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Baccarat Explained: Banker, Player and Tie Bets
How baccarat works: the fixed drawing rules, what the Banker, Player and Tie bets pay, why the commission exists and how the house edge differs by bet.
How Games Work
Table and Number Games
Baccarat, dice, keno, bingo and other games explained.
Bingo Mechanics: Cards, Draws and Prize Pools
How bingo works: 75-ball and 90-ball cards, how numbers are drawn, how prize pools are funded, and why buying more cards raises both chances and cost.
Craps Odds Bets and the Edge on the Base Bet
Why the craps odds bet pays true odds yet does not remove the cost: it can only be placed behind a Pass or Don't Pass bet, which carries a house edge.
Keno and Number-Draw Games: Why the Edge Is Large
Simple counting shows why matching more keno numbers gets rare so quickly, and how a paytable turns those odds into a large built-in cost for the player.
Lottery Style Games and Their Odds
How combination counting sets the odds in lottery-style number games, why jackpots are extremely unlikely, and why choosing numbers cleverly cannot improve them.
Money Wheels and Prize Wheel Games
How money wheel games are laid out, how segment counts and payouts set the cost, and why the segments with the largest prizes carry the highest house edge.
Pai Gow and Other Less Common Table Games
A general method for reading the rules of an unfamiliar table game, including pai gow, and judging its pace, commission and likely cost before risking money.
Scratch Cards and Instant Win Games
How scratch cards and instant win games work: fixed outcome pools, stated prize tiers, overall odds of winning, and how the prize list relates to return.
Sic Bo and Other Dice Games Beyond Craps
How sic bo's three-dice layout works, how to count its 216 outcomes, and why bets like big and small cost far less than single numbers and triples.
Related topics
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Odds and Math Probability, house edge and expected value explained. Slots and Variance Randomness, volatility and jackpots in plain terms. Roulette Mechanics How the wheel, layout and bets fit together. Blackjack and Card Math Card game rules, payouts and what strategy can and cannot do. Slot Machine Mechanics Reels, return rates, hit frequency and features in plain terms.