Key facts
- The house edge is the average share of each bet that a game keeps over time. It equals 100% minus the return to player (RTP).
- Your expected loss is always the house edge times the total you bet. No betting system changes it; only the game, the bet and how much you put through do.
- The cheapest casino bets we have calculated cost about 0.5% or less: the craps odds bet (0%), Australian pontoon (about 0.35%), 9/6 jacks or better video poker (0.46%) and basic strategy blackjack (0.46% to 0.55%).
- At the other end, scratchies keep about 40%, keno about 24% and the casino war tie bet 18.65%, in our calculations and from national statistics.
- Online casino games cannot legally be offered to people in Australia, but the same maths applies to every game in an Australian casino.
What house edge means
The house edge is the share of every bet that a casino game keeps on average over the long run. It is set by the rules and the pay table before a card is dealt or a wheel is spun, which is why it can be calculated exactly for most table games.
Two numbers describe the same thing from opposite sides:
- House edge = the average share of each bet the game keeps.
- Return to player (RTP) = the average share it pays back, so RTP = 100% minus the house edge.
And one formula tells you what any session costs on average:
expected loss = house edge x total amount bet
The "total amount bet" is the part people forget. Ten $10 bets are $100 of action, whether you win, lose or bet the same chips again. Play long enough and the edge is charged on every dollar that passes through, including the winnings you bet back.
How a house edge is built
Casino games create their edge in a few ways, and knowing which one is at work tells you where your choices matter.
- Paying less than the true odds. A single number on a single zero roulette wheel wins 1 time in 37 but pays 35 to 1, not 36 to 1. The missing unit is the edge: 1/37, or 2.70%. Most dice, wheel and lottery-style bets work this way.
- Rules that favour the dealer. In blackjack you act first, and if you bust you lose even when the dealer busts later. That ordering is where most of blackjack's edge comes from.
- Commission. The baccarat banker bet would favour the player without the 5% commission on wins. In poker the house takes a rake from the pot instead, and Queensland's rules cap it at 10% of the pot.
- Fees. Some live games charge for a feature, such as the 100% Lightning fee on every initial bet in Evolution's Lightning Blackjack.
Worked example. A bet on red at single zero roulette wins 18 times in 37 and loses 19 times in 37. The average result per $1 is (18 x $1 minus 19 x $1) / 37 = minus 2.7 cents. That is the 2.70% house edge, and the roulette odds guide shows it is the same for every standard bet on that wheel.
House edge on every casino game we have calculated
These are our own calculations, made from the rules Australian regulators approve or from figures published by game makers and official statistics. Where a game needs decisions, the figure assumes the best strategy for those rules.
| Game and bet | House edge | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Craps odds bet (behind a line bet) | 0% | craps odds |
| Two-up, social game with no commission | 0% | two up rules |
| Deuces wild video poker, full pay | player edge 0.76% (return 100.76%) | deuces wild |
| Pontoon, Australian casino rules, 6 decks | about 0.35% | pontoon card game |
| Spanish blackjack, Queensland rules, 6 decks | about 0.35% | Spanish 21 |
| Jacks or better video poker, 9/6 | 0.46% | jacks or better |
| Blackjack, basic strategy, double any two, 6 decks | 0.46% | blackjack strategy |
| Blackjack, Australian casino rules, 6 decks | 0.55% | online blackjack Australia |
| Blackjack Switch, Queensland rules, 6 decks | 0.58% | Blackjack Switch |
| Baccarat banker bet, 8 decks, 5% commission | 1.06% | how to play baccarat |
