Expectation is a very important concept in online casino games. It is defined as the amount that a player can expect to win based on the rules of the game for every dollar wagered. It is obvious that the expectation for any game can never be more than 1, because then the casino would start losing money. However, different online casino games have different expectations and it is important for players to be aware of this.
There are two online casino games that have expectations very close to 1. These are blackjack and video poker. As far as blackjack is concerned players have to be a bit careful because all variants of blackjack are not alike. Those variants that follow the rules of land based casinos have expectations close to 1. But there are many exotic variants of blackjack that have considerably lower expectations. There is another factor to be considered in the context of expectation for blackjack games. The expectation is close to 1 only when the player is making the correct moves. If the player does not play the game well his expectation will be much lower. The obvious solution is to learn blackjack strategy and practice till you become perfect.
Video poker games are similar to blackjack. Their high expectation is contingent on correct play. As in the case of blackjack, the strategy can be learnt or can be referred to while wagering. Also some online casino software providers indicate the right strategy in the games. The only thing different from blackjack is that all variants have an expectation of between 0.98 and 0.99.
