House edge explained, with a worked example
What the house edge is, how a 2.7% edge turns 100 bets of 10 units into an expected loss of 27 units, and how the headline edges of popular games compare.
The house edge is the average share of each stake that the casino keeps over the long run. It is built into the payouts of every casino game. Because of it, players lose on average, and no betting system changes that.
It is easy to mix up with "the casino wins every time". It does not mean that. On any single bet you can win, and some sessions end ahead. The edge describes what happens on average across a very large number of bets.
A worked example
Single-zero roulette has a house edge of 2.70%. Suppose you place 100 bets of 10 units each. You stake 1,000 units in total.
The expected loss is 2.7% of 1,000 units, which is 27 units. You can check this with one bet: a 10-unit straight-up bet wins 350 units with a chance of 1 in 37 and loses 10 units with a chance of 36 in 37. The average result is (350 - 360) / 37, or about -0.27 units, and 100 bets at -0.27 gives -27 units.
On a double-zero wheel the edge is 5.26%, and the same 1,000 units staked has an expected loss of about 52.6 units.
Two points stand out. First, the edge applies to the total amount staked, not to the money you start with. The more rounds you play, the more you stake and the more you lose on average. Second, 27 units is an average. Your real result could be better or much worse, which is a matter of variance.
Headline edges from our game guides
These figures come from the game guides on this site. Edges depend on the version, the payouts and the rules, and the paytable in front of you always applies.
- Roulette: 2.70% on a single-zero wheel, and 5.26% on most bets on a double-zero wheel.
- Baccarat: 1.06% on Banker (with 5% commission), 1.24% on Player, and 14.36% on Tie at 8 to 1 (eight-deck shoe).
- Dragon Tiger: about 3.73% on Dragon or Tiger, and 10.36% on Tie at 11 to 1.
- Andar Bahar: about 2.15% on the side dealt first (0.9 to 1) and 3.00% on the side dealt second (1 to 1).
- Teen Patti 20-20: about 2.50% on the main Player A and Player B bets, and about 6.9% to 11.4% on side bets.
- Lucky 7: about 3.08% to 7.69% in the common live version.
- Amar Akbar Anthony: about 3.08% on the three main bets at the commonly published payouts.
- Crash games: commonly 1% to 4%, depending on the game.
- Number lotteries: typically about 30% to 50% of sales is kept by the operator.
What a lower edge does and does not mean
A lower edge means a smaller average loss for each unit staked. It does not mean a good bet, and it does not make a loss unlikely. Within one game, edges can vary a lot. Baccarat Banker is near the low end of the list, while the Tie bet on the same table is near the top.
The edge also does not mean anything is rigged. It is simply what the rules and payouts produce. Over time it means players lose on average, so gambling is best seen as a cost for entertainment, never as a way to make money.
18+ only. This article is for information, not advice to gamble. Responsible gambling.
