House edge of every casino game, compared
The cheapest bet in the table below costs 0.57% of each stake on average, the dearest 16.67%. Same casino, same money, a very different price. Every figure is computed by our code and checked a second way.
| Bet | Game | House edge | Average loss per 100 staked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack, basic strategy (3:2, dealer stands on soft 17) | Blackjack | 0.57% | 0.57 |
| Baccarat, banker bet (5% commission) | Baccarat | 1.06% | 1.06 |
| Baccarat, player bet | Baccarat | 1.24% | 1.24 |
| Roulette, French even-money bet with la partage | Roulette | 1.35% | 1.35 |
| Craps, don't pass (12 is a push) | Craps | 1.36% | 1.36 |
| Craps, pass line | Craps | 1.41% | 1.41 |
| Craps, place 6 or 8 | Craps | 1.52% | 1.52 |
| Blackjack paying 6:5 for a blackjack | Blackjack | 1.92% | 1.92 |
| Roulette, European (single zero), any bet | Roulette | 2.70% | 2.70 |
| Roulette, American (double zero), most bets | Roulette | 5.26% | 5.26 |
| Craps, field (12 pays 2 to 1) | Craps | 5.56% | 5.56 |
| Roulette, triple zero, any bet | Roulette | 7.69% | 7.69 |
| Roulette, American five-number bet | Roulette | 7.89% | 7.89 |
| Baccarat, tie bet paying 8 to 1 | Baccarat | 14.36% | 14.36 |
| Craps, any seven | Craps | 16.67% | 16.67 |
How to read it
- House edge is the casino's average profit as a share of the money you stake: minus the expected value of the bet.
- Average loss per 100 staked turns it into money: bet 100 units in total on the pass line and you lose about 1.41% of it on average. Over thousands of bets the result settles close to this; over a few it can be anything.
- Blackjack depends on how you play: the figure assumes perfect basic strategy. A player who just hits below 17 and stands on 17 or more, never doubling or splitting, gives the casino 5.67% instead.
Why the price differs so much
A roulette wheel pays every bet as if the zeros did not exist, so the zeros are the edge: one zero in 37 pockets, two in 38, three in 39. Baccarat's banker bet wins more often than the player bet, so the casino takes a commission from it. In craps, the odds bet is paid at true odds, which is why it carries no edge at all, while one-roll bets pay far less than their true odds.
See the expected loss calculator to turn any of these edges into money for your stake and number of bets, and our methodology for how each figure is computed.
Questions
Which casino game has the lowest house edge?
Among the bets in our table, blackjack played with basic strategy under good rules has the lowest edge, followed by the baccarat banker and player bets, French roulette's even-money bets with la partage and the craps pass and don't pass lines. The craps odds bet has no edge, but it can only be placed together with a pass or don't pass bet.
Can a betting system beat the house edge?
No. Every bet in a system carries the same edge, so the average loss is the edge times everything staked. Systems change how results are spread, usually into many small wins and rare large losses.
Is the house edge the same as RTP?
For a single bet, the return to player is one minus the house edge: a bet with a house edge of 2.70% returns the rest of each stake on average.
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