House Edge Explained: What the Casino Keeps, by Game
The house edge is the average share of every bet that a casino keeps over time. A 2% edge means that for every 100 units wagered, the game pays back 98 on average and keeps 2. It comes from paying winning bets at slightly less than their true odds, and no strategy removes it. We measured it against published figures on more than 12 million crash rounds and half a million roulette spins: most games matched their published figure closely, and one kept about a point more than it lists.
Key takeaways
- Definition: the house edge is the average share of each bet the casino keeps. It equals 100% minus the return to player (RTP).
- Where it comes from: winning bets are paid slightly below their true odds. A single number in European roulette pays 35 to 1 on odds of 36 to 1, which is a 2.70% edge.
- Low-edge bets: craps free odds (0%, alongside a 1.41% pass line), full-pay Jacks or Better video poker (about 0.46%), blackjack with basic strategy (around 0.5%), baccarat banker (1.06%), low-edge crash games (0.1% to 1%).
- High-edge bets: the baccarat tie at 8 to 1 (14.36%) and American roulette's five-number bet (7.89%).
- Measured: at a 2x cash-out, Shuffle Crash returned 98.96% over 4 million rounds against a published 99%; Gamdom Crash returned 98.00% against a listed 99%.
What is the house edge?
The house edge is the average share of every bet that a casino keeps over time. It’s the other side of the return to player: a game with a 97% RTP has a 3% house edge. Both figures describe the long run, measured over the total amount wagered, and neither tells you what happens in one session.
A useful way to read it is as a price. At a 2% edge, every 100 units you put through the game costs you 2 on average. Bet 10 units a round for 500 rounds and you’ve wagered 5,000, so the expected cost of that session is 100 units, whether you finish ahead or behind.
How the casino builds in its edge
Every casino bet is paid a little below its true odds. European roulette is the cleanest example:
- A single number covers 1 of 37 pockets, so the fair payout would be 36 to 1.
- The casino pays 35 to 1.
- Over 37 spins you’d expect to win once (35 units) and lose 36 times (36 units): a loss of 1 unit per 37 staked, which is 2.70%.
Crash games do the same thing through their formula. The multiplier curve is set so that the chance of reaching any cash-out target is the RTP divided by that target. At a 99% RTP, a 2x cash-out succeeds 49.5% of the time instead of the 50% a fair game would give, and that half-point is the house’s 1%.
House edge by game
| Game and bet | House edge | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Craps, pass line plus free odds | 1.41% on the pass line, 0% on the odds | The odds bet is the only 0% bet in a casino |
| Video poker, full-pay Jacks or Better | about 0.46% | With perfect play |
| Blackjack, basic strategy | around 0.5% | Depends on the table rules |
| Baccarat, banker | 1.06% | After the 5% commission |
| Baccarat, player | 1.24% | |
| Baccarat, tie at 8 to 1 | 14.36% | One of the worst common bets |
| European roulette, any bet | 2.70% | Single zero |
| French roulette, even money with la partage | 1.35% | Half the stake back on zero |
| American roulette, most bets | 5.26% | Zero and double zero |
| American roulette, five-number bet | 7.89% | 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 |
| Crash games | 0.1% to 5% | Set by each game’s formula |
Slots and live game shows publish an RTP instead, so their edge is 100% minus that figure. Our guide to RTP and volatility covers how to read those numbers.
Published edge vs what we measured
A published edge is a claim about maths, so we checked it against real results. For each crash game we track, here’s what a 2x cash-out actually returned across every round in our records, next to what the game publishes:
| Game | Rounds measured | Return at a 2x cash-out | Published return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duel Crash | 1,317,332 | 100.01% | 99.9% |
| Stake Crash | 291,511 | 99.21% | 99% |
| Shuffle Crash | 4,034,226 | 98.96% | 99% |
| BC.Game Crash | 34,245 | 98.58% | 99% |
| Gamdom Crash | 6,788,960 | 98.00% | 99% listed |
| Aviator | 11,300 | 96.53% | 97% |
| Rollbit X-Crash | 8,068 | 94.55% | 95% |
Most games land within a fraction of a point of their figure, and the smaller samples wobble more, which is normal: Duel’s 100.01% is variance around its 99.9%, not a player edge. Gamdom is the one that stands out. It lists 99%, but its own published formula returns about 98% at a 2x target, and 6.8 million rounds agree with the formula, not the headline. On live roulette, red came up on 48.60% of 521,165 spins we recorded, a 97.2% return against the 97.3% the maths gives a red bet.
