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Types of Gambling

Casino games

While almost any game can be played for money, and any game typically played for money can also be played just for fun, some games are generally offered in a casino setting.

"Beatable" Casino Games

A highly skilled player with a well-designed strategy can create a positive mathematical expectation on games such as:

  • Blackjack-with card counting unless a continuous shuffler is used
  • Pai Gow Poker and Tiles-player-dealt
  • Parimutuel Betting
  • Poker (Also recognized as a game of skill)
  • Slot machines-where progressive jackpots or bonuses reach a certain break-even point
  • Sports Betting
  • Video poker-with proper pay table and/or progressive jackpot

"Unbeatable" casino games

These games have a negative expectation regardless of how few or many games someone plays. Nevertheless, this does not stop gamblers from having false beliefs (the "gambler's fallacy") that their actions or "way of playing" will influence the outcome.

  • Baccarat
  • Caribbean Stud Poker
  • Casino war
  • Craps
  • Fan-Tan
  • Faro
  • Keno
  • Let it ride
  • Pachinko
  • Pyramid Poker
  • 3-card poker
  • 4-card poker
  • Red Dog
  • Roulette
  • Sic Bo
  • Spanish 21-without counting
  • Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker

Non-casino gambling games

Gambling games that take place outside of casinos include Bingo (as played in the US and UK), dead pool, lotteries, pull-tab games and scratchcards, and Mahjong.

Other non-casino gambling games include:

  • Card games, such as Liar's poker, Bridge, Basset, Lansquenet, Piquet, Put, Teen patti
  • Coin-tossing games such as Head and Tail, Two-up
  • Confidence tricks such as Three-card Monte or the Shell game
  • Carnival Games such as The Razzle or Hanky Pank
  • Dice-based games, such as Backgammon, Liar's dice, Passe-dix, Hazard, Threes, Pig, or Mexico Although coin tossing isn't usually played in a casino, it has been known to be an official gambling game in some Australian casinos

Fixed-odds Gambling

Fixed-odds gambling and Parimutuel betting frequently occur at many types of sporting events. In addition many bookmakers offer fixed odds on a number of non-sports related outcomes, for example the direction and extent of movement of various financial indices, the winner of television competitions such as Big Brother, election results. Interactive prediction markets also offer trading on these outcomes, with "shares" of results trading on an open market.

Parimutuel Betting

One of the most widespread forms of gambling involves betting on horse or greyhound racing. Wagering may take place through parimutuel pools; or bookmakers may take bets personally. Parimutuel wagers pay off at prices determined by support in the wagering pools, while bookmakers pay off either at the odds offered at the time of accepting the bet; or at the median odds offered by track bookmakers at the time the race started.

Sports betting

Betting on team sports has become an important service industry in many countries. For example, millions of Britons play the football pools every week.

Arbitrage betting

Arbitrage betting is a theoretically risk-free betting system in which every outcome of an event is bet upon so that a known profit will be made by the bettor upon completion of the event, regardless of the outcome. Arbitrage betting is a combination of the ancient art of arbitrage trading and gambling, which has been made possible the large numbers of bookmakers in the marketplace, creating occasional opportunities for arbitrage.

Other types of betting

One can also bet with another person that a statement is true or false, or that a specified event will happen (a "back bet") or will not happen (a "lay bet") within a specified time. This occurs in particular when two people have opposing but strongly-held views on truth or events. Not only do the parties hope to gain from the bet, they place the bet also to demonstrate their certainty about the issue. Some means of determining the issue at stake must exist. Sometimes the amount bet remains nominal, demonstrating the outcome as one of principle rather than of financial importance.

Betting exchanges allow consumers to both back and lay at odds of their choice. Similar in some ways to a stock exchange, a better may want to back a horse (hoping it to win) or lay a horse (hoping it to lose, effectively acting as bookmaker)

Other uses of the term "gambling"

Many risk-return choices are sometimes referred to colloquially as "gambling." Whether this terminology is acceptable is a matter of debate, but generally the following activities are not considered gambling:

Emotional or physical risk-taking, where the risk-return ratio is not quantifiable (e.g., skydiving, campaigning for political office, asking someone for a date, etc.)

Insurance is a method of shifting risk from one party to another. Insurers use actuarial methods to calculate appropriate premiums, which could be considered similar to calculating gambling odds. However, insurers can set their premiums to obtain a long term positive expected return.

Situations where the possible return is a secondary reason for the wager/purchase (e.g., buying a raffle ticket to support a charitable cause)

Investments are also usually not considered gambling, although some investments can involve significant risk. Examples of investments include stocks, bonds and real estate.