The 10 casino games with the best odds
Ranked by house edge under standard rules, from blackjack and craps with odds to Three Card Poker, with the conditions each figure depends on.
The casino games with the best odds are blackjack played with basic strategy, craps when you back the pass line with odds, Spanish 21 and full-pay Jacks or Better video poker, all with a house edge below 0.5% under good rules. Baccarat's banker bet and single-zero roulette with the la partage rule follow at 1.06% and 1.35%.
What the house edge means
The house edge is the average share of each bet the casino expects to keep over the long run. A 1% edge means that for every 100 pounds wagered, the player can expect to lose about 1 pound on average. It says nothing about a single session, which can go either way, but it decides the outcome over thousands of bets.
That is why no game here beats the house. Every bet pays slightly less than its true odds, and the gap is the casino's margin. Betting systems change the size and order of wagers, not the edge on each one, so they cannot turn a negative expectation into a positive one.
How we ranked the games
We ranked each game by the house edge on its best standard bet, using the figures published by the Wizard of Odds, a widely used reference for casino game mathematics. Each figure assumes optimal play and the rules stated in the entry. Side bets, which usually carry far higher margins, are excluded.
Some games use a second measure, the element of risk, which divides the expected loss by the total amount staked rather than the initial bet. We note it where it matters. Pai Gow poker is left out because published figures conflict: the Wizard of Odds summary table gives 1.46%, while its detailed analysis puts the house way against a dealer bank at 2.72% per hand.
Why the rules matter as much as the game
The same game can be good or poor value depending on the table. Blackjack paying 6:5 instead of 3:2 for a natural adds 1.39 percentage points to the house edge, according to the Wizard of Odds. Jacks or Better on an 8/5 pay table returns about 97.3% rather than 99.54%. Reading the rules card and the pay table is the single most effective way to reduce the cost of playing.
- 1
Blackjack with basic strategy
House edge: 0.28% | Bet: main hand, liberal rules with perfect basic strategy
Blackjack offers the lowest house edge of the standard table games, but only for a player who follows basic strategy on every hand. The 0.28% figure from the Wizard of Odds assumes liberal Las Vegas rules: the dealer stands on soft 17, the player may double on any two cards and after splitting, resplit aces and surrender late. Most tables offer fewer of these options, which pushes the edge higher. The biggest trap is a 6:5 payout on blackjack instead of 3:2, which on its own adds 1.39 points to the house edge.
- 2
Craps: pass line with odds
House edge: 0.37% | Bet: pass line with 3-4-5x odds (0.27% on don't pass)
The pass line on its own carries a house edge of 1.41%, and don't pass 1.36%. The odds bet placed behind them is paid at true odds, so it has no house edge at all. Backing a pass line bet with the common 3-4-5x odds brings the combined edge down to 0.37% of the total staked, and to 0.27% on the don't pass side. The more odds a casino allows, the lower the figure falls. The price is volatility: most of the money is on the odds bet.
- 3
Spanish 21
House edge: 0.40% | Bet: main hand, dealer stands on soft 17
Spanish 21 is a blackjack variant dealt from decks with the four tens removed, which on its own favours the dealer. It wins that back with player-friendly rules, such as a player 21 always winning and bonus payouts on certain 21s. With the dealer standing on soft 17, the Wizard of Odds puts the house edge at 0.40%, rising to 0.76% when the dealer hits soft 17. Basic strategy differs from regular blackjack, so the low figure only applies to a player who uses the Spanish 21 strategy.
- 4
Jacks or Better video poker (9/6)
House edge: 0.46% | Bet: full-pay 9/6 pay table, optimal strategy
Video poker is the one machine game with a published, calculable return. On the full-pay version of Jacks or Better, which pays 9 for 1 on a full house and 6 for 1 on a flush, optimal strategy returns 99.54%, a house edge of 0.46%. The pay table is everything. The 8/5 version returns about 97.3% and the 7/5 version about 96.1%, so a player who sits at the wrong machine gives up several times the house's margin. The low figure also requires near-perfect decisions on every hand.
- 5
Baccarat: banker bet
House edge: 1.06% | Bet: banker, 5% commission, eight decks
Baccarat requires no decisions beyond choosing a bet, which makes its odds easy to state. The banker hand wins slightly more often than the player hand because of the drawing rules, so casinos take a 5% commission on banker wins. Even after that commission, banker carries a house edge of 1.06%, against 1.24% on player. The tie bet, which pays 8 to 1, is the one to avoid: its house edge is 14.36%. Some tables use no-commission rules, which change these figures.
