How to Make Money Gambling at a Casino

Making money from gambling has long been a unicorn for the average gambler. The idea that you can walk through a casino’s front door and leave a rich man or woman is one that fascinates you precisely because it has no small degree of luck involved.

Naturally, for anyone who has looked for ways to make money on a casino floor, the quick, cold realization has dawned that the house edge is always there patiently biding its time. From slots to blackjack to live poker, casinos are tempting the average gambler into trying his luck against the fates.

In this article, we have covered all the popular ways to make money while gambling at a casino. We have factored in the simple truth that all gamblers should admit to themselves. To make money gambling, you need both luck and skill.

So how do you make money gambling? We’ve listed several activities that are still mostly found on a casino floor which can make you rich if you win against the house.

Slot Machines

Slot machines are familiar objects on the casino floor. Their screens pierce the often dim-lit atmosphere of the even most glitzy casino and beckon to gamblers with their tempting and slick-looking controllers, and make sure to seal the deal with an eruption of captivating sounds that complement the experience.

While inviting players from all backgrounds, slots are also inviting a fair amount of risk. Players stand to lose money by design, as these games are created with a house edge that bites into your potential profits.

The odds are usually set at a slight but noticeable advantage that renders any strategy you may try playing slots rather futile, too. Understandable, slots do have an actual value, and if it’s not measured in terms of profit, these casino games certainly strike home with gamblers as some of the most fun ones you can experience while making money gambling.

Jackpots

Jackpot games are the real money-makers, even though luck is the pitfall here. There is no telling if you are going to win and when a jackpot may drop. All you have to hope for is that fortune favors you and grants you the blessing of the coveted prize. Las Vegas is filled with casinos that offer all sorts of jackpots that you can watch grow in real time.

While you have no guarantees that you will be winning any money to speak of, the good news is that the jackpot is part of a base game, which is very captivating all by itself. It’s here where many people will make a meaningful pause and tell you that winning a jackpot is a matter of trying.

We have thought about and looked at the issue carefully. Making money in the long term in any casino would mean that you are winning more than the casinos, and that is not something that the house can readily allow. That is not to say that casinos cheat.

Not in the slightest. All they do is enjoy the odds which are naturally inclined to favor them ever-so-slightly and tilt the probability in the house’s way. Of course, jackpots have this high-risk, high-reward feature that really seals the deal for many people who visit to play some of the hottest casino games there are.

At the end of the day, though, it’s all gambling, and you need to approach your casino sessions with a bit of caution lest you find yourself spending a little too much. If you really want to make money “gambling,” you will need to take the gambling out of the equation. This is where card counters come.

Card Counting

If you are to Google the most profitable game in Las Vegas or any casino, you will inevitably arrive at blackjack as your top search result. That is correct, not poker, but blackjack. To make money gambling in blackjack, all you need to do is learn how to count cards, and this isn’t too difficult after all.

Well, it’s a skill, and you will definitely have to practice it in the long run, but overall, counting cards allows you to master the game of blackjack and find new ways to make casinos bite their nails when you start amassing small fortunes.

Now, a smart gambler knows that simply walking to a table and beginning to win big would appear a little odd. Casinos don’t mind that you master the skill of counting cards; they just don’t want you to do so on their property. That creates an interesting conundrum.

On the one hand, it’s not illegal to count cards, but on the other, a casino will simply ask card counters to either stop playing blackjack or leave the premises altogether.

That is why you must focus not just on mastering a game but also on having the composure and charismatic personality that is often associated with professional poker players.

Put your “poker face” as it were and make sure to keep your cool because things can get pretty heated if casinos catch wind that you may be beating the natural odds and disregarding probability by replacing it with expectation.

Video Poker

Card counting is probably the best way to make money from gambling. Then again, the practice entails some degree of risk, particularly insofar as casinos step in to remove you from the property. There are no guarantees that you would end up winning a lot of money before a casino catches up to what you are doing.

In the long run, though, and with a fair bit of focus, you can make the best out of your card-counting skill. However, there is another skill-based game that you can try right away. Video poker is a strange mix between live poker and slot machines.

As such, the game is played against a Random Number Generator (RNG), but unlike a slot, it offers a 99.60% in Return-to-Player (RTP) rate for the best versions. Video poker is one of the more consistent games where your bets are actually more likely to win.

