The Worst Bets in the Casino
Every casino game has traps: flashy bets with big payouts and brutal odds. These are the ones to avoid, ranked by house edge from worst to merely bad, with what to play instead.
The sucker-bet leaderboard
| Bet | Game | House Edge |
|---|---|---|
| Any Seven | Craps | 16.67% |
| Tie | Baccarat | 14.36% |
| Horn | Craps | 12.50% |
| Hard 4 / Hard 10 | Craps | 11.11% |
| Any Craps / Yo | Craps | 11.11% |
| Big 6 / Big 8 | Craps | 9.09% |
| Insurance | Blackjack | ~7% |
| Any single bet | Roulette (American) | 5.26% |
| 6/5 "short pay" machine | Video Poker | ~5% |
| Pair Plus | Three Card Poker | 2.32% |
The biggest traps explained
Craps Any Seven (16.67%): the single worst bet on a craps table. A one-roll bet that a 7 shows; the payout doesn't come close to the real odds. See the full proposition bets breakdown.
Baccarat Tie (14.36%). The 8:1 payout looks juicy, but ties are rare enough that this is one of the worst bets in the building. Bet Banker instead.
Craps hardways and Big 6/8 (9–11%): fun long shots, terrible value. Placing the 6 or 8 (1.52%) beats Big 6/8 (9.09%) for the exact same win condition.
Blackjack insurance (~7%): a side bet dressed up as protection. Basic strategy says never take it.
Short-pay video poker (up to ~5%): the sneakiest trap, because the machine looks identical to a great one. A full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better returns 99.54%, but a 6/5 machine (same screen, same buttons, just a smaller full-house and flush payout) drops to about 95%. Always read the full-house/flush rows before you sit, and bet max coins so a royal pays the full 800-for-1.
Three Card Poker Pair Plus (2.32%): not a disaster, but the side bet carries more than double the edge of playing the Ante-Play game well (~2% element of risk). Fun in small doses; don't make it your main bet.
What to play instead
Swap the traps for the lowest-edge bets in each game:
- Video poker on a 9/6 machine, max coins: about 0.46% with perfect play.
- Blackjack basic strategy, about 0.5%.
- Craps Pass Line + odds: under 1%.
- Baccarat Banker, 1.06%.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the worst bet in the casino?
Among table games, the craps Any Seven at 16.67%, followed by the baccarat Tie at 14.36%. Slots and Keno can be worse, but these are the biggest table-game traps.
Why are these bets so bad?
They dangle flashy payouts, but the true odds of winning are far worse than the payout reflects. That gap is the house edge: 9% to 17% on these.
What should I bet instead?
Low-edge bets: 9/6 video poker played perfectly at max coins (~0.46%), blackjack basic strategy (~0.5%), craps Pass Line with odds (under 1%), or baccarat Banker (1.06%).