Casino Payouts, Payout Tables and Payout Percentages

Casino Payouts, Payout Tables and Payout Percentages logo

This post is for the newbies and not so new players out there who have been wondering for quite some time just what these three terms really mean.  Casino payouts, payout tables, and payout percentages are part and parcel of any online casino that you visit.  Anyone who has tried playing online (especially at any of the casinos that we have featured in the past few weeks) would know that these three phrases always crop up.  In order to make the most out of your online casino experience, you would have to be familiar with some basic terms, these three included.  Being in the dark will not benefit you at all.  So let’s take a look at these three terms, which seem to be very similar but are in fact quite different.

The common word is obviously payout.  A payout is basically what you withdraw from your account after you win a certain amount of money.  For example, you win big in online blackjack.  You can then request to take money out from your online account.  This is your payout.

So what is a payout table?  It is a physical display of what a person can win given different situations in a game.  A payout table is almost always displayed prominently for each casino game that is offered.  This gives the players an idea of what they can win if they play at that table.  What is the importance of a payout table?  This varies from casino to casino, both online and offline.  Before sitting down to play, you should check out the payout table and see if it is worth your while to play.

A payout percentage, on the other hand, refers to how much money the casino will take for itself in contrast with the money that would be given out to the winners as the payout.  This is an inevitable part of any gambling endeavor.  The casinos are there not just for the heck of it but to make money as well, right?  So they have to have a way of making some bucks.  How do they do it?  Let’s look at a hypothetical situation.  Say, the payout percentage for a certain table is 98.  This simply means that for every $100 that the casino takes in as bets, they will keep 2 dollars.  The remaining 98 dollars will then be what is given to the winner as his payout.  Is that clear now?

The question is this:  is 98% a good figure?  You bet!  Online casinos can offer this payout percentage more than land based casinos can due to one major thing – they have less operating and overhead costs.  This is, in fact, one of the major reasons it is sometimes better to play in online casinos.  In fact, online casinos capitalize on this.  The usual ads go “Better than Vegas Odds!”  Ads like these refer to the payout percentages.