yes, I know it’s one of the most popular video slots online and is available at all the best casinos for slots, but I don’t play it anymore. Why? I found out that the house edge on this slot is a whopping 12% to fund its huge progressive jackpot.

Now, I know what you’re thinking; but if I win the Mega Moolah progressive jackpot, I’ll be a millionaire. True that, but let me ask you, how probable do you think that is? Someone’s going to win it for sure, but what are the chances it will be you on any given day?

Tip:

All progressive jackpot slots have a lower RTP than regular video slots. That’s the price you pay for the chance to win a life-altering jackpot. However, an RTP of 88% is too low, and Mega Moolah is a fairly boring slot machine.

There are much better progressive jackpot slots out there. I much prefer Book of Atem WowPot! It has a much higher RTP of 93.5%, and you can win millions on any lucky spin.

You can try Book of Atem WowPot! at Betway Casino with a generous welcome bonus. This is my top-rated casino for UK and Canadian players. With a trusted UKGC license and super fast payouts, it’s a great choice.

Petko Stoyanov
Get in touch with Petko
About Petko Stoyanov
My name is Petko Stoyanov, and I've been a gambling writer for more than ten years. I guess that was the natural path for me since I've loved soccer and card games for as long as I can remember! I have a long and fairly successful history with English Premier League betting and online poker, but I follow many other sports. I watch all big European soccer leagues, basketball, football, and tennis regularly, and I keep an eye on snooker, volleyball, and major UFC events.