There are good reasons to seek out video poker as the game you want to play. The theoretical return aside, many gamblers have written extensively about their success stories playing the game.

While there surely are some overreaching statements, video poker remains one of those casino games that can be mastered. Just like live poker, video poker is a way to make money in a casino because of the skill-based element that goes into it.

There is still an element of luck there, but if you play right in the long term, you should be able to beat the edge and make the odds work in your favor.

Please, keep in mind that not all gamblers make a mint playing video poker, and some are actually pretty unlucky at it, even though there is supposedly a natural advantage to favor the player!

Sports Betting

Sports betting is an interesting hobby that is booming around the world right now. The profits for bookmakers are clear, but when it comes to bettors, profits vary. As a total amount, sportsbooks pay out a lot to sports fans. As it turns out, a gambler can predict the point spread or outright winner by analyzing the team they are betting on, so with detailed research, this is a great way to win money gambling.

However, the majority of wins tend to be by professional bettors. Nevertheless, the simple fact is sports betting will help you win money. It’s a skill-based activity, and while you may still end up losing a bit, you can control your bets so that any losses are nominal and you can sustain your bankroll in the long term.

Sports betting is a bit of a stats-nerd activity where you need to not just love a team. As a sports bettor, you need to look deeper into the lines and spreads, compare bets, and jump online to shop around for the best sports bet on each selection you are offered.

Just like card counting, you are offered a chance to make a profit based on your knowledge as a sports bettor. Bookmakers will offer impartial odds for the most part. Yet, a good sports betting strategy goes much deeper than just finding the right bookie for you.

One example would be to always run your bets through several bookies to find your selection’s best possible value. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of the spread and line at their best and consider signing up for a few sportsbooks at the same time.

Now, whether you can win enviable amounts off sports betting is questionable. When you sign up as a bettor, you will definitely be able to grow your bankroll and probably win a comfortable amount. However, as with any form of gambling, sports betting is not entirely driven by skill and understanding, and sometimes, bad luck would take your profit away.

Poker

Poker is a great example of how to win money by gambling as it isn’t entirely a game of chance. In fact, we will argue that it’s just the opposite. In our “Is poker gambling or a skill” blog post, we go into some depth as to why we believe poker is the farthest thing from gambling you will find in a casino.

For starters, the game has made over 2,000 people millionaires worldwide from playing it. Profits are not too easy to come to if you are a novice, but the more you are willing to learn, the less you will be losing, which means that poker relies on skill more so than luck.

There is no “winning edge” in poker other than what you know about the cards, probability, and your opponents. The point of poker is to win through your understanding and strategy and adapt to bad beats, use your bankroll smartly, and overall look for the strongest cards out there.

Another reason why poker is one of the best games you can play to get rich from gambling is that you can actually study under many established talents. Jonathan Little is one of the poker instructors we have spoken extensively with and who has dedicated a significant part of his life to teaching others how to get an edge in poker.

Not many games offer you the same opportunity when it comes to making money. Naturally, there are some downsides to poker, but you can learn to be much better than the average player out there if you are serious enough.

Other Casino Table Games

Now that we have covered most of the available gambling games you can find at a casino, it’s time to take a look at some of the smaller money-makers. Table games can be quite a bit of fun. They are actually a little more reliable than a slot but should be played smartly. Roulette, Baccarat, Craps, and Sic Bo can all be played to win, although you shouldn’t expect to make crazy money.

In fact, what you can hope for is to consistently increase your winnings. That is usually done through the use of a strategy such as Martingale or Fibonacci. The base premise is simple – you up the bet based on specific conditions and then go back to a basic amount based on other conditions.

This repeats for as long as you are playing. The small drawback here is that you can statistically run in a situation where you can’t recoup your losses, which most players fear. These are very rare, but you have to come into each game prepared that a strategy may flounder, however rarely does that happen.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a casino may ask you to leave if you are sticking to a repetitive strategy, as you are effectively gaming the system, and you cannot do so at table games. Remember blackjack? Well, that is more or less the same.

That is why some keener players try to vary their strategies, shift games, and generally walk away with a small profit to their name, but discretely.