Which casino games have the best odds? House edge and RTP compared
The best odds come from the games with the lowest house edge, played correctly: full-pay video poker, blackjack with basic strategy and the banker bet in baccarat. None of them pays a profit over the long run.
Key takeaways
- 01The games with the best odds are the ones with the lowest house edge: full-pay Jacks or Better video poker with optimal play (99.54% return), blackjack with correct strategy (about 99.6% in published studio figures) and the baccarat banker bet (98.94%).
- 02No casino game makes money for the player over the long run. "Most profitable" in practice means the smallest expected loss per amount wagered.
- 03Bet choice inside a game matters as much as the game. In eight-deck baccarat the banker bet has a 1.06% house edge; the tie bet 14.36%.
- 04European roulette (one zero) has a 2.70% house edge; American roulette (two zeros) 5.26%, almost double.
- 05Slots sit in the middle: the median top published RTP across 1,195 slots in our database is 96.37%, a house edge of 3.63%.
The casino games with the best odds are the ones with the lowest house edge, played correctly. Full-pay Jacks or Better video poker with optimal play returns 99.54%. Blackjack with correct basic strategy is close behind: one studio publishes 99.60% and 99.62% for its blackjack games. The banker bet in baccarat returns 98.94%. No casino game is profitable for the player over the long run. The “best” game is simply the one that costs the least on average per amount wagered.
The house edge is the share of each bet that the game keeps on average; RTP is the remainder. A 1.06% house edge is a 98.94% RTP. Great Britain’s Gambling Commission describes RTP as an average achieved over a significant number of game plays, not on every play.
House edge and RTP by game
| Game and bet | House edge | RTP | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack | about 0.4% | 99.60–99.62% | Studio RNG games, eight decks, correct basic strategy, no side bets |
| Jacks or Better video poker | 0.46% | 99.54% | Full-pay 9/6 pay table, optimal strategy |
| Baccarat, banker | 1.06% | 98.94% | Eight decks, 5% commission on banker wins |
| Baccarat, player | 1.24% | 98.76% | Eight decks |
| Craps, don’t pass | 1.36% | 98.64% | Per bet made |
| Craps, pass line | 1.41% | 98.59% | Per bet made, without odds |
| European roulette | 2.70% | 97.30% | Single zero, 37 pockets |
| Slots (median in our data) | 3.63% | 96.37% | Top published RTP, 1,195 slots |
| American roulette | 5.26% | 94.74% | Double zero, 38 pockets |
| Baccarat, tie | 14.36% | 85.64% | Eight decks, tie pays 8 to 1 |
Where the figures come from:
- Blackjack and baccarat studio figures. Pragmatic Play publishes an RTP of 99.62% for Multihand Blackjack and 99.60% for American Blackjack, both eight-deck games. It lists 98.76% for its RNG Baccarat, the same as the player-bet return, and 97.30% for its single-zero Roulette.
- Bet-by-bet maths. No regulator or studio page we found publishes a per-bet breakdown for baccarat, craps or video poker. For those we use the published calculations of the Wizard of Odds, a maths reference, not a regulator. It gives 1.06%, 1.24% and 14.36% for the banker, player and tie bets in an eight-deck game. It gives 1.41% and 1.36% per pass and don’t-pass bet made. It gives a 99.54% return for full-pay Jacks or Better with optimal strategy.
- Roulette. The roulette figures are simple arithmetic you can check yourself. A single-zero wheel keeps 1/37 of stakes on average (2.70%); a double-zero wheel keeps 2/38, or 1/19 (5.26%). The Wizard of Odds shows the same figures.
- Slots. The slot figure comes from our slot database. Across 1,195 slots with a published RTP, the median top version is 96.37%. The middle 80% sit between 96.00% and 96.70%, and the full range runs from 91.97% to 98.6%.
What each bet costs you on average
The long-run cost is the house edge applied to the total amount wagered, including bets placed with earlier winnings.
| Game and bet | Average cost per $1,000 wagered |
|---|---|
| Blackjack (basic strategy, 99.60%) | $4.00 |
| Jacks or Better (9/6, optimal play) | $4.60 |
| Baccarat, banker | $10.60 |
| Craps, pass line | $14.10 |
| European roulette | $27.00 |
| Slots, median top RTP | $36.30 |
| American roulette | $52.60 |
| Baccarat, tie | $143.60 |
These are averages over a very large number of bets. A single session can finish well above or well below them. The table shows the ranking, not a prediction.
“Played correctly” is doing a lot of work
The low figures for blackjack and video poker assume correct decisions on every hand. They are theoretical maximums. The Wizard of Odds shows how small departures cost money even in video poker: a simple Jacks or Better strategy returns 99.46%, against 99.54% for optimal play. Blackjack also depends on the table’s rules. The number of decks, how the dealer plays soft 17 and the payout for a blackjack all move the edge, so the figure in the game’s rules screen is the one that counts.
Baccarat and craps need no skill, but bet choice still matters. The banker and player bets cost about the same. The tie bet costs more than thirteen times as much as the banker bet per dollar wagered. Roulette’s edge is fixed by the wheel, and choosing a single-zero game roughly halves the cost compared with a double-zero game.
Side bets are usually much worse
Side bets add bigger, rarer payouts to a low-edge game and charge for them through a much higher edge. One common eight-deck version of the blackjack Perfect Pairs side bet carries an 8.05% house edge, about twenty times the main game played correctly. Side-bet pay tables vary from game to game, so check the rules screen before assuming any figure.
Slots: where they fit
Slots have no strategy that changes the return. The RTP is set by the game and the version the casino runs. A 96.37% slot costs less than American roulette but more than every main bet above it in the table. Some studios publish several RTP versions of the same slot, so the top figure is not always the one you play. See is 96% RTP good for a slot? for the full distribution and highest paying online slots for the slots at the top of our data.
How to check the odds of the game in front of you
In Great Britain, remote technical standard RTS 3 requires information such as the RTP, house edge or probability of winning events to be easily available before you commit to gamble. In land-based casinos, the Commission requires a players’ guide to the house edge to be displayed in each casino. Elsewhere, look in the game’s rules or help screen. Compare the figure there with the ones above, and treat any game or bet without a stated return with caution.
The short answer stays the same: pick the lowest-edge bet, play it correctly and skip the side bets. Every game on this page still costs money on average. Set the amount you can afford to lose before you play.
Latest on this topic
Questions
Which casino game has the best RTP?
Among widely available games, full-pay (9/6) Jacks or Better video poker with optimal play returns 99.54%, and blackjack with correct basic strategy is close behind, at 99.60% to 99.62% in the studio figures we cite. Both figures assume correct play; mistakes lower the return.
What is the most profitable casino game for a player?
None is profitable over the long run, because every standard bet has a house edge. The least costly bets are the ones with the lowest edge, such as full-pay video poker, blackjack played correctly and the baccarat banker bet.
Is roulette or slots better odds?
European single-zero roulette (2.70% house edge) costs less on average than a typical slot (a median 3.63% edge in our database). American double-zero roulette (5.26%) costs more than most slots.
Are side bets worth it?
Usually not on odds alone. The baccarat tie bet carries a 14.36% house edge in an eight-deck game, and one common eight-deck version of the blackjack Perfect Pairs side bet carries 8.05%, both far above the main bets.
Where can I check the odds of a game I am playing?
In the game rules or information screen. In Great Britain, remote technical standard RTS 3 requires information such as the RTP, house edge or probability of winning events to be easily available before you commit to gamble.