House Edge

What is House Edge and How it Works?

The house edge is also known as the casino advantage. And it’s something that exists on every table game, lotto, or slot in a casino online or on land.

House Edge

Common question players have is how the casino makes profit? Or why is the house always in profit?, especially when plenty of players win a lot of money. Actually casino games have built-in mechanism, called the House Edge, which gives them an advantage in every bets someone makes, but you have options to play by the rules or learn and beat the game.

What is a house edge?

The house edge is also known as the casino advantage. And it’s something that exists on every table game, lotto, or slot in a casino online or on land.


House edge tells you:

Payouts:

How much each game pays out on average over it’s lifespan.

Best returns:

Which games offer players the best returns on their bets.


Main thing to keep in mind while betting and playing on casino games is to know the fact: This metrics is set by the games itself not by individual casinos.

How to use the House Edge knowledge?

Games with the high house edge will obviously pay out less on average over time than those that have a house edge lower. To use this information in a way to know which one is more profitable you can adjust your gaming strategies and games itself to play


The House edge can be used as a guide for you to know which games have the biggest profitability.

Games comparison

You will notice that house edge varies game to game. As we mentioned earlier this stats is defined by game conditions not the casino itself.

Slots:

Slot, unlike other games, is equal for every player. The best thing you can do is to hit the start button and hope for the best result!

We recommend to choose the slots with Highest RTP – Return to Player

Goblin’s Cave, Ocean Princess, and Ugga Bugga from Playtech all have RTPs of over 99%. Meaning the house edge of these games is lower than 1%.

And

Play slots with bonus games because they have the most probability to generate more profit than the ones without bonus.

Blackjack:

BlackJack has several variations, both online and offline. They differ with how many decks you can play with, as well as different rules. This of course affects the percent of house edge.

BlackJack is a combination of luck and the knowledge a player has. In general, 0.5% is the house edge – based on playing blackjack perfectly using every possible legal strategy.

Roulette:

Depending on which roulette style you are playing, the house edge varies. American roulette typically offers players the worst returns over others like French or European. When choosing which roulette style to play, always go for French or European, and be careful playing Russian roulette, Because house edge is fatal :).

The American roulette odds:

american roulette odds

How to calculate the House edge in American Roulette?

Compare the probability of true odds, then the amount of $ players winning for every 1 dollar. Now use true odds versus casino odds and you’ll get the house edge, See example below:

  • An American roulette has 38 pockets in total: pockets 1-36 + 0 + 00 =38.
  • So the true odds of guessing one single number correctly are 38:1 but the house 3. only pays out odds of 35:1.
  • So on a $1 bet the player wins back $36. $2 less than the true odds would pay back.
  • That $2 represents the house edge. Which in this case would be calculated as: 2 x (1/38) = 0.0526 – or 5.26%.

You can use this basic principle to work out the house edge on all bet’s in american roulette.

European roulette:

European roulette has no pocket of 00, this is not seems significant but in general it gives you tremendous advantage and better-lower house edge.

See it yourself:

European roulette

This means playing Euro way you will get better profit than American or Russian.

But this is nothing compared to French roulette…

French Roulette Explained

There are two main rules that lowers the house edge

First – En Prison:

It comes into force when the ball lands on zero in even money bets. You can freeze your bet on the table to stand for the next round. If it wins you get back 100% of your original stake.

Second – La Partage:

Similar to en prison, when the ball lands on zero, any bets made on even payouts will be split into 50/50 between the bettor and the house. So you automatically receive half of your original stake back.

So here is the statistics for French Roulette:

French roulette

Example of House Edge in Poker through Rake:

Let’s say you’re in a poker game at a casino that takes a 5% rake from each pot, capped at $10 per hand. Here’s how it plays out:

  1. Initial Pot Creation: Suppose you and a few other players contribute to a pot that reaches $200.
  2. Rake Deduction: The casino takes its 5% rake from the $200 pot, which would be $10 (the cap in this case).
  3. Pot Distribution: Now, the pot available for winning is $190, not the full $200, because the house has already taken its cut.
  4. Impact Over Time: While the 5% may not seem much in one hand, over many rounds, this rake reduces the money circulating among players. The longer you play, the more significant the cumulative effect becomes, functioning similarly to a traditional house edge by gradually eating into players’ winnings.
  5. Overall “House Edge” on Poker Games: Unlike slots or blackjack, where the house edge is a fixed percentage tied to probability, the poker rake effectively creates a type of house edge over time. If players are evenly matched, the casino’s rake will eventually erode winnings, making it harder for players to come out ahead.

Our Recommendation :

To win the poker game of course you need strong calculating mind, if you are playing outdoors you will also need strong verbal and non-verbal communication expertise with an incredible emotional resilience,

But for playing in video poker this last three does not apply, because you can just calculate or swing your tail and no one will know.

So here is the recommendations

Compare Pay Tables:

Just like in slots video poker machines come with pay tables that show you what you stand to win for each winning hand. And it varies game by game.

Before diving into ALL-In it is best to  Practice it for free:

Use several play for fun video poker games to practice your knowledge and deepen your skills in order to increase the odds you have, while playing real ones.

Conclusion

Understanding the house edge gives you a peek behind the curtain of how casinos stay in business and what strategies might help you come out ahead. While the odds are always in favor of the house, knowing which games have the best returns, which offer fun and fair payouts, and how to play smartly can make all the difference in your gaming experience.