Exploring Games of Skill – What Attributes do You Need?
Posted by Harry Kane on Tuesday, August 25, 2020
If you’re an avid gambler, you’ll have probably heard of the distinction between games of skill and chance.This is a particularly important distinction in US and similar iGaming legislation from across the globe, where so-called games of chance remain heavily restricted by lawmakers.
Despite being a keen and historic talking point, however, many players remain unsure about what constitutes a game of skill, or the key attributes that can afford gamblers a competitive edge during disciplines.
We’ll explore these factors further in the post below, while asking how you can identify games of skill and leverage these to your advantage.
What Is A Game of Skill?
Of course, the term ‘game of skill’ has relevance outside of the iGaming realm, and put simply it refers to any game where the outcome is determined to some degree by the mental or physical attributes of participants.
Conversely, ‘games of chance’ see their individual outcomes determined primarily by random number generating (RNG) software, meaning that participants are unable to identify viable patterns or influence results to their advantage.
It’s interesting to note that most online casino games belong in the latter category, and even those defined as games of skill involve at least some elements of opportunism and chance.
Perhaps the best example is provided by blackjack, which is arguably the most popular game of skill in the iGaming realm. For example, participants can deploy advanced numeracy skills and an ability to memorise occasionally complex playing and betting strategies to their advantage, helping to drive informed decision making and optimise returns over time.
However, players also have absolutely no control over the individual cards or the hands that they or the dealer are drawn, creating an unknown element of chance that has a direct impact on outcomes.
Breaking Down All Games of Skill – What Are the Most Crucial Player Attributes?
Poker is another prominent game of skill, although it’s fair to say that online iterations require a different skill set to the traditional version practiced offline.
You can argue that offline poker enables participants to leverage psychology and a keen interpretation of body language to observe the physical tells of their opponents and implement informed decisions in real-time.
However, online poker denies this opportunity to players, and instead enables competitors to study the history of their opponents in data form and achieve an insight into their outlook, playing style and general level of ability.
Ultimately, there are various skills and attributes that can help you to thrive in selected games, some of which have universal value. So, here’s a breakdown of the most desirable skills and how they can be applied.
1. Mathematical and Numerical Ability
Perhaps the single most important and universal skill required for games such as blackjack is numerical ability, while this can also prove crucial when playing entities such as poker and roulette.
There are also numerous ways in which mathematical skill can be applied to help you become more competitive when playing games of chance, depending on the precise game and interaction that you’re playing.
To begin with, all iGaming disciplines have something that’s referred to as a ‘house edge’. This is defined as the profit generated by a casino expressed as the percentage of a player’s original bet.
Now, the house edge is only relevant when applied over a statistically large number of bets, while in the case of blackjack it also varies on the number of decks in play. It’s also based on the concept of applying perfect basic strategy, and can be broken down as follows:
- 1 Deck = 0.16%
- 2 Decks = 0.46%
- 4 Decks = 0.60%
- 6 Decks = 0.64%
- 8 Decks = 0.68%
You’ll find that most online casinos offer games with eight decks, primarily because this increases the house edge by 0.5% on average when compared to single-deck titles. This may seem like a small or nominal margin, but it’s one that can make a significant difference at scale and when applied over a concerted period of time.
The term house edge can also be used interchangeably with the ‘return-to-player’ (RTP) metric, which determines how much money can be recouped on average for every £1 wagered (once again, over an extended period of time).
You can calculate the RTP rate for a specific game or iteration simply by deducting the published house edge from a figure of 100%, and when playing a standard version with a single deck you can expect to recoup an average of 99.84%.
This is an important point of reference for blackjack players (and indeed, gamblers as a whole), as comprehending such figures and the mathematical relationship between them makes it far easier to estimate returns and identify a clear value proposition in line with your gambling philosophy.
If we stick with the example of blackjack, you can also apply a superior numerical ability once gameplay has gotten underway.
More specifically, such skill can be deployed to calculate the value of your hand in real-time, depending on factors such as the number of decks in play and the precise rules imposed at any given time.
If we look at the former, for example, the odds of drawing any card from a single deck of 52 is fixed at 52/1. However, once a particular blackjack hand has been drawn, you’ll be able to see your own cards and one of the dealers (who has to present one of his cards face-up according to most iterations of the game).
Anyone with a basic appreciation of numeracy will understand that this immediately reduces the real time odds of the next card being drawn (to 49/1), and while this may seem like a small shift it can make an incremental difference to your chances of winning and making the right calls during the heat of gameplay.
The rules of a specific game are particularly influential when determining your probability of winning with a live hand, while they’ll also impact directly on the value proposition and potential returns.
