Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time at a casino knows that the house almost always wins.
When entering a casino, everyone knows this to be true. After all, casino owners are seldom without means, and the adage "The house always wins" appears to hold water.
Although the house has a mathematically assured advantage over the long run (because to the house edge), Lady Luck still has a chance to help you win big.
It's also worth noting that the house edge on different casino games varies widely. This article will explain the concept of "house edge," as well as discuss the house edge of various games and how it is calculated.
How Much Does the Casino Win?
House advantage may be thought of as the casino's profit margin. The casino will always come out ahead owing to the inherent mathematics of the games themselves, regardless of how many players win in the short term.
Take American roulette, where the house edge often sits at 5.26 percent. This means that the casino will almost always have an advantage over you. Despite your best efforts, the house has a statistical advantage of 5.26 percent over the long run.
What does this mean, exactly? Is the casino cheating? Actually, it's not hard to find out if you put in the time and effort. The house advantage for each game is often listed on the online casino's website for all players to see.
For those who need a concrete example, consider this: if you wager $100 on a game of American Roulette, the house edge is 2.70%, or $5.26. Even if you happen to win that particular evening, the casino will still take 5.26% of the pot from the vast majority of players.
With a large enough customer base, it becomes clear how casinos make their money. This fixed rate is analogous to what gamblers pay to enter casinos.
How else do you suppose the casino can afford to pay its live dealers, maintain its cutting-edge, SSL-encrypted websites, dish out prizes in the tens of thousands, and give its owner a new Ferrari every year? So that's why they win...the house edge.
Is there a difference in the House Edge between casinos?
Both online and traditional casinos adhere to industry standards for payout percentages. If we return to the original example of American roulette, the house edge is about 5.26% worldwide, regardless of whether you play in Macau or Las Vegas.
But there are a few things that can affect this. Among these are the following:
Software It's well knowledge that different casino software providers include a house edge into their games at varying percentages. These variations are minuscule, yet a difference of just 0.05% over a long enough period of time can amount to a significant sum of money.
Variant Many casino games may be played in several different ways. For instance, there are two types of roulette: American and European. Huge gaps exist between the two. Over many hundreds or thousands of spins, the difference between the house edge of 2.7% in European Roulette and the house edge of 5.26% in American Roulette is substantial.
Bet A game's house edge may fluctuate over time. It varies with the game and the sort of wager placed. Baccarat is a game that fits this description. The house edge is 1.24% if you bet on the player, 1.06% if you bet on the banker, and 14.36% if you bet on a tie.
