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House Edge

The mathematical advantage the casino has over players, expressed as a percentage of each bet.

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House edge is the percentage of each wager that the casino expects to keep over time. It's the flip side of Return to Player (RTP) — if a game has a 2% house edge, the RTP is 98%.

House edge varies dramatically between games. Blackjack with basic strategy has a house edge as low as 0.5%, while some slot machines can exceed 10%. Understanding house edge helps you choose games that give you the best chance of winning.

Importantly, house edge applies over thousands of bets. In the short term, anything can happen — that's variance. But the longer you play, the closer your results will converge to the mathematical expectation.

Formula

House Edge = 100% - RTP

Example

European roulette has a house edge of 2.7%. For every $100 wagered over time, the casino expects to keep $2.70.

Related Terms

Return to Player (RTP)

The percentage of wagered money a game returns to players over time.

Expected Value (EV)

The average amount you can expect to win or lose per bet over time.

Variance

The measure of how much results deviate from the expected outcome in the short term.

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