House Edge: Every Casino Game Compared
A single ranked table of house edge across every common casino game and bet, plus the calculation that produces each number and why cost per hour matters more than percentage.
Every figure here is the expected loss per unit wagered, per resolved bet, under the rules stated. Derivations are in methodology.
The complete ranking
| Game / bet | House edge |
|---|---|
| Craps — free odds | 0.00% |
| Craps — pass/come with 3-4-5× odds | 0.37% |
| Blackjack — 6 deck, S17, 3:2, basic strategy | 0.43% |
| Video poker — 9/6 Jacks or Better, optimal | 0.46% |
| Video poker — full-pay Deuces Wild, optimal | −0.76% (player edge) |
| Blackjack — 2 deck, S17, surrender, 3:2 | 0.06% |
| Baccarat — banker | 1.06% |
| Baccarat — player | 1.24% |
| Roulette — French, la partage, even money | 1.35% |
| Don’t pass / don’t come | 1.36% |
| Craps — pass line, no odds | 1.41% |
| Craps — place 6 or 8 | 1.52% |
| Blackjack — 6 deck, H17, 3:2 | 0.65% |
| Pai Gow Poker — banking | ~1.46% |
| Craps — buy 4/10, commission on win | 1.67% |
| Blackjack — 6:5 payout | 1.82% |
| Pai Gow Poker — not banking | 2.84% |
| Roulette — European single zero | 2.70% |
| Craps — field (12 pays 3:1) | 2.78% |
| Let It Ride | 3.51% |
| Three Card Poker — ante/play | 3.37% |
| Craps — place 5 or 9 | 4.00% |
| Caribbean Stud | 5.22% |
| Roulette — American double zero | 5.26% |
| Craps — field (12 pays 2:1) | 5.56% |
| Slots — typical land-based | 5–10% |
| Craps — place 4 or 10 | 6.67% |
| Pair Plus — 3:1 flush pay table | 7.28% |
| Blackjack — insurance | 7.39% |
| Roulette — five-number bet | 7.89% |
| Sic Bo — most bets | 2.8–18.98% |
| Craps — big 6 / big 8 | 9.09% |
| Craps — hard 6 / hard 8 | 9.09% |
| Baccarat — pair side bets | 10.36% |
| Craps — hard 4 / hard 10 | 11.11% |
| Craps — any craps, yo, ace deuce | 11.11% |
| Craps — horn | 12.50% |
| Craps — snake eyes, boxcars | 13.89% |
| Baccarat — tie (8:1) | 14.36% |
| Craps — any seven | 16.67% |
| Keno | 25–30% |
| Lottery — typical state draw | 40–50% |
How the number is produced
House edge is expected value with the sign flipped, divided by the amount wagered. Nothing more.
Take the craps pass line. It wins 244 times in 495 resolutions:
EV = (244/495 × +1) + (251/495 × −1) = −7/495 = −0.01414
House edge 1.41%.
Take a single number on an American roulette wheel, paying 35:1 on one pocket in 38:
EV = (1/38 × +35) + (37/38 × −1) = −2/38 = −0.05263
House edge 5.26%.
Both figures come from the same two ingredients: the probability of winning and what the win pays. There is no third ingredient — no adjustment for skill, streaks, dealer, time of day, or how much you have already lost.
Percentage is not cost
A 5.26% roulette bet is more than twelve times the percentage of a 0.43% blackjack game. It is frequently the cheaper session, because roulette is slow.
Expected cost per hour is:
edge × average bet × decisions per hour
| Game | Edge | Bet | Decisions/hr | Cost/hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roulette, American | 5.26% | $10 | 40 | $21 |
| Blackjack, 3:2, full table | 0.43% | $25 | 60 | $6.45 |
| Blackjack, 3:2, heads-up | 0.43% | $25 | 200 | $21.50 |
| Craps, pass + odds | 0.37% | $60 total | 30 | $6.66 |
| Video poker, 9/6, $1 5-coin | 0.46% | $5 | 600 | $13.80 |
| Video poker, 8/5, $1 5-coin | 2.70% | $5 | 600 | $81.00 |
| Slots, $1 spin | 8% | $1 | 600 | $48.00 |
| Keno, live lounge | 27% | $1 | 12 | $3.24 |
| Video keno | 27% | $1 | 300 | $81.00 |
Keno, the worst game in the building by percentage, is the cheapest line in that table when played in a live lounge — and among the most expensive when played on a machine. Speed is the multiplier most players never account for.
Two practical consequences:
- A crowded blackjack table is cheaper than an empty one, because you play fewer hands.
- Any machine game deserves a much lower edge than a table game, because it deals ten times as fast.
What the edge does not tell you
Variance. Two games with identical edges can feel completely different. Even-money roulette and a straight-up number both cost 5.26%, but one drifts and the other lurches. High-variance games produce more winning sessions and more severe losing ones — the distribution is wider, not shifted.
Your actual result. Edge is a long-run average. Over a few hundred hands, variance dominates completely. This is why the edge is invisible in a single session and inescapable over a year.
Hit frequency. A game can pay out constantly and still be expensive — the craps Iron Cross wins on about 70% of rolls at a blended 2.4%. Frequent small wins funded by occasional large losses is the standard shape of an expensive bet.
Reference points
- 1% of $100 wagered is $1. If you play $10 hands for an hour at 60 hands, you wager $600 and give up $6.
- Money wagered is the driver, not money brought. A $200 bankroll cycled ten times is $2,000 wagered.
- No edge is beatable by betting patterns. Why.