10 Secrets Casinos Don’t Want You to Know

Casino gambling has long been a pastime for people in the United Kingdom. First, people frequented land-based casinos all over the country, but especially in bustling cities such as London, which has always been home to several sizable casinos.

Land-based casinos remain popular, but the rise in online casinos over the past 10-15 years means that even more UK residents have gotten in on the action. Casino gambling is now an everyday occurrence for some.

On the subject of casinos, I’m here to talk about the things that casinos don’t really want you to know. Some people think that casinos have always been a bit shady, thinking that maybe they cheat, while many people believe that they keep secrets from their players.

As a former casino croupier, who has worked in several casinos, I’m here to spill the beans, so let’s get into it.

What Casinos Hide?

Having worked in several casinos over a long period, I’m very familiar with the inside practices and general operation of the business. So let me tell you that there are certain things that casinos don’t want players to know about.

In some cases, it’s not so much that these things are kept secret, rather they’re just not actively publicised or spoken about by the casino. For example, everybody generally accepts that the casino always wins. Many people put this down to some form of cheating or shady practice, which isn’t really the case, as we’ll learn below.

Casinos also hide some of their behaviour. In other words, they don’t publicise their strategy for getting players to remain in the casino. Or, they mask such strategies to hide their true intentions.

Casinos also hide basic information such as information on their games, information that can help players to understand games fully. If many bettors understood the games fully, they probably wouldn’t bother playing. Of course, casinos don’t want that, so they keep such information down to a minimum.

10 Casino Secrets

Here are some of the things that casinos don’t want their players to know:

Casino Secret #1 – House edge exists in every game

As touched on above, many people put the fact that casinos repeatedly win down to cheating. This is not the case. The real reason is that the casino has an edge.

What is the casino edge? Well, it is a built-in percentage, which means that over time, the casino cannot lose. Therefore, over time, if you play for long enough, you are mathematically guaranteed to lose a certain percentage of the money you invest playing casino games.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s say that you bet on any single number on a spin of the roulette wheel. Each number carries odds of 36/1. The numbers are 1 to 36, so such odds seem fair, right? Wrong. A standard roulette wheel also continues a ZERO, which means that there are 37 numbers. Not 36. Therefore, by taking odds of 36/1 on any number, you accept the poor value. This is where the casino has its mathematical edge, the one that guarantees them a profit in the long run. It may only be a small edge, but it’s enough to keep the casino profiting long-term.

Casino Secret #2 – The house edge changes from game to game

The house edge exists in every game, but it varies from game to game, meaning that some games are more of a ripoff than others. In other words, some games offer punters worse value than others.

For example, a table game like Three Card Poker has a much higher house edge than roulette or blackjack. To put it simply, this means that if you say played Three Card Poker for a long time and then played Roulette for the same length of time, you’d lose a greater percentage of your money playing Three Card Poker.

Likewise, casinos don’t want to publicly declare the house edge facts. They don’t want all of their players playing the games with the lowest house edge, as this could quite dramatically affect the amount of money that the casino makes.

Casino Secret #3 – Free drinks aren’t exactly free

This is a common misconception. Lots of people enjoy going to a casino because you can get free drinks, but casinos don’t give away free drinks simply out of the kindness of their hearts, oh no.

Casinos present players with free drinks and sometimes free snacks for a reason. The reason is simple; they want to give people a reason to stay. Lots of players are more likely to stay and lose their money gambling if they know that the drinks are free. This is great for the casino as the profit they make from players’ losses far outweighs what it costs to hand out a few free lemonades.

Casino Secret #4 – Designed to make you forget the time

This may seem like a bit of a reach, but it’s absolutely true. Casinos are entirely designed to keep players in. Part of what they do is set casinos up in a way that helps players to lose track of time. Ever been in a casino and noticed the lack of windows? Most casinos have no windows whatsoever. You also won’t see a clock on a casino wall. This is completely by design, trust me. This is intentional, as casinos want you to stay and play for as long as possible.

By creating an environment without visible time indicators, they can create a timeless atmosphere, making it easier for players to lose track of how long they’ve been in the casino and, more importantly, forget how long they’ve been gambling.

Casino Secret #5 – The importance of bankroll management

Casinos don’t want to encourage sensible gambling. Of course, they comply with everything surrounding the topic of responsible gambling. They will have leaflets encouraging problem gamblers to seek help, but they rarely stop someone from betting. Better still, the casino thrives on players who exercise poor bankroll management.

If a player bets in a reckless manner without any concern for bankroll management, the casino is likely to make more money, which is just how they like it.

Casino Secret #6 – Skill-based games

Another thing that the house doesn’t want players to know is that some casino games are more skill-based than others. Of course, luck still plays a huge part, but there are certain games, such as poker and blackjack, where skilled players can apply clever thinking to increase their chances of winning.

Skilled bettors that understand percentages can use this to their advantage and make informed betting decisions, thus gaining an edge over not just other players but even the casino. Casinos aren’t likely to publicise the fact that skill can be applied when playing certain games to increase the chances of success, as they want to maximise their profits.

At the end of the day, for the casino, it’s much simpler and much more profitable if all the players lack the skill and do nothing to increase their chances of winning.

Casino Secret #7 – Slots are strategically placed

Casinos strategically place their slots. Why do they do this? Well, they do this to ensure that the first slots that players see are the ones with the biggest house edge. The slots that have proven to be most profitable for the casino are the ones that the casino wants players to use the most.

Casino secret #8 – Promotions terms and conditions

On lots of occasions, casino promotions aren’t quite what they seem. In other words, there are lots of stipulations and extras that aren’t loudly highlighted.

Casinos don’t tend to go out of their way to highlight the fine print. Of course, they publish terms and conditions, but in the case of online casinos, you often have to click on another page to view them, and even then, they’re often presented in a confusing way.

Some casinos do this because they know that people won’t bother to read the T&Cs and, therefore, won’t understand that the promotion isn’t as good as it initially seems. Unfortunately, like it or not, many casino promotions are merely designed to get players playing more, or to simply boost the amount of funds that a player uses, though of course, they don’t tell you that.

Casino Secret #9 – You’re probably being watched

Casinos don’t want players to know that they’re generally being watched quite closely. Casinos tend to have quite heavy security operations, part of which involves surveillance of the entire casino. At any one time, especially during busy evenings, the casino will have multiple security personnel surveilling different areas of the casino. This means that even if it doesn’t look like it, the casino can see what you’re doing.

Casino secret #10 – Dealers won’t tell you to stop playing

Having worked as a dealer myself, I know this one all too well. Dealers are not there to help players, though we often feel sorry for those who are losing. There’s just nothing we can do, as that’s not what we’re there for.

Dealers are employed to ensure that the games run smoothly. Casinos don’t like their dealers to do they certainly not want them to help players who are spending plenty of cash at the table. As a dealer, you often feel sorry for a losing player, but you cannot intervene and tell them to stop playing; that’s just not how it works, and casinos want it that way.

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