Nearly every casino game has an in-built advantage that ensures the casino will ultimately always win in the battle with the gambler.
This advantage is called the ‘house edge’ and means the odds for every game favor the casino. It’s the difference between the true odds of something happening and the odds the casino’s payout.
However, the house edge varies wildly, depending on what game you choose. Smart players playing with an optimal strategy or choosing the right bets can push down the house edge and give themselves a better chance of winning.
For example, just choosing a European roulette table over an American roulette table cuts the house edge in half.
Here we look at six popular casino games with a low house edge.
Video Poker
Perhaps not the most glamorous game at a casino, but most video poker games have a house edge lower than 1%. And at least three variants can give a small advantage to the player if played perfectly.
Playing Deuces Wild with an optimum strategy gives you a slight edge – 0.71% – over the house. Similarly, Joker Poker and Double Bonus Poker also have a positive return to player (RTP) when played optimally.
You will need to learn and remember the perfect strategy and have a decent bankroll to start with.
To become a long-term winner, you always need to bet the max as this unlocks bonus payouts that push down the house edge over time.
Discipline is key!
Blackjack
The enduring popularity of blackjack lies in part due to the low house edge on the game. If a player follows an optimal strategy, the house edge is only 0.5%.
There are some caveats – ideally, you want to play single-deck blackjack (which can be hard to find online), and make sure you are getting odds of 3/2 for a ‘natural’.
At some casinos, with bonuses factored in, the house edge can be as low as 0.28% – a negligible advantage to the casino.
Time to brush up on that blackjack strategy!
Slots
Slot games continue to grow in popularity, with thousands of titles available at the best casinos. But unfairly, slots have a bit of a reputation of being casino games for those looking to play with the minimum of effort – just spin and hopefully win!
However, online slot games have some of the lowest house edges of any game. When playing a slot, check the RTP.
This is a complex calculation that tells you how much on average the game will return to the player for every 100 units wagered.
A game with an RTP of 97.5%, for example, would, on average, pay back $97.50 for every $100 bet (a house edge of 2.5%). While lower RTPs are common, several slots have RTPs of over 98%.
At Mount Gold Casino, Book of 99 by Relax Gaming has an RTP of 99%, and Thunderkick’s 1429 Uncharted Seas RTP is 98.6%.
Sadly, land-based slots in the likes of Vegas have terribly low RTP’s – sometimes around only 80%. Avoid these!
Craps
One of the most popular games at land-based casinos due to its social aspect, it’s a complex game to understand with a vast number of different bets available.
But for the wise gambler, who chooses his bets carefully, they can play on ‘odds’ bets with no house edge if at the right table. These will pay the true odds, although casinos often limit how much you can bet on them each round.
The 1.41% house edge on the popular Pass Line bet or 1.36% on Don’t Pass are also pretty low for a casino.
But beware – some craps bets have a house edge of nearly 17%! Choose your wagers carefully.
Baccarat
A long-term favorite of high-rollers in Las Vegas and Macau – an astonishing 91% of revenue in Macau casinos in 2014 came from the game – baccarat is one of the simplest casino games to play.
The house edge on the Player or Banker bet is 1.24% and just 1.06%, respectively. Players should always choose the Banker bet over the Player bet.
Because of the low house edge and the fact the game attracts high-staking customers, casinos have been known to lose millions a night to this game when their luck is out.
New players may be tempted by the 8/1 odds available on the tie, but this is a bad choice. The house edge is just over 14% on this bet!
Roulette
No casino article is complete without mentioning roulette, the famous wheel that has enthralled gamblers for centuries.
Can the wheel be beaten? Is there a strategy that delivers consistent profits? The answer, sadly, is no.
Roulette is luck in its purest form. Yet that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to give yourself a better chance of winning.
All online casinos will offer multiple roulette games. Always chose European roulette (sometimes also called French Roulette) over American roulette.
At first glance, the tables appear the same, but American roulette has two zeros, while European Roulette has just one.
For the former, the house edge is a meaty 5.26% on average. On the latter, it’s 2.7%.
Betting on red or black at roulette looks like a 50/50 shot, but the presence of the green 0 (or 0s) pushes the odds in favor of the casino. Instead of having a 50% chance, the odds fall to 48.7%. Playing at the American version sees the odds slip down to 47.4%.
And the highest house edge…keno!
If there’s one game to dodge when playing online or taking a trip to a real casino, it’s keno. The lottery-style game sees players choose up to 20 numbers from a range of 1-80.
Up to 20 numbers are drawn, and the player is paid according to how many they have selected or ‘caught’. Players can choose from both live versions and video keno.
Keno has a typical house edge of 25%, but some games have been known to go higher than 35%!
This makes it the most expensive game to play commonly found in casinos.