Guide to Casino Games With The Lowest House Edge
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What is the house edge in live casino games? This term is quite the opposite of game odds, which means the percentage that the house takes at the end of a session. So, getting a good understanding of this element is crucial before starting to play any table game. Uncover the casino house edge secrets and use the information to beat the odds, whether playing at traditional casinos or through mobile gambling apps!
- Advantage Play 101 – Games With The Lowest House Edge
- The Science Behind House Edge
- Tips for Assessing House Edge Like a Pro
- Other Metrics for Odds
Advantage Play 101 – Games With The Lowest House Edge
| Game | Best house odds | Bet type/best rules | Standard deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baccarat | 1.06% | Banker | 0.93 |
| Baccarat | 1.24% | Player | 0.95 |
| Baccarat | 14.36% | Tie | 2.64 |
| Blackjack | 0.28% | Liberal Vegas rules | 1.15 |
| Craps | 1.36% | Don’t pass/Don’t come | 0.99 |
| Craps | 16.67% | Any seven | 1.86 |
| Craps | 1.41% | Pass/Come | 1.00 |
| Craps | 1.52% | Place 6,8 | 1.08 |
| Craps | 11.11% | Any craps | 2.51 |
| European Roulette | 2.70% | Single Zero | e |
| American Roulette | 5.26% | Double Zero | e |
| Video Poker | 0.46% | Jacks or Better | 4.42 |
| Keno | 25%-29% | / | 1.30-46.04 |
| Wild Hold ’em Fold ’em | 6.86% | / | d |
| Red Dog | 2.80% | Six decks | 1.60 |
| Caribbean Stud Poker | 5.22% | / | 2.24 |
| Three Card Poker | 7.28% | Pairplus | 2.85 |
What casino games have the best odds?
- Blackjack offers the best odds overall and a low edge of 0.28% with Liberal Vegas rules
- Baccarat has a house edge of 1.06% for a Banker bet
- Crap’s best bet is the Don’t Pass bet, of which the casino will keep 1.36% over the long run
- The best online Roulette sites offer a highly competitive edge of 2.70% if you play the European variant
- Video poker as a Full Play version is another potentially profitable option, with a low 0.5% house edge
The Science Behind House Edge
The house edge is a built-in mathematical advantage online casinos have over players, resulting in a guaranteed return percentage for every table game, lottery, and slot game in its lobby.
The house odds reveal the percentage of a wager the platform retains as profit.
To put things into perspective, it is the opposite of slot games’ RTP.
Tips
Our list of UK online casinos can be trusted because it’s subject to the UKGC’s rules. Such rules constrain online gambling sites to publish the odds for each game.
Example
House advantage vs return to player
- The concepts are two faces of the same coin
- European roulette has a 2.7% built-in casino advantage, then its RTP is 97.3%
- Similarly, Starburst is a slot with an approximate RTP of 96%
- That means the gambling site keeps around 4% of all wagers
- Don’t forget that these stats are calculated over a long series of wagers
Tips for Assessing House Edge Like a Pro
- The house advantage expresses how much the casino will profit from each game
- You shouldn’t see it as if casinos were cheating because that’s not the case
- Gaming platforms publish the house odds for every game of chance in their portfolio
Tips
From a player’s perspective, you get the best gambling odds when you identify the lowest edge on casino games.
Casino house edge example
Due to its built-in advantage, the casino will always be in a better position to win than the player.
However, if you apply the correct gambling strategies and choose the best odds, you might overcome part of that advantage.
Real-life roulette example
For every £100 wagered during a gaming session at the roulette table, that casino will keep around £2.7.
However, the house advantage applies over a long-term period and serves more as a guiding principle.
Even when a player is on a winning streak, the gambling venue will beat most other players, taking 2.7% from them.
House odds are probabilistic in nature
The house odds represent a probability, a mathematically derived percentage that shows how often something will occur if repeated in a specific number of instances.
In gambling, the longer a player bets, the closer he will get to the statistical house advantage or RTP rates.
