The lowest house edges in the casino are craps odds bets (0%), full-pay video poker, blackjack, baccarat banker and the craps line bets, all around 1.5% or less. The highest are keno, big six and craps proposition bets at 11% to 29%. This page puts about 30 bets in order, adds a cost-per-hour estimate, and explains why the percentage is only half the story.
All house edges below are from Wizard of Odds, assume optimal or near-optimal play, and count ties against the player. Crazy Time is the exception, an estimate marked as such.
The ranked table (best to worst)
| # | Game and bet | House edge | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full-pay Deuces Wild | -0.76% | Player edge with perfect play. Rare |
| 2 | Craps, odds bets (4/10, 5/9, 6/8) | 0.00% | Only after a pass or don’t pass bet |
| 3 | Blackjack, liberal Vegas rules | 0.28% | Dealer stands soft 17, double after split, late surrender |
| 4 | Spanish 21, dealer stands soft 17 | 0.40% | Needs its own strategy |
| 5 | Video poker, 9/6 Jacks or Better | 0.46% | Perfect play assumed |
| 6 | Spanish 21, dealer hits soft 17 | 0.76% | |
| 7 | Baccarat, banker | 1.06% | Ties counted against you |
| 8 | Baccarat, player | 1.24% | |
| 9 | Craps, don’t pass / don’t come | 1.36% | |
| 10 | Craps, pass / come | 1.41% | |
| 11 | Pai Gow Poker | 1.46% | Banking half the time, house way |
| 12 | Craps, place 6 or 8 | 1.52% | |
| 13 | Ultimate Texas Hold’em, ante | 2.19% | Ante bet only; blinds and play add to total |
| 14 | Heads Up Hold’em, blind pay table 1 | 2.36% | |
| 15 | Double Down Stud | 2.67% | |
| 16 | Roulette, single zero | 2.70% | Also Lightning Roulette outside bets |
| 17 | Craps, field (3 to 1 on 12) | 2.78% | |
| 18 | Red Dog, six decks | 2.80% | |
| 19 | Casino War, go to war on ties | 2.88% | |
| 20 | Three Card Poker, ante and play | 3.37% | |
| 21 | Let It Ride | 3.51% | |
| 22 | Crazy Time, any bet (estimate) | about 3.9% | Wizard of Odds estimate |
| 23 | Craps, place 5 or 9 | 4.00% | |
| 24 | Caribbean Stud Poker | 5.22% | |
| 25 | Roulette, double zero | 5.26% | |
| 26 | Craps, field (2 to 1 on 12) | 5.56% | |
| 27 | Craps, place 4 or 10 | 6.67% | |
| 28 | Three Card Poker, Pairplus | 7.28% | |
| 29 | Craps, any craps; Big Six $1 | 11.11% | |
| 30 | Baccarat, tie | 14.36% | |
| 31 | Craps, any seven | 16.67% | |
| 32 | Keno | 25% to 29% | |
| 33 | Slot machines | 2% to 15% | Set by the operator and rarely shown |
A few notes on reading it. Ranked here by bet, not by game, because the same table can hold a 1.4% bet and a 16.7% bet side by side. Craps is the clearest case, with the line bet at the top and prop bets at the bottom. The same is true in baccarat, where tie is more than thirteen times worse than banker.
Poker-style table games list the edge against the ante, but your real wagering is more than the ante. The ranking is useful for comparison, though the cost per dollar of total action will differ.
What an hour at the table costs
The ranking above is per dollar wagered. A night out is measured in hours, so this section converts each edge into expected dollars lost per hour at three average bet sizes. The formula is the same one used above: expected loss per hour = house edge x average bet x bets resolved per hour. Nothing here is a simulation. These are long-run averages, and any single hour can finish well up or well down.
