House edge: How to beat the casino house edge

The most crucial aspect you need to consider and keep in mind when playing at online casinos is the house edge. Why is the house edge significant? The house edge plays a pivotal role in casinos and their games.

You might think luck has a huge part in winning at casino games, but the truth of the matter is that the house edge is the way casinos make their money. Casino games vary from one to the other. Some are more beneficial for your bankroll, while the majority tilt favourably towards the casino.

Explained in its purest forms, the House Edge is the quantitative factor of how often the casino wins over a specific time.

It is for this very reason that today we are going to discuss this important topic and how you can lower it, to boost your wins.

What is the house edge?

The majority of casino games except for Live Blackjack and Video poker, have in-built profit percentage on each bet. This is known as the House Edge or House Advantage.

Each bet you place has a probability of either winning or losing, similar to flipping a coin. The lower the house edge is on a bet, the higher the chances of you winning over a specific period. Casinos look at house edge as ‘applied mathematics’ and if you are looking to make a profit, you should too.

There are other factors to keep in mind when it comes to the house edge, such as your ability to play a casino game correctly. You also need to keep in mind that all casino games are games of chance, and no amount of skill can tilt that towards your favour.

How does the house edge work?

Let’s take the game of Live Roulette as an example. The majority of the players are more likely to wager on black or red. In the European Roulette version, there are 37 numbers, including the green 0.

If you had to spin the wheel 37 times, you are expected to hit black 18 times, red 18 times and the green zero once, hypothetically speaking. Of course, we are only theorizing, and you have no proof that this is likely to happen.

Now, let’s imagine that each player places 37 wagers of £1 each on every number on the roulette wheel, totalling to £37. On average you would win 18 times by hitting red, receiving £36 back, while the remainder of the bets loses. You wagered £37 but got £36 back, resulting in a house edge of 2.7%

You can apply the same logic to the game of American Roulette, with two additional green zeroes. However, because there is that extra zero, the house edge stands at 5.26%. If you wagered £38, you could only expect to receive £36 in return.

This is only an example, but the same logic and theorem can be applied to every single game available at your online casino of choice.

Games with the Highest House Edge

Now that you are aware of how the house edge works, you also need to know about the games that have the highest house edge and which games work more in your favour. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a casino game with no house edge, and even if you had to lower it, the house edge over some time would undoubtedly catch up with you.

So which casino games have the highest house edge? Put simply, casino games that you have no decision-making process are the worst culprits.

Let’s take slot games, for example. The house advantage on online slots can vary from anything as low as 3% going all the way up to 20%. There is no way to tell which specific slot game has the lower house edge or not, but in general slot games leave a dent on your bankroll.

Paylines in online slots also have a role to play. Since slots tend to offer a lower RTP, the casino is always bound to make a neat profit in the long run. If you genuinely want to play online slots, you need to be wise about your choice of games. In general, the more paylines a slot game has, the higher the house edge will be.

Likewise, when it comes to progressive jackpots, the house edge stands a lot higher since you are also competing against a barrage of other players who are all after the big prize. It is for this very reason that we recommend specific progressive jackpot slots if you truly want to increase your chances of striking it big.

Among the jackpot games with the best RTP, you can find Mega Fortune, Hall of Gods, Arabian Nights, all by Net Entertainment. If you are not planning on attempting to win a jackpot and you are spinning the reels for smaller wins, you might want to avoid progressive jackpots as the RTP can drop considerably.

Let’s imagine you are playing an online slot with 20 paylines. Playing all 20 paylines increases your chances of winning, but if you play 10 out of 20 paylines, you have just cut your odds by 50%. If you play with 10 paylines in the long run, you are upping your losses and boosting the casino’s house edge.

The same can be said about the game of Keno. Undoubtedly popular among casino player, the way this game works is that the house picks 20 numbers and you will be paid based on the matches that you get. The house edge on Keno can be as high as 40%

Games with a Medium House Edge

Enter the game of Live Roulette. Yes, the game we used as an example has a medium-range house edge, but it all depends on the roulette variant you are playing and the number of zeros on the roulette wheel.

When the roulette wheel has 1 green zero and 2 green zeros, such as is the case in the game of American Roulette, the house edge stands at 5.26%. On the other hand, if you are playing European Roulette with a single green zero, the house edge hovers in the 2.7% region.

If you are playing the French Roulette variant, and you are betting on 18 possible outcomes (such as red or black, odds or even, high or low), and the ball lands in the Zero slot, the betting rule “en prison” comes into play, reducing the house edge to a mere 1.35%.

Of course, there is no skill involved when you are playing the game of Roulette, though you can learn more on how to win Roulette here. The game of Roulette is, like the majority of the casino games, a game of chance. The only relevant skill that comes into play when you are playing Live Roulette, is picking the right match and the best roulette bets.

Playing European Roulette over American Roulette gives you better chances at winning.

Games with a Lower House Edge

The game of live Blackjack is one of those rare casino games that have a low house edge provided you have a blackjack strategy in place. Following our Blackjack strategy chart, will help you make informed decisions and boost your chances of winning.

Depending on the number of decks and the rules applied, knowing how to play the game of Blackjack and following the blackjack rules, should lower the house edge to as little as 2%.

Another casino game with a lower house edge is the game of Live Baccarat. It comes in various formats, but the basic game dictates that you place a bet on either the Player (house edge of 1.2%) or the Banker (house edge of 1%).  This is why if you read our guide on how to win live baccarat, we recommend that you always place your bets on the Banker.

It is also highly recommended that you avoid any Tie bets (house edge of 14%) or a pair (10 to 11% house edge).

House edge: Having a strategy in place

Games such as Blackjack which requires that the player has some form of knowledge to capture some wins, you need to have a strategy in place to ensure that you don’t end up losing big in the long run.

If you don’t know how to play Blackjack, it would be more than fair to say that the house edge is likely to increase a little. Casinos thrive on inexperienced players making bad decisions at games.  Brush up on your skills, especially when it comes to live casino games as you can always apply a strategy and knowledge to boost your chances.

Additionally, have a bankroll management system in place. Have a win and loss limit that you are comfortable with. Once you hit either threshold, call it a day. Either have a long break or come back another day to better protect your bankroll.

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