Expected value for the best house edge casino games
- Blackjack: -0,5%
- European Roulette: -2,7%
- American Roulette: -5,26%
- Caribbean Stud Poker: -5,22%
- Baccarat Banker: -1,05%
- Craps Don’t Pass: -1,36%
- Video Poker: -1%
What is a game’s expected value?
The expected value in gambling is an estimate of how much a player can win or lose based on the game’s payouts and odds.
Gambling games have a negative expected value because they are built to favour the casino.
Other Metrics for Odds
The casino edge is not the only determining factor if you’re more likely to win or lose. Other parameters paint a more detailed picture of the best gambling odds.
Tip
Comprehensive knowledge of all relevant gambling concepts is the best recipe for productive outcomes!
Element of risk
Because there are many variables during a game, the casino edge is only an approximation of your chances of winning.
How can the element of risk help you?
Expert UK players use the element of risk to calculate a more realistic probability of winning during multiple betting rounds.
It offers a modified house advantage by taking into consideration your average losses and dividing that by the money bet overall.
Recommendation
An element of risk with a smaller percentage translates into better potential outcomes.
Element of risk table
| Game | Casino Advantage | Element of Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Three Card Poker | 3.37% | 2.01% |
| Blackjack | 0.43% | 0.38% |
| Mississippi Stud | 4.91% | 1.37% |
| Caribbean Stud | 5.22% | 2.56% |
| Let It Ride | 3.51% | 2.85% |
| Wild Hold’em Poker | 6.86% | 3.23% |
Standard Deviation
Applying the concept of standard deviation in gambling can help you calculate bankroll volatility.
The Standard Deviation shows the amount of variation in results.
Low standard deviation means that most results will resemble a computed average, which in gambling translates to getting expected results as per the odds.
On the other hand, a high standard deviation points to more dispersion. That’s equivalent to less predictability and more bankroll volatility. In other words, you risk more.
The table below shows the outcomes of sessions within various numbers of standard deviations.
Standard Deviation table
| Number | Probability |
|---|---|
| 0.25 | 18% |
| 0.50 | 38% |
| 0.75 | 55% |
| 1.00 | 68% |
| 1.25 | 78% |
| 1.50 | 86% |
| 1.75 | 92% |
| 2.00 | 95% |
| 2.25 | 97% |
| 2.50 | 98% |
| 2.75 | 99% |
| 3.00 | 99% |
Hold
In a land-based casino, the hold is a correlation between the sold chips and the chips kept by the house.
It is another way of computing house profits, and it gets expressed as a percentage.
The same goes for online gambling sites and games.
For example, for a slot machine with 94% RTP, the average hold is 6%.
Be aware
The hold isn’t fixed and constantly changes as players win or lose at the table.
Hold example
- We can take a Baccarat table to illustrate the hold
- Suppose a player wagers £100 on multiple bets
- After a few rounds, he ends up with £75
- In that case, the table keeps £25, which means the hold is 25%
What about major casino returns?
The hold can go over 100% when players get positive returns.
Suppose a player puts £100 in a slot machine and triggers a jackpot of £1,000 after a few spins.
In that case, the hold is actually negative (-900%) since the house must pay the jackpot.
Tips
When you play no deposit slot games, the hold is technically negative, which means the online casino would be in the red.
However, realistically speaking, they just don’t give out free funds. That’s where the slot’s RTP and RNG mechanics come into play, distributing no deposit returns randomly.
Hands per hour
Hands per hour show the median number of hands played during a specific game.
The number of players participating in the game can influence the final number of hands played per hour.
Hands per hour table
| Games | Hands per Hour | Casino Edge |
|---|---|---|
| Blackjack | 70 | 0.5% |
| Baccarat | 72 | 1.2% |
| Craps | 48 | 1.58% |
| American Roulette | 38 | 5.26% |
| Let It Ride | 52 | 2.4% |
| 3 Way Action | 70 | 2.2% |
| Pai Gow | 30 | 1.65% |
| Caribbean Stud Poker | 50 | 1.46% |
| Big Six | 10 | 15.53% |
