Understanding Casino House Edge

Learn How to Beat the House

Whether it's online slots, roulette, blackjack, or baccarat, the game retains a house edge all the time. As such, it's important to review the House's advantage over players. In this guide, we'll cover its definition and the top games with a friendly house edge.

What is a House Edge?

Play Single Deck Blackjack at DraftKings and Other Top US Casinos

If you are a regular casino player, then surely you have read or heard about the house edge. It’s a truism in the gambling industry- you can’t beat the house over the long term. Casino operators still run a business, and they make sure online casinos remain profitable. This is possible thanks to the concept of a house edge. Simply put, the online casino house edge refers to the theoretical advantage of the casino in a specific game.

Let’s use the popular online slot as an example to explain this concept. Online slots have Return to Player (RTP) percentage, and it normally ranges from 95 to 97%. It describes the percentage of the amount that a slot game theoretically returns to players over the long term in the form of winnings. A game with a 97% RTP means that it will theoretically return 97% of all wagered money to players in the form of winnings. Simply put, for every $100 wagered, the games pay out $97 over the long term. 

The house edge is simply the opposite of the RTP. Going back to the slot machine with 97% RTP, its house edge is 3%, which acts as the casino’s advantage. It means that the lower the house edge, the smaller the share of the operator. To improve your chances of winning, look for the games with the lowest house edge.

8 Casino games with the lowest house edge in US casinos

Since operators still run a business, it’s better to look for games where you have better chances of winning. The key is knowing what online casino games offer the lowest house edge in the business. To help you win big, we cover these games using the table below. As you can see, this list of friendly games is dominated by table games. Players don’t realize that table games such as blackjack and craps offer the lowest house edge in the business. Check the table below for a list of what games to play.

GameHouse Edge %
Blackjack (Single Deck)1.5%
Craps1.4% – 5.0%
Baccarat1.5%
Three-card Poker1.5%
Video Poker1.5%
Slots2.0% – 10.0%
European Roulette2.5%
Pai Gow Poker2.5%

Conclusion

Go all in at Betway’s Top Table Games

Before you go to your favorite casino or sign up online, you may want to know which casino games offer you the best chance of winning. As a player, don’t just focus on the payout schedule or the jackpots. Make sure to review the game’s house edge or the casino’s advantage over the long term. 

Among the popular casino games to play, table games such as blackjack and craps are your best bets. Blackjack offers the best odds of winning, with a house edge of 1.5% or even lower in some physical casinos. If you play online, you are only playing against the dealer and not experienced poker players. Next up is craps, which can offer a house edge of 1.4%. Based on our list, you can also consider baccarat and online poker

By choosing games with a lower house edge, you give yourself a better chance of landing a win.  With this approach, you don’t just win frequently, but you also protect yourself from stressful losses and lost time.

Frequently asked questions

This refers to the theoretical advantage of the casino operator in a single game.
Among the casino games you can play, blackjack boasts the lowest house edge at 1.5% for the single deck variant.
When playing at online casinos, you can't go wrong with table games. For example, craps and baccarat boast an RTP of 1.4 and 1.5% respectively.