How to win at a casino: the games with the lowest house edge
October 17, 2026. 5 min read.
The honest answer: over time, you don't. Almost every bet in a casino has a house edge, a small share of each bet the casino expects to keep. You can still win on a given night. What you control is how big that edge is, and how fast you pay it. Pick well and an evening of play costs a few dollars; pick badly and the same evening costs many times more.
The one number that matters
The house edge is the average share of each bet you lose over time. Your expected cost is:
house edge × amount per bet × bets per hour
So speed matters as much as the edge. A game with a small edge played very fast can cost more than a bigger edge played slowly.
The low-edge games
All figures are from Wizard of Odds (pages linked below the table) and assume you play correctly.
| Game and bet | House edge | The condition that makes it low |
|---|---|---|
| Blackjack | about 0.4% | Basic strategy and good rules: 3 to 2 blackjacks, dealer stands on soft 17 |
| Craps pass line + 3-4-5x odds | 0.37% | The odds bet has no house edge; the pass line alone is 1.41% |
| Craps don't pass + 3-4-5x odds | 0.27% | As above |
| Baccarat, banker | 1.06% | With the usual 5% commission |
| Baccarat, player | 1.24% | |
| 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker | 0.46% | Perfect strategy at five coins |
| 8/5 Bonus Poker | 0.83% | Perfect strategy at five coins |
Sources: blackjack, blackjack rule variations, craps, baccarat, Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker.
The high-edge bets
| Game and bet | House edge |
|---|---|
| Single-zero roulette | 2.70% |
| Double-zero roulette | 5.26% |
| Three Card Poker, ante and play | 3.37% |
| Baccarat tie at 8 to 1 | 14.36% |
| Keno | about 25% to 29% |
Sources: Wizard of Odds house edge table, Three Card Poker, baccarat.
Slots are harder to pin down, because casinos do not publish each machine's return. Regulators publish what the machines keep overall: in 2025, Nevada's slot machines kept 7.13% of all money played statewide, 9.09% on penny machines and 6.37% on dollar machines (Nevada Gaming Control Board, December 2025 report).
Rules change the edge
The same game can be a good or a bad bet depending on the table:
- Blackjack paying 6 to 5 instead of 3 to 2 adds about 1.39% to the house edge: from about 0.4% to about 1.8% (rule variations). Check the felt before you sit down.
- Video poker pay tables: 9/6 Jacks or Better returns 99.54% and 6/5 returns 95.00% with perfect play. Two numbers on the screen tell you which. See 9/6 vs 6/5.
- Craps odds: the more odds the table allows, the lower your combined edge, because the odds bet itself is paid at true odds.
What an hour costs
Edge × bet × pace, using hands per hour from a casino comp table published by Wizard of Odds and 600 hands an hour for video poker. Real pace varies a lot with the number of players.
| Game | Bet | Hands per hour | Cost per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack, basic strategy, 3 to 2 | $10 | 70 | $3.01 |
| Blackjack paying 6 to 5 | $10 | 70 | $12.74 |
| Craps, pass line only | $10 | 48 | $6.77 |
| Baccarat, banker | $10 | 72 | $7.63 |
| Single-zero roulette | $10 | 35 | $9.45 |
| Double-zero roulette | $10 | 38 | $19.99 |
| 9/6 Jacks or Better, perfect play | $1.25 | 600 | $3.42 |
| 6/5 Jacks or Better, perfect play | $1.25 | 600 | $37.53 |
These assume correct play. Mistakes in blackjack or video poker raise the cost.
Can anyone actually beat the casino?
A few people, in narrow ways:
- Card counting in blackjack can give a skilled player an edge of only about 0.5% to 1.5%, and casinos respond by reshuffling, changing the conditions or barring counters (Wizard of Odds).
- A few video poker games return more than 100% with perfect play: Full Pay Deuces Wild at 100.76% and 10/7 Double Bonus at 100.17%. They are very rare today, and the margin is tiny compared with the swings. See how to win at video poker.
For everyone else, there is no system, betting pattern or "hot machine" that beats a house edge. Raising your bet after a loss changes how much you risk, not the edge.
Comps are not free money
Casinos return part of your expected loss as comps: rooms, meals, free play. Trade figures put the typical share around a fifth of the casino's expected win, with a wide range (CDC Gaming Reports, 2023). Comps soften the cost; they do not reverse it. If you are playing longer to earn a comp, you are buying it at full price.
The short version
- Pick low-edge games and the best rules: 3-to-2 blackjack, the pass line with odds, the banker bet, 9/6 video poker.
- Learn the correct strategy for the game you play.
- Slow down. Fewer bets per hour means a lower hourly cost.
- Set a budget for the night and treat it as the price of the entertainment.
If video poker is your game, learn the strategy before you play for money. Perfect Hold teaches the best hold on every Jacks or Better hand, and the strategy calculator checks any hand for free.
Questions
What casino game has the best odds?
Among common games, blackjack with basic strategy (about 0.4% house edge on good rules), the craps pass line with free odds, baccarat's banker bet (1.06%) and 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker with perfect play (0.46%).
Can you beat the casino?
Over time, almost never. Card counting can give a small edge in blackjack, and a few rare video poker games pay over 100% with perfect play, but casinos limit both. For nearly everyone, the realistic goal is to lose less.
What casino games should you avoid?
Keno (house edges around 25% to 29%), the baccarat tie bet at 8 to 1 (14.36%), and blackjack tables that pay 6 to 5 instead of 3 to 2.
Practise every hand with Perfect Hold
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