Best Way to Gamble $100 at a Casino

By Alex Smith, Last updated Mar 22, 2024

According to one recent study, 1.6 billion people worldwide place a bet at some point during their lives. With cities like Las Vegas and Macau proving to be major hotspots for gambling, it’s no surprise that today, there are more players than ever before heading to online and land-based casinos.

One of the questions we often see players asking is how they can best spend $100 at casinos. While the answer to this question varies quite a bit depending on several factors — for example, the games you play and the actual purpose of you playing is — on this page, we’re going to look at some of the top ways to gamble $100 at a casino. For the purposes of this guide, we’re going to assume that your goal is to either prolong your gameplay or profit. So we’re going to be looking at games that offer decent play-time and a low house edge where possible.

Poker 

Poker is the only game listed on this page that isn’t based on luck alone. When you sit down at the poker table, you’ll be playing against other players competing for the chips on the table. Poker can be one of the best ways to spend $100 in a casino. It allows you to play against other players instead of the casino (meaning that you don’t have to worry about a house edge). You can also build up your bankroll substantially if you have some basic poker skills and patience at the table.

However, what you may not know, especially if you’re new to playing poker, is that there’s more than one way to play poker. Below, we’ll be looking at some games you’ll find offered at both land-based casinos and online casinos when you enter their poker hall.

Tournaments

Poker tournaments are, by far, the best option for those looking to sit down with $100. This is because, unlike cash games (details that we’ll look at in the next section of this post), everyone starts with the same amount of chips. Those with a bigger bankroll don’t have a massive advantage over other players as they would if they were to hold a smaller bankroll.

Today, there’s a wide variety of different poker tournaments available to play. They range from single table events to events with thousands of players playing against one another at once. When you play at land-based casinos, you’ll typically be playing in tournaments that have between 20 and 100 players. You can expect to invest at least a few hours, with some tournaments lasting 7 or 8 hours.

Tournaments are a good format for many reasons, and once you’ve entered the tournament and paid your entry fee, you’ll be seated, and the game will begin. Another excellent thing about poker tournaments is the fact that you don’t have to end up winning the tournament to profit. Depending on how many players are playing, tournaments usually pay the top 5 or more players. So it’s a great way to enjoy gambling, and it’s also a social event as you’re playing with other players in real life!

Cash Games

Cash games are a popular alternative to tournaments. While they may not be as well-suited to players who want to play with $100, the potential rewards can be hugely lucrative. However, it’s important to point out that with just $100, it’s pretty important that you sit down at a table with suitable stakes.

Slot Machines

Slot machines can be found in virtually every casino on the planet. Whether you’re looking to play penny slot machines or video slots, you’ll find that many of these games are excellent if you’re looking to take $100 with you to the casino. Much of this appeal is due to the low minimum bet attached to many slot machines.

Below, we’ll look at the two main types of slot machines you’ll find at both land-based casinos and online casinos, and we’ll discuss house edge and how it comes into play when playing these slot machines for yourself.

Video Slots

Video slots are, by far, the most common type of slot machines you’ll find at online casinos and land-based casinos today. They run completely on computer technology, meaning there are no physical reels spinning. One of the big benefits of video slots, especially some of the slot machines that we’re seeing released today, is that they offer a massive amount of win potential. This is win potential that’s possible to achieve while staking very small amounts of money.

For example, take one of today’s most popular video slots — NetEnt’s Dead or Alive II. This hugely-anticipated sequel to the original Dead or Alive allows players to win just over 110,000X their stake. If you were playing at $1, you could win a staggering $110,000 from a single spin!

Another pretty cool type of video slot is the progressive jackpot machines. These are slots that have an increasing progressive jackpot that grows every time a player spins the reels. The progressive jackpot continues to grow until a lucky player hits the winning combination to scoop the jackpot, and the minimum bet on many progressive jackpot slots is as little as 20 cents (sometimes even smaller). You can win potentially life-changing sums of money from just a few cents per spin!

Penny Slot Machine

Today you will find a penny slot machine offered at most online casinos and land-based casinos, although the general premise has changed over the years. In the past, the whole point of a penny slot machine was that you could spin the reels for, literally, just a penny. Today, many of these games have multiple paylines, which, when not adjustable, can force you to wager more than 1 penny per spin. Occasionally you will come across slots that allow you to adjust the number of paylines, particularly games from popular game developer Play’n Go. However, this setting is getting rarer and rarer, so you should expect penny slot machines to be more like 10-20 cent slot machines in reality.

One of the big benefits of playing penny slot machines at an online gambling site is that the house edge — the RTP — tends to be quite favourable to the player. For example, it’s not uncommon to find penny slots with an RTP as high as 98%, which means you’re going to be playing a machine that shouldn’t take too much of your bankroll too quickly.

Now, one of the main reasons why penny slots are highly-recommended if you’re taking just $100 to the casino is that they allow for so much play-time. For example, imagine you’re playing a slot where you’re staking 25 cents per spin, and let’s assume that you play 500 rounds per hour. Assuming the slot machine has an RTP of 95% (which is relatively low — it’s possible to find games with a much lower house edge), your expected loss-per-hour will be just $6.25. That’s assuming you don’t get lucky and manage to hit a big win.

