House edge is the percentage of each placed bet the casino can expect to keep long term. It’s a mathematical advantage that guarantees casinos make a profit regardless of short-term results.
Whether you are an avid casino player or just starting your journey, one of the essentials you need to know right off the bat is the casino house edge. It’s never included in the game description, and yet, this is something that affects the game a lot.
In this article we’ll review what it is, how it impacts your results, how it’s calculated, as well as take a look at some casino games with the lowest house edge.
A simple answer to the question “What is a casino house edge?” is “It’s a reason casinos stay in business and always win in the long run”. Also known as the house advantage, house edge is the percentage of each placed bet that the casino can expect to keep long term.
For example, if a game house edge is 5%, the casino expects to retain £5 on every £100 that has been wagered. Think about it as the average profit the casino gets to make from a game.
The higher the casino edge is the more likely the casino is to win against you over time. That’s why understanding house edge is very important for players to make grounded decisions when placing bets.
It’s essential to understand that the casino house edge percentage doesn’t depend on the establishment you’re playing at. Rather than being set individually by brick-and-mortar or online casinos, it’s a part of the game design representing a mathematical advantage that guarantees casinos make a profit regardless of short-term results.
The cornerstone of calculating house edge for various games is knowing all possible outcomes and their probability to happen. A good example is calculating American roulette house edge.
When placing a “red or black” bet in American roulette, your chance to win is 18 out of 38, as there are a total of 38 numbers on the wheel (18 red, 18 black, one 0 and one 00) and only 18 of them correspond to your bet. This means your probability to win is 47.37%.
Now your probability to lose is a little higher, 20 out of 38, as both 0 and 00 count against your bet. This gives us 52.63%.
Now to calculate the house edge for American roulette, subtract the probability of winning from the probability of losing to get 5.26%. This is the house edge, meaning for each £100 wagered in the game the casino retains £5.26.
RTP, or Return to Player is the percentage an individual slot machine pays out in winnings over its lifetime as compared to the amount it received from players in wagers. For example, an RTP of 96.5% means that for £1000 received, the slot will return £965.
The higher the RTP, the more advantageous a slot is for players. Remember though that it doesn’t guarantee a payout to every individual player, but rather represents long-term results.
RTP and house edge are related. Games with a lower house edge have higher RTP. Combined, they amount to 100%. So a slot with a 95% RTP has a 5% house edge.
Understanding house edge and how it affects your winnings will influence your strategy for different casino games. Higher house edge results in reduced potential winnings, and while no strategy can help you beat the house edge, it can help you manage the bankroll.
Short-term results may create an advantageous picture, but if you keep playing, your losses will eventually align with the house edge. So on each £1000 you wagered, in a low house edge game of 1% you’ll lose £100, while with a house edge of 5%, you’ll lose £500.
This means some games are more favourable than other games or specific bets (for example, proposition bets in craps can exceed 10%).
The thrill of relying on a chance makes many gamblers keep coming back to the playing table. If they’re lucky to win any amount, this reinforces their drive. In other games, like bingo or poker, the social factor also plays a role.
However, statistics show that less than 15% of players leave a casino with any profit. An even smaller number wins substantial amounts. This is the very house edge definition: casino always wins.
Let’s compare casino games with the lowest house edge.
Blackjack is one of those rare online casino games where your skills actually influence your chances to win. If you know how to choose your next move and calculate the possibilities, you have a pretty good chance. That’s why the house edge in blackjack is very low. In multi-deck blackjack it’s slightly higher but still remains manageable.
Even though banker’s bets are more bettor-friendly in baccarat, betting on the player has a very manageable house edge too. Avoid side bets like the tie, because the house advantage there is incredibly high.
Outcomes are easier to calculate in poker than in slots because you play with a standard card deck. Keep in mind that this is only true about video poker. Regular poker doesn’t have a house edge because you play against other players, not the house. A lot will depend on your opponents’ experience and playing style.
The difference one single slot on the wheel can make is clearly visible in the roulette house edge. While the European version only has one 0, American roulette has both 0 and 00, and this increases the house’s chance to win. In French roulette, the house edge is even lower because in addition to having only one 0, it also has certain rules to bring the house advantage down.
As online slots operate on RNG, calculating probabilities is much harder. House edge on slots is the inversion of the individual game’s RTP. The higher the RTP, the lower the house edge will be. Progressive jackpots always have a higher house edge.
Some of the slot games with the best RTP are:
| Game | House Edge |
| Blackjack | 0.5% |
| Baccarat | 1.06% (banker), 1.24% (player) |
| Video Poker | 0.5% – over 5% |
| European Roulette | 2.7% (European), 5.26% (American) |
| Slots | Varies per game |
Below is a casino house edge chart for games with a high house edge.
| Game | House Edge |
| Keno | 20-40% |
| Certain baccarat & craps bets | 10-14.36% |
| Big Six | 11-24% |
Understanding the house edge helps you build an optimal strategy. While you can’t completely beat the house edge, you can manage your bankroll and stay in the game longer.
The gambler’s fallacy is thinking that if an event hasn’t occurred in a while (let’s say, no sixes over several rolls of dice), it’s bound to occur within the next few moves. But the fact is, these things happen completely at random.
It’s easy to lose your grip on reality in the heat of the game. Even the most rational gamblers sometimes fall into thinking they have luck on their side or some higher powers are at work, so they keep playing. But no matter how long your winning streak is, unless you know when to stop, you’ll eventually lose. That’s how the house edge works.
House edge is the percentage of each placed bet the casino can expect to keep long term. It’s a mathematical advantage that guarantees casinos make a profit regardless of short-term results.
House edge shows what percentage of all wagers a casino will retain over time. RTP shows what part of all wagers it receives a slot machine will return to players in its lifetime.
Some of the lowest house edge casino games include popular table games like blackjack, baccarat, European roulette, and some others.
No, it doesn’t. Even the lowest house edge doesn’t guarantee you any win. In this particular case it means the casino expects to win 1% of all the money you wager.
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