House edge by game
| Game | Typical house edge |
| Blackjack (basic strategy) | About 0.5% |
| Baccarat Banker | 1.06% |
| Craps Pass Line | 1.41% |
| European roulette | 2.70% |
| Sic Bo Big/Small | 2.78% |
| Slots | 3% to 5% |
Why house edge matters more than the casino
House edge is the share of each bet that a game keeps on average over a very long run. Blackjack shows how much the rules can move that share. A six-deck game where blackjack pays 3:2 and the dealer hits soft 17 has a house edge of 0.46% with basic strategy.
The same game with blackjack paying 6:5 has a house edge of 1.82%. The payout line printed on the table is therefore worth reading before the first hand. Many games show it on the felt or in the rules screen.
Roulette follows a different pattern, because the wheel sets the cost rather than the table rules. European roulette with a single zero has a house edge of 2.7% on every bet. A double-zero wheel has a house edge of 5.26% on every bet except the first five. With the la partage rule, even-money bets on a single-zero wheel have a house edge of 1.35%. Our roulette pages show which new casinos list the single-zero version.
How slots differ from table games
Slots publish a return to player instead of a house edge, and the figure belongs to each individual game. Slots as a family have an RTP range of 94–98%. Volatility sits on top of that range. A high-volatility slot pays rarely and in large amounts, and a low-volatility slot pays small amounts often.
A casino can sometimes run a lower-RTP version of the same slot, so the info screen inside the game is the figure to trust. The slots at new casinos page lists the games and studios, and the RTP guide in the list below explains how to read the number.
Baccarat, craps, Sic Bo and video poker compared
Baccarat has a house edge of 1.06% on the Banker bet. Baccarat rounds are short, and the Banker bet is the standard reference. The Player bet costs slightly more and the Tie bet costs far more, so the bet chosen matters more than the table.
Craps, Sic Bo and video poker cost less than most slots when played on their standard bets, and the table above gives the figures for standard rules. The side bets in all three games cost more than the main bet, and video poker depends heavily on the pay table.
Baccarat splits into three bets with very different costs, and the choice of bet matters more than the choice of casino. The baccarat page compares those bets one by one.
Live tables compared with RNG tables
Live tables and RNG tables use the same rules and the same maths. The difference is speed. A live dealer round takes longer, so a player makes fewer bets per hour and loses money more slowly at the same house edge.
RNG tables deal instantly, which suits practice and demo play. Live tables suit players who want the pace of a real table. Bet limits are usually higher at live tables, and demo mode is usually not offered.
A new player at the blackjack table should learn the decision chart first. The blackjack basic strategy chart covers every hand, and the cost of ignoring it is large.
+43
