Casino House Advantage
I’ve heard it described many ways. Some people say it’s “A place to have fun” others say its “Disneyland for adults”. No matter what you think a casino is, keep this in mind. A casino is a business. BIG BUSINESS!! Bob Stupak, the former owner of Vegas World Casino, told US and World Report, “Its our duty to extract as much money from the customer as we can and send them home with a smile on their face.”
Casino House Advantage
So, how does the casino go about extracting money from you? Do they Cheat you?
NO!
They don’t have to cheat because except for Blackjack and Video Poker, every Casino game has a built-in profit on every bet. This is known as the House Edge or Casino Advantage.
Every bet you make has a certain probability of winning or losing. If you bet on the flip of a coin, the probability of heads or tails is 50-50. This would be an even money bet. If you bet a dollar and was paid a dollar when you won, you would be paid TRUE ODDS. However, if the casino only paid you 95 cents every time you won instead of a dollar the House edge would be 2.5%. Simply put, The house edge is the difference between the true odds and the odds that the casino pays you when you win.
Look at this It shows the Casino’s advantage for different casino games. All are fixed except for Blackjack and Video Poker. These two games actually can have a positive payback depending on the skill of the player and the rules or payback table.
The House Advantage is often described in terms of percentages. These percentages can vary by state, game, casino, and wager. For example, let’s say The House Advantage on a “Blackjack” is 3%. This means that, on average, for every $100 a player wagers on Blackjack, the player will lose $3. Simply put, The house edge is the difference between the true odds and the odds that the casino pays you when you win. Look at this It shows the Casino’s advantage for different casino games. All are fixed except for Blackjack and Video Poker. Understanding the house advantage in blackjack is a must if you want to count cards and play the game with a serious expectation of profit. This understanding is the building block upon which all of your remaining blackjack skill is based. Casino games, including baccarat, roulette, and blackjack, have been popular for more than a century and the house edge, which is dependent on the rules, hasn’t changed much. When you play any of the more popular table games, the casino’s advantage is fairly consistent. In any casino game, the house advantage is what percentage of the money the establishment takes, on average, of your wagers. The lower the house edge, the better the chances of winning in the long run, and the longer you'll be able to play on a starting bankroll.
Look at the game of Roulette. You will see that the house edge is 5.26% for the double zero game. This is how we figure the edge. In the game, there are 36 numbers plus the 0 and 00. The odds of you winning is one in 38 or 37 to 1. If you win the casino pays you 35 for your dollar bet. You keep your original dollar and are paid an additional $35 returning $36. The difference is two dollars (38 minus 36). Divide the $2 by 38 which is the true odds and you come up with the house edge of 5.26%. So you could actually cover all the numbers on the layout and still lose money. These are great odds for the house but not for you. Games like Roulette, Craps, Big Six a have a fixed percentage because one roll or spin will never change the outcome. There will always be 38 numbers on a roulette layout and 12 numbers on a pair of dice.
Blackjack is in a different category because every time a card comes out of the shoe, it changes the makeup of the cards remaining. The advantage can shift from player to house depending on which cards have been played and the Skill in which you play your cards. Video Poker also is based on skill. If you play the perfect strategy, there are actually some games that have a positive return based on their pay table.
From the above chart, you can see why a casino does not have to cheat to make money. Does that mean you will lose every time? No of course not. If you did you wouldn't keep coming back. However, in the long run, the casino will win on negative expectation games.
Until Next time remember:
Luck comes and goes.....Knowledge Stays Forever.
Did you know that casinos always have the upper hand? It doesn’t matter which game you play or where you play it, casinos pay out less money than they take in. Even when a game is completely fair, the rules are set up to statistically favour the casino. Then again, the presence of the house edge doesn’t have to dash your hopes entirely. Chances are you’ve had great days at the casino yourself despite the inherent house edge. Yet when you fully understand how the house edge works, you minimize its effects. Continue reading this guide and our gambling experts will reveal how to make the most out of the house edge.
Understanding the House Edge
Casinos offer outstanding entertainment. Even if you don’t gamble, it’s fun to watch visitors risk it all and manage to defy the odds. Naturally like all businesses, casinos exist to make a handsome profit for the owners. This is by no means a recent development. Casino games, including baccarat, roulette, and blackjack, have been popular for more than a century and the house edge, which is dependent on the rules, hasn’t changed much.
