Like any business, both physical and online casinos need to make money to continue providing players with entertaining casino games and other casino-related services. To cover their costs, casinos rely on what’s known as the house edge. This blog explores the topic of house edge, including what a casino house edge is, the house edge of different casino games, and whether players can affect the house edge in brick-and-mortar and online casino games.
What is a Casino House Edge?
Simply put, the house edge is the average percentage the casino, or house, takes on every wager a player makes. The important thing to note here is that it’s the average and is what the casino will earn over hundreds, if not thousands, of games played. This percentage will vary from game to game, and even change depending on the rules of specific variants. The house edge can also vary according to a game’s betting options, with some bets offering better odds to players than others.
The House Edge of Popular Casino Games
With an understanding of what house edge is, here is a list of some popular casino games and the house edge for each of these games. The house edge for some of the most popular variants of these classic casino games is also provided. This should give players a basic idea of the margins on these games without having to calculate the house edge for each individual game.
Baccarat
Baccarat is a simple game where players bet on two hands: the banker’s or the player’s. When all the cards in the banker’s and player’s hands are revealed, the hand that is closest in value to nine is declared the winner.
Baccarat has three house edge values that players need to keep in mind. These are for each of the game’s three wagers. These wagers and their house edge are:
- Banker: 1.06%
- Player: 1.24%
- Tie: 14.36%
Blackjack
Blackjack is a game that offers players a great balance between luck and skill. The goal is for players to form a hand that’s worth more than the value of the dealer’s hand while being equal to or less than 21. If they do this, they win. However, the skill element in blackjack is the understanding of when to ask for another card and when to stand. If players are unlucky and their hand value exceeds 21, they lose the game.
The version of blackjack that uses what’s often referred to as “liberal Vegas rules” is commonly associated with a house edge of around 0.28%. In comparison, other rule variations tend to have a higher house edge, with the study “The House Edge and the Basic Strategy of Blackjack” highlighting how most versions of blackjack have a house edge of around 2%.
However, the house edge could be affected by game rules. For example, the more decks used in a game of blackjack, the greater the house edge. Brick-and-mortar casinos will often use multiple decks to reduce the effectiveness of card counting.
Additionally, blackjack is a game where players can exert a small amount of influence to reduce the house edge. By playing blackjack strategically, players are able to reduce the house edge.
Craps
Craps is a game that, on the surface, is simple. All players need to do is bet on the outcome of a dice roll to determine whether they’re a winner. However, craps has a great deal of depth due to the wide range of betting options available and how betting options change throughout the game.
Craps is another game where your bet choice affects the house edge. Here are some of the betting options and how the house edge typically varies:
- Pass/Come: 1.41%
- Don’t pass/don’t come: 1.36%
- Any craps: 11.11%
- Any seven 16.67%
Roulette
Roulette has been a popular casino table game since it was first invented around the 18th century. It has remained the game of choice for many players due to the game’s low barrier to entry. All players need to do is choose what number, numbers, or colours to bet on, and wait to see where the roulette ball lands.
There are two mainstream versions of roulette: European and American roulette. However, despite these games looking very similar at a glance, a single, small change dramatically affects the odds of the game.
In European roulette, the roulette wheel only has a single zero, while in the American version, the roulette wheel has two zeros. Here are the house edges for each of these roulette games:
- European roulette (single zero roulette wheel): 2.70%
- American roulette: (double zero roulette wheel) 5.26%
Slots
Slots are a very popular form of gambling at in-person and online casinos. In these games, a spinning set of slot reels is key to unlocking wins or bonus games that can lead to wins. The result of each spin is chosen from random variables created by an RNG, or random number generator.
When players are deciding which slot games to play, they may come across a number called the return to player, or RTP, in the game, on a game review, or another piece of game-related media. This number indicates the average percentage of all wagers that are returned to players. While most slots have an RTP around 96%, some games have an RTP that’s higher or lower.
What does RTP have to do with house edge? While many other casino games usually share the house edge directly with players, most slots instead share the RTP. However, this value is key to understanding the house edge of each slot game. To understand what the house edge is for a particular slot, all players have to do is take the value of 100% deduct the RTP, and they’ll be left with the house edge.
For example:
100% – 96.20% = 3.80%
This value of 3.80% is the house edge. But again, it’s important to remember that this isn’t what the house gets on each game, but rather over a series of games over a long period of time. To think of this in another way, slot RTP is to players as house edge is to the casino.
