Every casino game is built so the casino wins a little more than it pays out over time. That built-in advantage is called the house edge. It’s the single best guide to how expensive a game is to play.
This guide explains what the house edge means, how to turn it into a real cost in pounds, and which games have the lowest and highest edge.
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1What the house edge means
The house edge is the average share of each bet the casino expects to keep over the long run. A game with a 2.7% edge keeps, on average, £2.70 of every £100 you stake. It’s the mirror image of RTP: a slot with 96% RTP has a 4% house edge.
It’s an average over a huge number of bets, so it won’t tell you what happens in one session. You can win or lose far more than the edge in the short term. But the longer you play, the closer your results tend to drift towards it.
2How to work out what a session costs
The useful sum is: stake per bet × number of bets × house edge = expected cost.
For example, 300 spins at £1 on a 96% RTP slot means £300 staked. The expected cost is £300 × 4% = £12. The same £300 on European roulette, with a 2.7% edge, has an expected cost of about £8.10.
This is why game speed matters as much as the edge. A fast game with a small edge can cost more per hour than a slow game with a bigger one, simply because you place more bets.
3House edge by game
These are typical figures. The exact edge depends on the rules and paytable of the version you play, so always check the game’s help screen.
| Game or bet | Typical house edge |
|---|---|
| Video poker (Jacks or Better, full-pay 9/6) | about 0.5% |
| Blackjack with basic strategy (good rules) | about 0.5% |
| Baccarat – Banker bet | 1.06% |
| Baccarat – Player bet | 1.24% |
| European roulette (single zero) | 2.70% |
| Online slots | usually 3%–6% (94%–97% RTP) |
| American roulette (double zero) | 5.26% |
| Baccarat – Tie bet (paying 8:1) | about 14.4% |
4Skill, rules and side bets
Some edges only apply if you play well. Blackjack’s low edge assumes you follow basic strategy; guessing can push it to several per cent. Video poker works the same way.
Rules matter too. Blackjack that pays 6:5 for a blackjack instead of 3:2 adds well over 1% to the edge. Roulette with two zeros nearly doubles it.
Side bets are usually where the edge jumps. Perfect pairs in blackjack, pair bets in baccarat and many bonus bets in live game shows often carry edges well above 5%.
5Our quick tips
- Pick the version, not just the game. European roulette over American; 3:2 blackjack over 6:5.
- Skip the side bets unless you’re happy paying more for the entertainment.
- Think per hour, not per bet. Fewer bets at a calmer pace usually means a lower total cost.
- Check the help screen. UK-licensed games must show RTP information.
6What the house edge doesn’t tell you
The edge tells you the average cost, not how bumpy the ride is. Two games can share the same edge but feel very different, because one pays small wins often and the other pays big wins rarely. That’s volatility, covered in our guide to RTP and volatility.
No strategy or system removes the edge. Treat the expected cost as the price of your entertainment and set a budget before you start.