House Edges of the Most Popular Casino Games

The rise of the internet was a game-changer for the casino industry. Most of the action happens online nowadays, as the players don’t have time to visit a land-based casino and the web platforms offer a ton of benefits like promotions, more games, lower house edge, and so much more.

The top online casinos for real money often provide their customers with hundreds of games and new titles are added all the time. While this is undoubtedly a huge advantage from the user’s perspective, it can be confusing to an extent.

Picking the best casino games for you is important and a lot of people get lost in such an abundance. There are different factors to consider, but one of the most important among them is the house edge, also measured as a return to player or RTP.

It shows how much of the money placed on the game in wagers is returned in price pools. For example, an RTP of 97% means that 97% of the cash comes back to you and the house edge is 3%. 

You should try to stick to the options with the highest RTP out there, as your long-term financial results will be much better. 

This post will go through some of the most popular categories of online casino games and explain what house edge you can expect from them.

Slots

Let’s start with slots, as they are by far the most popular category of online casino games out there. You will find hundreds of them in most gambling sites, including progressive jackpots, classic slots, 3D slots, and many more.

Since their number is so high, the house edge varies and there are different options. However, the general rule is that most slots come with a relatively low RTP. Most of them are in the region of 90-95%.

The good news is that some online casinos are obliged to list the RTP of their titles by gambling regulators and independent agencies like eCogra. 

If you find a casino that has that information, you will easily understand what to expect from each game. There are some slots with a solid RTP of 96-97% or even more.

Blackjack

Next in line is one of the most popular card games in the casino world, both online and in land-based venues. Millions of people love blackjack and the low house edge is one of the main reasons behind the game’s success.

You can find different sets of rules, so the number is not fixed but it usually stays within 2% or even 1% in favor of the casino. That’s way better than most of the other mainstream casino games.

There is one big twist here and it’s related to the fact that blackjack involves strategy. Your decisions affect the outcome of the game, so you need to make the optimal choice every single time to reach the house edge cited above.

That’s a problem for many people, so you need to invest time to learn how to play the game well if you want to enjoy the benefits of blackjack’s high RTP.

Roulette

Another classic game that is available in almost every casino on the web is roulette. The story says it was invented by the legendary Blaise Pascal in the 17th century. It’s still going strong today and there are plenty of versions online.

They have a different house edge, depending on the number of zeros. The classic European roulette with one zero gives the casino an advantage of 2.70%. If you go for the American version that has two zeros, the number rises to 5.26%.

Those two are the most popular variations but there are others too. Some online casinos work without zeros and no house edge.

Video Poker

Most casinos on the internet have at least several video poker variations. That’s one of the best games in terms of return to player. Even the titles with the highest house edge rarely go above 1% and there are video poker machines that work with no edge.

Similarly to blackjack, you need to apply the perfect strategy to achieve that, though. Make sure you read the rules carefully and try to find one of the many tables online that show the best strategy for the corresponding variation of video poker.

Other Games

Most of the other popular games come with a house edge that will result in heavy losses in the long run. The likes of craps, baccarat, keno, scratch cards and the other options you will find in most online casinos are not worth your time.

Of course, you can play for fun and enjoy the experience, but don’t expect to win money in the long term. The advantage of the casino is too big and even the bonuses and promotions at your disposal can’t reverse the odds in your favor.