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Glossary · Games and odds

House edge: definition and example

Share of each bet the casino keeps on average, i.e. 100% minus the RTP; it varies widely with the game and the bet chosen.

Definition

The house edge measures the average cost of a game to the player. It comes from the rules: the zero on a roulette wheel, the commission on the Banker bet at baccarat, the paytable of a slot. It applies to the total amount bet, not just the starting stake.

Example

With a 2.70% edge on European roulette, 100 spins at €10 (€1,000 bet) cost €27 on average.

What to check

Compare games and bets: at baccarat, the tie bet paid at 8 to 1 costs more than ten times as much as the bet on Banker.

  • RTP (return to player)

    Average share of stakes paid back to players over a very large number of games: a 96% RTP keeps 4% of stakes on average.

  • Expected value

    Average result of a bet if it were repeated a very large number of times; it is negative for almost every casino game.

  • Basic strategy (blackjack)

    Chart that shows, for each hand and each dealer card, the decision that loses the least on average at blackjack.

All glossary terms

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