- 6
French roulette with la partage
House edge: 1.35% | Bet: even-money bets on a single-zero wheel
Single-zero roulette becomes markedly cheaper under the la partage rule. When the ball lands on zero, a player holding an even-money bet such as red, black, odd, even, 1-18 or 19-36 gets half the stake back. That halves the house edge on those bets from 2.70% to 1.35%. A similar rule called en prison holds the bet for another spin instead. The benefit applies only to even-money bets; straight-up numbers, splits and other bets on the same wheel still carry the full 2.70%.
- 7
Ultimate Texas Hold'em
House edge: 2.19% of the ante (element of risk 0.53%) | Bet: ante and blind with optimal play
Ultimate Texas Hold'em is played against the dealer, with the player posting equal ante and blind bets and choosing when to raise. Measured against the ante, the Wizard of Odds puts the house edge at 2.19%. Because players add an average of about 4.15 times the ante to the table by the end of a hand, the element of risk, the expected loss against everything staked, is only 0.53%. Both figures assume optimal raising strategy; the optional Trips side bet is not included and carries a higher edge.
- 8
European roulette
House edge: 2.70% | Bet: any bet on a single-zero wheel
A European wheel has 37 pockets, numbers 1 to 36 plus a single zero, while bets pay as though there were 36. That gives the house an edge of 1 in 37, or 2.70%, on every bet on the table. The American wheel adds a double zero, which nearly doubles the edge to 5.26%, and its five-number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 is worse still at 7.89%. Choosing a single-zero wheel is the easiest improvement any roulette player can make.
- 9
Casino War
House edge: 2.88% | Bet: main bet, always going to war, six decks
Casino War is the simplest card game on the floor: the player and dealer each take one card and the higher card wins. When the cards tie, the player can surrender half the bet or go to war by matching it. Going to war is the better choice, and with six decks it gives a house edge of 2.88%, compared with 3.70% for surrendering. The tie bet, which pays 10 to 1, is among the worst wagers in the casino, with a house edge of 18.65%.
- 10
Three Card Poker: ante and play
House edge: 3.37% (element of risk 2.01%) | Bet: ante and play, raising on Q-6-4 or better
In Three Card Poker the player places an ante, sees three cards and either folds or raises by placing an equal play bet. Raising with queen-six-four or better and folding everything weaker is the optimal strategy, and it gives a house edge of 3.37% on the ante, or an element of risk of 2.01% against the total staked. The popular Pairplus bet, which pays on the strength of the player's hand alone, carries 7.28% on the common pay table, more than double the main game.
Frequently asked questions
Which casino game has the best odds?
Blackjack played with perfect basic strategy has the lowest house edge of the common games, about 0.28% under liberal rules. Craps with full odds can match it, with a combined edge of 0.27% to 0.37% at 3-4-5x odds.
What are the worst bets in a casino?
Keno, with a house edge of 25% to 29%, and the Big Six wheel, at 11.11% to 22.22%, are among the most expensive. Slot machines typically range from 2% to 15%, and side bets such as the baccarat tie at 14.36% are also poor value.
Is any casino game beatable in the long run?
No standard casino game gives the player a long-run edge when played under normal rules. Card counting in blackjack can in theory tip the balance, but casinos counter it with continuous shuffling machines, more decks and by asking counters to leave.
Do slot machines have worse odds than table games?
Generally, yes. The Wizard of Odds puts the house edge on slots at roughly 2% to 15%, and unlike table games the exact figure for a given machine is rarely disclosed to the player. Video poker is the exception, because its pay table shows the return.
Sources: Wizard of Odds: house edge of casino games, Wizard of Odds: blackjack basics, Wizard of Odds: craps basics, Wizard of Odds: Jacks or Better pay tables, Wizard of Odds: roulette basics, Wizard of Odds: Ultimate Texas Hold'em, Wizard of Odds: Three Card Poker, Wizard of Odds: Casino War, checked and rewritten by the Casino Courant desk. Spotted an error? Tell us.
Casino Courant is independent and does not offer gambling. We do not take payment for editorial coverage. 18+. Gamble responsibly.