For example, some blackjack iterations feature the ‘Early Surrender’ rule, which enables players to exit a particular hand and forfeit the right to continue in exchange for half of their initial stake.
This can help you to save capital and cap individual losses by as much as 50% in instances where you have a poor or challenging hand, while estimates indicate that it can trigger a 0.6% reduction in a casino’s edge over time.
If we consider that even eight-deck blackjack iterations offer an average house edge of 0.68%, leveraging rules that deliver a 0.6% restriction can create a more level playing field and boost your returns considerably.
Of course, you wouldn’t find this rule available on single to two-deck blackjack iterations, as this would actually reverse the house edge in the favour of players. In fact, you’ll do well to find single deck blackjack games online at all in 2024, although there are some available through certain operators.
While none of these points of knowledge or calculations are particularly impactful by themselves, when combined they can incrementally increase the efficiency of your decision making and boost your chances of winning in any given scenario.
In more general terms, you also need to understand mathematical concepts such as wagering requirements and game weightings when operating online.
The reason for this is simple; as online casinos now offer generous welcome bonuses and recurring promotions as ways of incentivising new and existing players, and these are bound by seemingly complex terms that impact on the value proposition available.
Wagering requirements dictate a fixed amount of cash that you have to ‘play through’ before you can withdraw any winnings generated from bonus funds, and are commonly applied to both deposit match offers and free spins. They’re usually expressed as a percentage of the bonus value, although the terms may occasionally extend to include your deposit amount as well.
For example, let’s say that you accept a 100% deposit match bonus with a minimum deposit amount of £20 when signing up at your chosen casino. You fulfill this condition by crediting your account with £20, and receive an additional £20 with which to play.
Let’s also say that the wagering requirements associated with the bonus are 35x the value of the bonus funds (£20). This means that you’ll have to play through £700 before withdrawing any associated winnings, usually within a period of between seven and 30 days.
This represents a significant commitment, so you’ll need to consider the play through requirement in line with your total bankroll and daily deposit limits to determine whether or not the bonus is financially viable.
Game weightings also tend to feature in bonus terms and conditions, and this term refers to the percentage of bets that will count towards your wagering requirements when playing specific types of game.
These details are usually featured in the small print, and weightings will be applied at the discretion of the operator. Slots may contribute 100% towards your wagering requirements, for example, and this is great if this is your preferred vertical and you want to get the most from your bankroll.
However, selected live and table games may contribute 50% or less to your wagering, meaning that you’ll have to commit considerably more money to realise the full value of the bonus.
This is where a keen sense of maths can come into play, as this enables you to calculate the value offered by a particular bonus in line with your own preferences before you commit financially to this. In particular, you can adjust your own potential wagering requirements according to the game weightings, and there’s no doubt that this can save you considerable sums of money when gambling online.
2. Financial or Bankroll Management
On a similar note, effective bankroll management is also integral to your success as an online gambler and when playing games of skill.
The reason for this is simple, as it may be tempting to wager more on games of skill if you believe that you have the attributes or talents to achieve a competitive edge over the house or your rivals.
This represents a dangerous fallacy, however, as you must continue to recognise the elements of chance in games such as blackjack and the relatively fixed nature of specific odds and probabilities.
To regulate the management of your bankroll, you’ll need to establish a betting strategy. This process begins by setting the value of a single betting unit, which is based on the size of your bankroll and how much you want to wager during the typical day, week or month.
You can also choose whether to apply this betting level consistently or adopt negative or positive progression strategies. These will encourage you to scale your wagers incrementally with every consecutive win or loss respectively, with negative progression strategies optimising the value of each win and ideal for high-rollers with a larger bankroll.
This may also be a successful strategy when playing games of skill like blackjack, as you can leverage your abilities to increase the frequency of your wins and minimise losses.
This will help you to strike the ideal balance between risk and reward, as you can still optimise the value of each win while safeguarding your capital at all times.
In games such as poker, you can also create a more fluid bankroll and betting strategy that determines stake amounts based on your hand as it’s drawn.
This enables you to regulate each stake according to value and the probability of success, and your ability to do this consistently can make your bankroll stretch further.
The Last Word
Games of skill are often misunderstood, particularly in the iGaming realm where every discipline has at least some elements of chance.
Such games also demand various skill-sets from participating players, from high levels of numeracy in blackjack to the ability to absorb and analyse competitor data in online poker.
There are also universally applicable skills such as effective bankroll management, which combines numeracy and strategy to ensure that you safeguard your cash as effectively as possible.
By understanding what defines games of skill and the precise attributes required to enjoy each discipline, you can increase your chances of winning while simultaneously minimising risk.