Although betting exchanges are primarily concerned with sports betting of various types they also often offer a casino which provides entertainment for some, although of course there is a risk of losing money. Indeed it is quite likely that the longer you play at a casino game like roulette or blackjack, the more money you are likely to lose. This is because, although the games may be fair there is always a slight house edge which means that over time the house will win more times than you. If we take roulette as an example the zero on the wheel is really representing that house edge because if you land on it you lose; there is no potential to win. Thus although the odds for landing on any specific number look like 36/1 they are really 37/1 because of that zero!
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Online casinos offer a wide variety of table games such as the traditional ones like roulette, blackjack, and poker. Some of these may require a certain amount of skill to be successful, but there other software driven games like slots which mimic the type of slot machines available in amusement arcades and pubs, and these require no real thought at all.
While most of these games are operated by means of random number generators and you are mostly playing against the computer, there are also a number of live table games which some say are preferable. These have a live dealer or croupier and you certainly get more of the real atmosphere of a casino, whilst you can be more sure that a roulette wheel is real rather than the virtual software generated kind.
In addition to the traditional table games Betfair also has an array of exchange games with titles like the Showdown, Bullseye roulette, Hi Lo, Texas Hold’em , Bull market Rally, and £5000 Grand Prix, for example at the time of writing this. There are good graphics with the exchange games and it is entertaining watching the action unfold and pitting your judgement into deciding an outcome.
Again, however, with these games you are up against computer generated results when playing and it is difficult to know whether you can ever actually win overall or whether the situation is pre-programmed to allow just an occasional win. If you search the internet you will find vendors of systems that purport to be able to profit using these games, but, such claims are difficult to verify.
There are several variations in the games such as roulette such as French, European, mini etc. plus a whole host of different slot games offered, many with exotic names. However they are all of course, variations on the same concept, designed to encourage people to bet easily and without skill, hoping for a big payout but depending totally on luck rather than skill.
Most of the exchange games are more for amusement than for real profit although there are those who claim to have won considerable amounts with games like Hi Lo. In this game the player has to decide whether the next card to be shown will be of higher or lower value compared to the previous one. The computer also makes a choice and this is based on the mathematical probabilities dependent on the cards already seen compared with those yet to be shown. If the computer gets it wrong then the player wins!
Playing at casinos, either on or offline, must surely be seen as a form of entertainment rather than a way to make money, and as long as you view it thus and have a set amount you are prepared to lose then it is fine. Some unfortunately apparently get addicted to casino games and suffer losses as a result, but for most people casinos are just a bit of fun.
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