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House Edge for Casino Games
Every game at the casino is tipped in the casino’s favor – that is how they make their money.
For sure, as a player you have a chance of winning and finishing a session ahead – there would be no reason to go to a casino otherwise – but overall every game will make the casino money in the long run.
By playing to a certain strategy, the player can reduce the House Edge by some percentage points giving them a better chance of walking away up. There are strategies for many of the most popular casino games on this website.
However, the amount of House Edge does vary from game to game and in some cases from the different types of bet from within the same game. Here, we look at the most popular games and their House Edge so you can make an informed decision of which to play.
| Game | Betting Rules | House Edge |
| Blackjack | Vegas Rules | 0.28% |
| Pontoon | Standard Bet | 0.32% – 0.65% |
| Spanish 21 | Dealer Stands on Soft 17 | 0.40% |
| Spanish 21 | Dealer Hits on Soft 17 | 0.76% |
| Blackjack Switch | Standard Bet | 0.58% |
| Atlantic City Blackjack | Standard Bet | 0.35% |
| Vegas Strip Blackjack | Standard Bet | 0.35% |
| Progressive Blackjack | Standard Bet | 0.28% – 0.76% |
| Super Fun 21 | Standard Bet | 0.94% |
| European Roulette | Single Zero | 1.35% – 2.70% |
| American Roulette | Double Zero | 5.26% |
| French Roulette | Single Zero | 1.35% – 2.70% |
| Baccarat | Player | 1.24% |
| Baccarat | Banker | 1.06% |
| Baccarat | Tie | 14.36% |
| Punto Banco | Player | 1.24% |
| Punto Banco | Banker | 1.06% |
| Punto Banco | Tie | 14.40% |
| EZ Baccarat | 1.01% | |
| 3 Card Baccarat | 17% – 20.8% | |
| European Baccarat | Player | 1.24% |
| European Baccarat | Banker | 1.06% |
| European Baccarat | Tie | 14.40% |
| Banque Baccarat | Player | 1.24% |
| Banque Baccarat | Banker | 1.06% |
| Banque Baccarat | Tie | 14.40% |
| Chemin De Fer | N/A | |
| Craps | Pass Line/Come Bet | 1.41% |
| Craps | Don’t Pass/Don’t Come Bet | 1.40% |
| Craps | Pass Line Odds/Comes Bet Odds/Buy Bets – 4 or 10 | 4.76% |
| Craps | Pass Line Odds/Comes Bet Odds/Buy Bets – 5 or 9 | 4.76% |
| Craps | Pass Line Odds/Comes Bet Odds/Buy Bets – 6 or 8 | 4.76% |
| Craps | Don’t Pass Odds/Don’t Come Bet Odds/Lay Bets – 4 or 10 | 2.44% |
| Craps | Don’t Pass Odds/Don’t Come Bet Odds/Lay Bets – 5 or 9 | 3.23% |
| Craps | Don’t Pass Odds/Don’t Come Bet Odds/Lay Bets – 6 or 8 | 4.00% |
| Craps | Field Bets – 3, 4, 9, 10 or 11 | 5.50% |
| Craps | Field Bets – 2 or 12 | 5.50% |
| Craps | Place Bets – 4 or 10 | 6.70% |
| Craps | Place Bets – 5 or 9 | 4.00% |
| Craps | Place Bets – 6 or 8 | 1.52% |
| Craps | Hardways – 6 or 8 | 9.09% |
| Craps | Hardways – 4 or 10 | 11.10% |
| Craps | One Roll Bets – Any 7 | 16.90% |
| Craps | One Roll Bets – Any Craps | 11.10% |
| Craps | One Roll Bets – 2 Craps or 12 Craps | 13.90% |
| Craps | One Roll Bets – 3 Craps or 11 Craps | 11.10% |
| Craps | One Roll Bets – Big 6 or 8 | 9.09% |
| 3 Card Poker | Ante Bet | 3.37% |
| 3 Card Poker | Pair Plus | 7.28% |
| Pai Gow Poker | 1.50% | |
| Let It Ride | 3.51% | |
| Caribbean Stud | 5.22% | |
| Video Poker | Jacks or Better | 0.46% |
| Video Poker | Bonus Poker | 0.83% |
| Video Poker | Joker Poker | 1.91% |
| Video Poker | Deuces Wild | 1.09% – 5.03% |
| Video Poker | Aces & Faces | 0.74% |
| Video Poker | Pick’em Poker | 0.5% – 10% |
| Video Poker | Aces & Eights | 0.22% – 2.51% |
| Video Poker | Tens or Better | 0.86% – 2.04% |
| Casino War | Go to War on Ties | 2.88% |
| Casino War | Surrender on Ties | 3.70% |
| Casino War | Bet on Ties | 18.65% |
| Keno | 25% – 29% | |
| Sic Bo | 2.78% – 33.33% | |
| Red Dog | 2.80% |
What is the House Edge?
It is important to clarify exactly what the House Edge is and how it is calculated.
The definition of House Edge is ‘the ratio of the average loss when compared to the initial bet’. Some games allow you to place an extra bet during the hand such as Splitting or Doubling in Blackjack. When working out the House Edge for a game, this extra bet is not taken into consideration as it is not a forced bet and the player doesn’t have to pay the extra if they don’t want to.
In games where an extra bet is mandatory, the total bet necessary is taken into account when working out the House Edge.
We work out the House Edge on the original bet and not the average bet to make it easier to see how much you can expect to lose over a period of time. Although this may sound negative, it is worth mentioning again that every bet in a casino is in the casino’s favor – if there was a bet where the player is expected to win over a long period of time, players would be sitting making this bet the whole day and the casino would lose money. They are clearly not going to let this happen.
Another point to note when looking at House Edge is that for bets which feature a Tie – such as Baccarat or the Don’t Pass bet in Craps – some places don’t count these on the basis that if a bet hasn’t been settled then it should be ignored.
There are other variables that could affect the bottom-line House Edge such as mindset of the player at the time the player, how much they are concentrating on their game or how much they can afford to lose the chips they have in front of them.
Conclusion
It is worth remembering that the above table gives a rough idea of House Edge but one or two less than optimal decisions can have an adverse effect and therefore there will inevitably be some small discrepancies based on the way the game/s are played.
The lower the House Edge, the more chance there is for the player to win so take that into consideration when deciding which game to play.
