One of the reasons that casino games have held a sense of mystique down the years is due to the fact that few people can agree on the best strategy. If you take something like roulette, even today, scientists and mathematicians are still arguing over different theories around the probabilities of the game. Hundreds of years after Blaise Pascal created the roulette wheel, there’s still disagreement over how the darn thing works. Of course, short of creating an algorithm for chaos theory, it’s unlikely that you can come up with a workable system to beat the house.

However, while these theories on classic casino game strategies are often discussed, there is a whole genre of live casino games that have now arrived on the market. These have been loosely described as “Game Show” games. They have the classic elements of casino games, of course, but they are more geared towards a social experience. The dealer, for example, acts more like a game show host. A good example is Spin a Win Live, which takes a lot of its format from one of the world’s most famous game shows – Wheel of Fortune.

 

New games take ideas from television

But how do you develop a strategy for these games? After all, it’s not as if mathematicians are discussing theories for Spin a Win or The Money Drop Live (another popular live casino game with a game show theme) in the same manner as they would roulette. But as these games grow ever more popular, players do develop ideas and discuss how to play better. Much of this information is now available online.

The important thing to recognise is that, despite the fun aesthetics of these games, they remain at heart casino games. That means they still work on the basics of probability. If we return to Spin a Win Live, for example, you can see that different bet types have different RTP (return to player) levels. This is effectively house edge in reverse. So, we know, for instance, that placing a bet on an “odd” number has an RTP of 97.22%, and a bet on “40” has an RTP of 90.81%. The higher the RTP, the better for the player, so a bet on “odd” is more likely to pay.

 

Be aware that bigger payouts mean lower probability

And yet, here’s the kicker: A bet on “40” pays more than “odd”, so it’s a matter of weighing up risk versus reward. It’s similar to roulette, where the house edge is more advantageous to players when placing even money bets, but the rewards are greater when placing straight-up bets.

It’s important to note that many of these new games take this basic idea of risk versus reward and turbocharge it. Indeed, there is no comparison between them and classic casino games, with the former offering prizes of 100s or 1000s of times the bet stake. But, in the broadest sense, the bigger prizes have an RTP/house edge that is less advantageous to the player.

The same rules should apply across all these games, even those that seem like they are directly based on game shows. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Live, for example, is very much dressed in the trappings of the smash-hit television show of the same name. But at its heart, it remains a game with the basic fundamentals of casino probability.

Lastly, you should be aware that good online casinos will provide all the details you need to know about payouts and probability. If you choose to play these games – and remember that the house always wins over time – then have a look at the rules section that pertains to each. A quick, five-minute read can provide invaluable information and help you develop your strategy. Whether it works or not is another matter.