Everything You Need to Know About House Edge

Have you ever wondered how a casino makes its profit? Most of us would assume that they make their money when players lose their bets, but this isn’t the case. Casinos actually have an inbuilt advantage called the House Edge. Below, we’re going to look at what it is and how you can work your way around it.

What is House Edge?

The house edge is often also called the casino advantage. This advantage is present in every single game at a casino, whether it’s slots, table games, or lotto. This is found in land and online casinos.

The house edge tells you two things:

• Payouts: How much a game pays out over its lifespan—on average.
• Best returns: The casino games that give players the best return on a bet.

The house edge is not set by the online casino—it’s a product of the game. This means that, no matter where you place your bets at a casino, you can’t bypass the casino advantage.

How to Use House Edge to Your Advantage

The good thing about the casino advantage is that you can use it as a guide to decide which games have the best chances of allowing you to win. Games with a higher house edge pay out less—on average—over time than those with a lower edge.

So, using this data—which is freely available—you can reduce your chances of losing money and being stung by high house edge games.

Game House Edge Comparisons

No matter where you choose to place your bets, you can’t escape the casino’s house edge. But there are some games that allow you better chances to win than others. Below, we’ll look at the different games and their house edge percentage.

This percentage tells you how much money a casino takes on average—so, if the house edge is 8%, this means it takes £8 for every £100 bet over time.

• Baccarat: 1 to 15.75%
• American Roulette: 5.25%
• Blackjack: 0.5%
• Craps: 0 to 16.65%
• Keno: 20 to 40%
• Slots: 2 to 15%
• Video Poker: 0.45%
• Texas Hold’em: 2.35%
• Sic Bo: 2.75 to 33.35%

As you can see, in many cases, the casino advantage is variable. This has nothing to do with the player or the casino but the game conditions. Let’s take a look at what affects the house edge in each game.

• Baccarat: The house edge depends on whether a player bets on the player, banker, or a tie.
• American Roulette: The edge is affected by the double 0 that’s included on the wheel—this isn’t included in French and European Roulette.
• Blackjack: The casino advantage is based on the player’s choice to hit, stand, double, split, or surrender.
• Craps: The house edge in craps is impacted by the betting options, such as come/don’t come, pass/don’t pass, place, odds, and field bets.
• Keno: The casino advantage depends on how many numbers players mark on the Keno card and the house rules.
• Slots: The house edge is impacted by the number of paylines and reels and how many of those a player selects to play.
• Video Poker: The side bets and pay tables affect the house edge the casino has over players.
• Texas Hold’em: The edge is impacted by player strategy and the number of raises, checks, and folds over a series of hands.
• Sic Bo: The house edge is determined by the table layout and odds, as well as your bets.

The Gambler’s Fallacy

Even the most rational gambler can fall prey to the gambler’s fallacy. When you’re on a hot streak, even the best of us get caught up in the moment. Remember to keep your wits about you and choose games that have the best house edge in your favour. No matter how lucky you think you are, the casino has an in-built advantage—so you need every bit of help you can get.