| Baccarat player bet | 1.24% | baccarat strategy |
| Roulette even-money bet with La Partage | 1.35% | French roulette |
| Craps don't win (don't pass), bar 2 | 1.36% | |
| Craps win line (pass line) | 1.41% | how to play craps |
| Free Bet Blackjack, Crown Melbourne rules, 6 decks | 1.44% | Free Bet Blackjack |
| Baccarat banker, no commission, half pay on a 6 | 1.46% | live baccarat |
| Craps place 6 or 8 at 7 to 6 | 1.52% | |
| Blackjack paying 6 to 5, 6 decks | 1.81% | blackjack odds |
| Casino hold'em, ACT ante table (share of the ante) | 2.16% | casino holdem |
| Ultimate Texas Hold'em, Queensland and ACT blind table (share of the ante) | 2.19% | ultimate texas holdem |
| Casino war, going to war on ties, 6 decks | 2.33% | casino war |
| Jacks or better video poker, 8/5 | 2.70% | video poker |
| Roulette, single zero wheel, any standard bet | 2.70% | European roulette |
| Red dog, best raise strategy | 2.75% (8 decks) to 3.16% (1 deck) | red dog card game |
| Sic bo big or small | 2.78% | sic bo |
| Crash game: Aviator at its listed 97% RTP | 3.00% | crash games |
| Mines: Spribe's listed 97% RTP | 3.00% | mines casino game |
| Three card poker ante and play, Queensland table (share of the ante) | 3.37% | three card poker |
| Three card poker pair plus, Queensland table | 3.49% | |
| Online pokie at a 96.50% RTP | 3.50% | highest RTP pokies |
| Dragon tiger, tie costs half the bet, 8 decks | 3.73% | dragon tiger game |
| Money wheel, Queensland 50 segment wheel, 1, 5 or 11 to 1 symbols | 4.00% | money wheel game |
| Caribbean stud, Queensland table (share of the ante) | 5.20% | caribbean stud poker |
| Roulette, double zero wheel | 5.26% | American roulette |
| Craps field bet (2 to 1 on 2 and 12) | 5.56% | |
| Blackjack insurance at 2 to 1, 6 decks | 7.40% | |
| Money wheel, 52 segment wheel in the Tasmanian and Victorian rules | 7.69% | |
| Roulette, triple zero Crown Roulette | 7.69% | online roulette |
| Roulette five-number bet on a double zero wheel | 7.89% | roulette bets |
| Club and hotel pokies, Australian average 2024-25 | about 7.9% | pokies statistics |
| Plinko, published RTPs from 99% down to 88.20% | 1.00% to 11.80% | plinko |
| Blackjack side bets we priced (most of them) | 1.46% to 16.05% | blackjack side bets |
| Baccarat tie at 8 to 1 | 14.36% | |
| Sic bo specific triple at 180 to 1 | 16.20% | |
| Craps any 7 at 4 to 1 | 16.67% | |
| Casino war tie bet at 10 to 1, 6 decks | 18.65% | |
| Keno, Australian average 2024-25 | about 24% | online keno |
| Instant scratch tickets (Instant Scratch-Its prize pools) | 40% | online scratch cards |
| Bingo and minor gaming, WA 2024-25 | about 43% | online bingo |
The pokies, keno and bingo lines are averages of what was actually kept across Australia, calculated from the Queensland Government Statistician's national gambling statistics, not the edge of one game. Individual machines and games vary.
Games with no fixed house edge
Some games keep money in other ways:
- Poker played against other players has no house edge on the cards; the casino takes a rake or a fee. Our guides to Texas hold'em rules, Omaha poker and online poker in Australia cover it, and poker odds and poker hand rankings cover the maths.
- Live game shows such as wheel and ball games did not state a return to player on the maker's pages our writers read; see live casino game shows.
- Pai gow poker has its own rules and pay structure, covered in our pai gow poker guide.
- Live dealer versions usually keep the table game's edge but can deal faster, so they can cost more per hour, and some add fees: compare live roulette and live blackjack.
House edge, hold and variance
House edge is not the same as what a casino "holds" in a night. Hold is what the casino actually kept, and over short periods it swings well above or below the edge. A player can easily finish a night ahead in a game with a 5% edge; the edge only describes the average over a very large number of bets.