Of course, when you’re playing in the short-term, it’s not unusual to see swings both ways, so you may lose much more than this or have a winning session. You should also be aware that some slots will require placing the max bet (the max bet means the biggest available bet on the slot) to get the lowest house edge. So this is just something to be aware of before you play.

Sports Betting

Today, coverage of sports events runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week; it doesn’t matter what time of day or night you choose to log onto an online gambling website. You’ll always be able to find a wide variety of sporting events to place bets on. With a little bit of preparation and research, it’s possible to do really well betting on sports with just $100. The beauty of online betting is that you can often watch the games you’re betting on in real-time!

If you plan on betting with $100, we recommend that you split your bankroll into ten equal parts; don’t wager more than $10 on a single event or bet. This ensures that your bankroll won’t be immediately wiped out if you have an unlucky run. Unlike when you play casino table games like European Roulette, like when you play in a poker room, sports betting allows you to gain some form of edge as it’s possible to do your own research and make sensible decisions.

Keno

If you’re familiar with the house edge, what it is and how it works, then you may be somewhat surprised to see Keno shown here on this list. Keno is actually one of the worst games you can play in the long run, as it has a really high house edge, meaning that the casino is pretty likely to win in the long run. However, in the short term, it can be a fantastic way to spend $100. It’s a really exciting, fast-paced and action-packed game, so it lends itself well to those who want quick fun without thinking too much.

Most online casinos that offer Keno tend to run new games every couple of minutes, and you can usually play each game for as little as $1 in land-based casinos. At online casinos, you may well find that you can place bets on Keno for as little as a couple of cents!

While there’s no basic strategy to follow when playing Keno, it’s a good game for those times when you want to pick a few of your favourite numbers and hope to get lucky. One of the things we like about Keno is that you can win massive amounts of money, although to scoop the really big jackpots, you’ll be facing odds around the same as winning the lottery!

Bingo

Bingo is another excellent choice when you want to enjoy your time gambling but don’t necessarily have a huge budget or if you want to participate in a more social-based online gambling environment. One of the biggest benefits of playing bingo online is the simple fact that you don’t have to worry much about having a large bankroll. For example, many bingo tickets can be purchased for as little as a few cents. If you want to play this way all day, you can enjoy playing the game pretty much all day long without worrying too much about how much you’re spending.

What’s more, unlike when you play at land-based casinos and bingo halls, online bingo games run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you usually need to wait no more than a minute or two between games. You’ll find many of the same games you’d find at land-based casinos at online casinos. Still, there are also many more games. Thanks to state-of-the-art bingo technology today, it’s also possible to chat and interact with other players while you’re playing, making the whole experience a lot more exciting!

Video Poker

While video poker is somewhat of a polarizing game when it comes to popularity, there’s a wide variety of reasons why you should consider playing it when you’re gambling with $100. Aside from the fact that many video poker games offer some of the best odds in the casino, it’s also a game that allows you to win pretty large sums of money if lady luck is on your side on that day.

For example, if you choose to play 9 to 6 Jacks or Better Video Poker and play at a stake of, say, 25 cents per hand, you will usually be able to play around 100 hands per hour. When you’re playing this game, at this stake and this number of hourly hands, your expected loss per hour is just 11.5 cents, which means you can, potentially, play for weeks on a $100 bankroll!

Let’s look at another variation of the game — NSUD Deuces Wild. If you were to also play this version of the game at 25 cents per hand, you’d perhaps manage to play around 300 hands per hour. According to the house edge and RTP, your expected loss per hour would be around 20.25 cents, so it’s another fantastic way to spend your money. Of course, it’s also possible to get lucky and hit a Royal Flush or other premium hand, which enables you to win up to 4,000 credits!

FAQs

Why should I play the max bet on certain video poker games?

Sometimes, when you’re reading guides on playing video poker or the rules page for specific game versions, you’ll notice that you’re advised to play at the maximum bet possible while playing. This isn’t simply a ‘con’ to try and get you to stake more money; it’s how you’ll be able to decrease the house edge as much as possible.

In most video poker machines, the higher the coin value you’re betting at, the lower the house edge. This means that you’re able to improve your chances of winning quite a lot by simply playing at the max bet, which isn’t as scary as it sounds and isn’t usually as high as you may think.

Is $100 enough to gamble with?

Yes! Don’t be fooled into thinking that you need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars at land-based casinos and online casinos to be in with the chance of winning decent sums of money. If you pick the right table game, know which bets to place (and which bets to avoid), and manage your bankroll responsibly, then it’s definitely possible for you to enjoy lengthy gambling sessions with $100.

Can I gamble with less than $100?

Absolutely, and that’s one of the great things about playing at online casinos. Many online casinos have a minimum deposit limit of just $10, and this means you don’t need to worry too much about the stake that you’re choosing to play at, as you’re able to bet at a rate that you’re comfortable and happy with.

What about craps?

Craps can be a pretty good game to play if you’re looking for a casino table game with a low house edge. Bets like the pass line bet, the don’t pass line bet, and the come bet can offer some of the best odds in the casino when used correctly.

However, one of the issues with placing bets on the pass line or the don’t pass line is that you’ll typically find casinos, especially land-based casinos, that have the minimum bet limit set quite high. This is because the table requires a lot of staff and resources to run, and they don’t want players playing with just a few dollars at a time. However, when you play online, you’ll often find that you can play at much lower stakes than this. It all depends on which casino you play at and which variation of the game you choose to play.

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