When you play any of the more popular table games, the casino’s advantage is fairly consistent. Although this is generally true, minor rule changes can considerably alter the advantage of the house. For example, European roulette has a reasonable house edge of 2.70% but that number jumps to 5.26% when you play the American version due to the addition of an extra number on the wheel. Yet what do these numbers mean to you? The house edge percentage tells you the casino’s profit margin. For instance, when you play double exposure blackjack with a posted 0.69% house edge, the casino can expect to make a £0.69 profit for every £100 wagered on average.
With this in mind, the house edge probably won’t reflect your individual experience. You could bring £100 to the table and lose it all or you could win a few hands in a row and be up £500 fairly quickly. Due to variance in the short term, it could take thousands of blackjack hands before casinos achieve this profit margin.
Even though the casino has a mathematical upper hand over players, you can minimize this advantage when you understand the house edge.
Accounting for Variance
Variance can mean a lot of things to different people. While statisticians define it as an amount that’s equal to the square of the standard deviation, we’ll spare you the boring university statistics lesson. In practical terms, it means diverging from the average. Look at it this way. All games of chance are completely random. When you roll dice at the craps table, the laws of physics dictate where they end up. Assuming a game is fair, which it will be at a licensed casino, spinning a roulette wheel and shuffling a deck of cards are also random acts. Of course, on the internet, the RNG or random number generator brings you the same level of randomness.
With randomness in mind, you would expect certain results. For example, if you roll a single six-sided die 60 times, you would probably expect it to land on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 about 10 times each. If you try this, don’t be shocked if you get different results each time even if you shake the dice in the same random way every time. The fact is there is variance in the results. In all likelihood, your patience will wear thin long before you witness a distribution that perfectly matches the odds. Nonetheless, this is what makes it possible to win or lose in the short term, even if casinos win over time.
Finding the House Edge
The house edge is never a secret. When playing fruit machines offline, you’ll typically find the return to player or RTP % posted right on the machine. The RTP is another way of expressing the house edge. It tells you what percentage of real money wagers will be returned to players in the form of winnings. If you encounter a 97.5% RTP, just subtract this number from 100 to calculate the house edge, which would be 2.5%. Again, these pictures reflect the long-term picture and are in no way representative of your individual returns. Online slot machine players can typically find these figures listed in either the help section or within each game’s instructions.
Casino House Advantage Computation
If you are playing table games at a live casino, you can ask a member of the staff for a brochure that explains the rules, odds, and house advantage. Internet players can read the game rules on the landing page or check out the sitemap to find an RTP or house edge guide.
Why You Should Believe the House Edge
The numbers don’t lie, especially when you play at a reputable casino that’s licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. Casinos not only post the house edge so you can make informed decisions, but these results are put to the test by independent testing agencies. You can count on these auditors to test the games, software, data, random number generators, and physical gaming equipment to ensure that games are fair and the house edge is exactly as advertised. When you play online, you can usually find monthly reports indicating the house edge or RTP for individual games and the site as a whole.
Now that you thoroughly understand how the house edge works, you’ll want to use it to your advantage. The means choosing games that offer the lowest house edge and avoiding games that stack the odds against you.
Online Vs. Offline Play
Even though the internet gambling industry continues to experience explosive growth year after year, many Brits much prefer a night out at a live casino. While online and offline play both have their advantages, the overall house edge is often a little better for players on the internet. That’s because you can find obscure variations of games with more favourable house rules, especially if you play blackjack. Slot machine fans will also find a wider variety of games with superior payouts on the internet. In addition, online players have access to hundreds of sites, which makes it easy to shop around for the best games with the lowest house advantage.
If you’re a beginner, you’ll likely have an easier time winning online. Not only is there less pressure, but you can refer to game and strategy guides as you play. Don’t forget that you can reduce the house edge of many games by taking advantage of bonuses, promotions, and loyalty programs on offer.
- Baccarat 1.06%
- American Roulette 5.26%
- Classic Blackjack 0.13%
- Craps 1.36%
- Double Exposure Blackjack 0.69%
- European Roulette 2.70%
- Let it Ride 3.51%
- Jacks or Better Video Poker 0.46%
- Keno 20%-40%
- Super Fun 21 0.94%
- Sic Bo 2.78%
- Vegas Strip Blackjack 0.35%
When comparing casino games, it’s important to know that the posted house edge can be misleading. Since not all bets within a game have the same house edge, you can improve your odds by sticking to the most favourable wagers. For example, in punto banco baccarat bets on the banker have a 1.06% house edge, bets on the player have a 1.24% house edge, and bets on a tie have a 14.4%. If you bet on the banker every time, the casino’s edge will be miniscule.