That is also why betting systems cannot work. A Martingale on roulette changes the pattern of results, many small wins and a rare large loss, but in our calculation the average still comes out at exactly 2.70% of the total bet on a single zero wheel, and the same is true of every system in our roulette strategy guide. The one recognised way to shift an edge is card counting at blackjack, and even that moves it by only about half a percent per point of true count. Expecting a result to be "due" after a streak is the gamblers fallacy, and the random number generator guide explains why standards require each electronic result to be independent of the last.
Pundit tip: to compare two games, multiply the house edge by how much you will actually bet in an hour. A 1% game played twice as fast costs the same as a 2% game.
Using house edge to choose what to play
The best odds casino games guide ranks the games above from cheapest to dearest, and our casino games guide covers each game's rules and the law. A few practical rules follow straight from the table:
- Pick the bet, not just the game. Craps runs from 0% to 16.67% depending on the bet; baccarat from 1.06% to 14.36%.
- Read the rules on the sign. One rule, such as 6 to 5 blackjack or a cut pay table, can multiply the price several times over.
- Skill games need the skill. The low figures for blackjack, pontoon and video poker assume correct play. Mistakes raise them quickly.
- Check the RTP on machines and online games. The pokies guide explains RTP and the legal minimum returns for Australian machines. You can work out the cost of your own session with our expected value calculator.
Every figure here is a cost, not a chance to profit. If you are spending more than you planned, gambling help is free and confidential, 24 hours a day.
House edge and the law
The maths is the same in a casino and online, but the law is not. Under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, online casino games, including roulette, blackjack, pokies and live dealer games, cannot legally be offered to people in Australia, and ACMA blocks offshore sites that offer them. Table games with approved rules are legal in person at licensed Australian casinos.
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Frequently asked questions
What is house edge?
The house edge is the average percentage of each bet that a casino game keeps over the long run. A 2.70% house edge, as on single zero roulette, means the game keeps about $2.70 of every $100 bet on average.
How do you calculate house edge?
Multiply each possible result by its probability and add them up to get the average result per $1 bet. If that average is minus 2.7 cents, the house edge is 2.70%. For a single number on single zero roulette: 1/37 x 35 minus 36/37 x 1 = minus 1/37.
Is house edge the same as RTP?
They are two sides of one number. RTP is the share of money bet that comes back to players on average, and the house edge is the rest: a pokie with a 96.50% RTP has a 3.50% house edge.
Which casino game has the lowest house edge?
Of the games we have calculated, the craps odds bet has none at all, but you can only make it after a line bet. Australian pontoon at about 0.35%, 9/6 jacks or better at 0.46% and basic strategy blackjack at 0.46% to 0.55% are the cheapest complete games.
Can you beat the house edge?
Not in normal play. A betting system only rearranges when you win and lose; the expected loss stays the house edge times the total bet. Skill matters only in games such as blackjack and video poker, where bad decisions raise the edge well above the figures here.
Related reading
Casino games Pontoon Casino pontoon in Australia is blackjack with the tens taken out and a pay table bolted on. Played well it is one of the cheapest games on the floor. Here are the approved rules, how a round runs, and the numbers. Read more 
Casino games Money wheel The money wheel is the simplest bet in the casino: pick a symbol, watch the wheel. The price is printed in the segment count, and one Australian pay table costs twice as much as the others. Read more 
Casino games Blackjack odds You lose more blackjack hands than you win, yet the house edge is under 1%. Here are the odds behind that, from the chance of a natural to the chance of losing five in a row, all calculated. Read more 
Casino games Craps odds Craps has the widest spread of prices in the casino: one bet with no house edge at all and another that keeps one dollar in six. Here is every bet, priced with Australian pay tables. Read more 
Casino games Baccarat Baccarat looks formal, but you only make one choice: banker, player or tie. Here is how a hand plays out, the third card rules nobody explains, and the exact odds we calculated for the 8 deck game. Read more 
Casino games Two-up Two pennies, one kip, a ring and a lot of noise. Here are the rules of two-up as NSW sets them out, the real odds of heads, tails and odds, and the days each state allows the game. Read more Sources
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