What is the most winnable casino game?
None is winnable over time, but the gap between games is large, and most of it comes from rules and decisions rather than the game’s name. Blackjack at around 0.5% assumes perfect basic strategy and good rules; play by feel, or sit at a table paying 6 to 5 for a blackjack, and the same game costs several times more. Video poker’s 0.46% needs a full-pay machine and perfect play. The craps odds bet is free, but only as an add-on to a 1.41% pass line bet.
Games without decisions are simpler: the edge is whatever the game sets. That’s where our measured table above helps, because it shows which of those published figures hold up. The least rigged game, in the sense of the one you can check and that takes the least, is a provably fair game with a small edge. Choosing it is still the biggest decision you control, bigger than any betting system: our replay of the Martingale strategy on 4 million real rounds lost to the edge at every bankroll size.
The riskiest bet in roulette
Risk and edge are different things. On a European wheel, a single-number bet has the same 2.70% edge as red, but it wins only 1 time in 37, so a session on single numbers swings far more. The bet that’s both risky and expensive is American roulette’s five-number bet, at 7.89%, the worst standard bet on any roulette table.
Why the edge matters more than any strategy
The house edge applies to every unit you wager, so what you pay over time depends on two numbers: the edge and your total turnover. Winning streaks, cash-out targets and betting systems change how that cost arrives, in drips or in one hit, but not its size. Picking a lower-edge game, betting less per round and playing fewer rounds are the only ways to pay less.
If gambling stops being fun, GamCare and Gambling Therapy offer free, confidential help.
Frequently asked questions
How does casino house edge work?
The casino pays winning bets a little less than their true odds, and that gap is the house edge. In European roulette a single number has 37 possible outcomes, so fair odds would be 36 to 1, but the win pays 35 to 1. Over many spins you win about as often as the odds say, but each win pays slightly short, so the table keeps 2.70% of everything staked on average.
What does 2% house edge mean?
It means the game keeps 2% of the total amount wagered on it over time and pays back the other 98%. It's an average across many bets, not a fee on each one: in a single session you can win or lose far more. If you wager 1,000 units in total at a 2% edge, your expected loss is 20 units, whatever mix of wins and losses gets you there.
Which casino game has the lowest house edge?
The craps odds bet has no house edge at all, but you can only place it on top of a pass line bet, which carries 1.41%. After that come full-pay Jacks or Better video poker at about 0.46% with perfect play, blackjack with basic strategy at around 0.5% under good rules, and the baccarat banker bet at 1.06%. Some crypto crash games are low too: Duel publishes a 0.1% edge. The lowest edge means the slowest loss, not a win.
Which casino game has the highest house edge?
The worst bets on standard tables include the baccarat tie paid at 8 to 1, which carries a 14.36% edge, and American roulette's five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3), at 7.89%. Beyond table games, the edge on slots and game shows is set per title and shown as the RTP, so a game listed at 94% keeps 6%.
What's the house's edge in blackjack?
Around 0.5% if you play perfect basic strategy at a table with favourable rules, such as the dealer standing on soft 17 and blackjack paying 3 to 2. Worse rules push it up: a 6 to 5 payout on blackjack alone adds more than a full percentage point. Players who don't use basic strategy typically face an edge several times higher than the headline figure.
What is the most profitable bet on roulette?
There isn't one: on a European wheel every standard bet carries the same 2.70% edge, whether it's red, a dozen or a single number. The payouts change how often you win and how much, not the average. The exception is French roulette with the la partage rule, which returns half an even-money stake when zero lands and cuts that bet's edge to 1.35%.
Set a budget before you play. Free, confidential help is available from GamCare and Gambling Therapy.