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For casino bettors, getting a low house edge is essential, because this decides how much of an edge the house has over a player in the long run. As such, the house edge in casino games is typically defined as the ratio of the casino’s expected win to the player’s initial wager. The figures used in Wizard of Odds’ game comparison assume optimal or near-optimal strategy where player decisions affect the result.
According to calculations from the popular casino math website, Wizard of Odds, the house edge in some of casino’s most popular games appears as follows, under common rules and bet types:
Low Edge
Mid Edge
High Edge
Blackjack
0.28%
0.57%
2.13%
Video poker
0.46%
2.70%
5.00%
Baccarat
1.06%
1.24%
14.36%
Craps
1.36%
1.41%
11.11%
Roulette
1.35%
2.70%
5.26%
Knowing which games have the lowest house edge is a crucial guide for any casino patron. Here’s an approximate ranking from lowest to highest.
Blackjack
Blackjack doesn’t have one fixed house edge. That’s because rule variations, all of which the player should check before sitting down at a table, affect the theoretical return. Consequently, it’s critical to know the exact blackjack rules to calculate the in-play house edge accurately.
That is where topcanadiancasinos.org becomes useful: its blackjack listings show which studios are actually in the lobby, along with deposit, wagering and payment details, so you can judge the table in the context of the casino offering it.
Blackjack Rules That Affect the House Edge
According to Wizard of Odds, an authoritative casino math site, a six-deck game in Las Vegas where the dealer stands on soft 17, doubling after splitting is allowed and late surrender is available, would have a house edge of about 0.28% when a correct strategy is used.
Under less favorable rules, that edge could easily grow, however. In a ruleset where the dealer stands on soft 17, doubling is allowed on any first two cards, doubling after a split is not allowed, late surrender is not available, and there are six decks, Wizard of Odds calculates that the house edge rises by roughly 0.29 percentage points to 0.57%.
That’s a notable shift in the expected value, and in many casinos, blackjack rules aren’t even applied consistently in that regard. While doubling after splitting isn’t allowed at all in some games, other places permit it after any two cards, as well as resplitting more than one time and on additional pairs.
These slight changes could move the resulting statistic anywhere between around 0.28% and above 2%, depending on the rules at the table and the standard of the strategy in play. The table rules tell you whether the blackjack game is worth playing; CasinoAtlas.se fills in the casino side of the decision, with Swedish licence status, payment methods, bonuses and game information in one place.
Why Basic Strategy Matters
For some games, nothing at all can be done about the house edge after playing. With blackjack, however, there is quite a bit that an ideal player can do to minimize the house’s edge. That’s why estimates of blackjack’s house edge are given for a player using the correct basic strategy. The Gamble Doctor site helps the player understand all the rules of the blackjack game.
The practitioner of optimal blackjack strategy does better than one employing a simplified approach. However, the player’s skill level can also be a crucial ingredient in lowering the house edge in games like video poker.
9/6 Jacks or Better Video Poker
Video poker is often the game with the lowest theoretical casino edge, depending on the game. The house edge in video poker is strictly dependent on the paytable, the type of machine chosen, and the quality of the player’s strategy.
Why the Paytable Matters
In conventional full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker, using the right strategy returns about 99.54%. That’s a 0.46% edge for the casino. Decline to just one row under that, reducing the full house to 8, instead of 9, and the house edge pops to 1.61%. More importantly, it goes all the way up to 5.00% for 6/5 Jacks or Better, which is far from ideal.
Why Strategy Matters
As shown in the table supplied, strategy can affect the casino’s edge in video poker.
Jacks or Better Paytable
Optimal Return
Intermediate Return
Simple Return
9/6
99.54%
99.52%
99.46%
9/5
98.45%
—
—
8/5
97.30%
—
—
7/5
96.15%
—
—
The material discrepancies between the paytables from even one row separation above show why a casino patron needs to take note of them. Keep in mind, however, that these figures are based on using the optimal strategy for each paytable. One using basic strategies will rack up higher losses.
Baccarat
There’s a reason so many high rollers like to play baccarat: beyond the glitz and glamour, it carries a lower edge than many bets. When an eight-deck shoe is used, the lowest house edge is on the Banker bet, which is 1.06% when factoring in the 5% commission on winnings. The Player bet, on the other hand, has a house edge of 1.24%.
But under no circumstances should the high-edge bets be overlooked. In eight-deck baccarat, the Tie bet packs an astronomical 14.36% edge.
Craps
Craps has long been a game of contrasts, characterized by sharply different house edges on the felt. In craps games, the house has an edge on a Pass Line or Don’t Pass wager based on the probabilities across the come-out and point rolls. That edge works out to 1.41% and 1.36%, respectively. But since these wagers can be backed with an accompanying odds wager, where the payout corresponds to the probability of a successful roll, this can reduce the combined house edge.
However, craps odds create a mistaken belief that craps has zero edge. That’s true for the odds bet, which pays out based on probability and has 0% edge. But the odds bet has to be placed in addition to the Pass or Don’t Pass bet.
Single-Zero Roulette
Roulette can be a relatively low-edge game for the player, contrasting roulette’s customary house edge of 5.26% for double-zero, 2.70% is much more attractive.
Ultimately, no matter which game is chosen, it pays to understand the math. At established casinos, given the same basic game, more than one house-edge version may be offered. But the savvy gambler expects nothing and checks the specifics before putting up the cash.
It doesn’t take long to google the basic strategy for what one is playing. There are time-honored guides to blackjack, video poker, and getting value from odds bets in craps. Just as one studies the paytable of a video poker game, read the blackjack rule card before sitting down at a table.
Some casinos will be open about their percentages. Ask, too, before sitting down and committing to a lower-edge wager at baccarat, or in fact any game, as one may not know what versions are offered.