Source: Our cost-per-hour study (S4), 2026-10-09, edges from the site's house-edge fact file
See the numbers as a table
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Blackjack, liberal rules | $4.90 |
| Blackjack, 6 decks, S17 | $7.00 |
| Blackjack insurance | $9.96 |
| Craps: Pass / come | $10.58 |
| Blackjack, 6 decks, H17 | $10.85 |
| Craps: Place 6 or 8 | $11.40 |
| French roulette: Even-money with La Partage | $13.50 |
| Baccarat: Banker (5% commission) | $19.08 |
| Baccarat: Player | $22.32 |
| European roulette: Any bet | $27.00 |
| Ultimate Texas Hold'em: Ante (optimal play) | $27.38 |
| Dream Catcher (live): Number 10 | $34.20 |
| Three Card Poker: Ante & Play | $42.13 |
| Casino War: Go to war on ties | $46.80 |
| American roulette: Any bet except five-number | $52.60 |
| Blackjack side bet: 21+3 (9:1 all hands) | $56.70 |
| Video poker: Jacks or Better 9/6 (full pay), optimal play | $69.00 |
| Three Card Poker: Pair Plus | $91.00 |
| Big Six wheel: $1 symbol | $111.10 |
| Keno: Typical range | $135.00 |
| Craps: Field (2:1 on 12) | $139.00 |
| Baccarat: Player/Banker Pair (11:1) | $186.48 |
| Baccarat: Tie (pays 8:1) | $258.48 |
| Craps: Any seven | $416.75 |
| Blackjack side bet: Lucky Ladies (1000/125/19/9/4) | $432.43 |
| Slot machines: Typical range | $1,275.00 |
| Game and bet | House edge | Bets per hour | At $10 | At $25 | At $100 | Slow to fast pace, $25 bet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack, liberal rules | 0.28% | 70 | $1.96 | $4.90 | $19.60 | $3.5 to $8.4 |
| Blackjack, 6 decks, S17 | 0.4% | 70 | $2.80 | $7.00 | $28.00 | $5 to $12 |
| Blackjack insurance | 7.4% | 5 | $3.98 | $9.96 | $39.85 | $7.12 to $17.08 |
| Craps: Pass / come | 1.41% | 30 | $4.23 | $10.58 | $42.30 | $7.05 to $14.1 |
| Blackjack, 6 decks, H17 | 0.62% | 70 | $4.34 | $10.85 | $43.40 | $7.75 to $18.6 |
| Craps: Place 6 or 8 | 1.52% | 30 | $4.56 | $11.40 | $45.60 | $7.6 to $15.2 |
| French roulette: Even-money with La Partage | 1.35% | 40 | $5.40 | $13.50 | $54.00 | $8.44 to $20.25 |
| Baccarat: Banker (5% commission) | 1.06% | 72 | $7.63 | $19.08 | $76.32 | $10.6 to $26.5 |
| Baccarat: Player | 1.24% | 72 | $8.93 | $22.32 | $89.28 | $12.4 to $31 |
| European roulette: Any bet | 2.7% | 40 | $10.80 | $27.00 | $108.00 | $16.88 to $40.5 |
| Ultimate Texas Hold'em: Ante (optimal play) | 2.19% | 50 | $10.95 | $27.38 | $109.50 | $16.43 to $32.85 |
| Dream Catcher (live): Number 10 | 3.42% | 40 | $13.68 | $34.20 | $136.80 | $21.38 to $51.3 |
| Three Card Poker: Ante & Play | 3.37% | 50 | $16.85 | $42.13 | $168.50 | $25.28 to $50.55 |
| Casino War: Go to war on ties | 2.88% | 65 | $18.72 | $46.80 | $187.20 | $36 to $72 |
| American roulette: Any bet except five-number | 5.26% | 40 | $21.04 | $52.60 | $210.40 | $32.88 to $78.9 |
| Blackjack side bet: 21+3 (9:1 all hands) | 3.24% | 70 | $22.68 | $56.70 | $226.80 | $40.5 to $97.2 |
| Video poker: Jacks or Better 9/6 (full pay), optimal play | 0.46% | 600 | $27.60 | $69.00 | $276.00 | $46 to $115 |
| Three Card Poker: Pair Plus | 7.28% | 50 | $36.40 | $91.00 | $364.00 | $54.6 to $109.2 |
| Big Six wheel: $1 symbol | 11.11% | 40 | $44.44 | $111.10 | $444.40 | $69.44 to $166.65 |
| Keno: Typical range | 25% to 29% | 20 | $54.00 | $135.00 | $540.00 | $62.5 to $217.5 |
| Craps: Field (2:1 on 12) | 5.56% | 100 | $55.60 | $139.00 | $556.00 | $83.4 to $166.8 |
| Baccarat: Player/Banker Pair (11:1) | 10.36% | 72 | $74.59 | $186.48 | $745.92 | $103.6 to $259 |
| Baccarat: Tie (pays 8:1) | 14.36% | 72 | $103.39 | $258.48 | $1,033.92 | $143.6 to $359 |
| Craps: Any seven | 16.67% | 100 | $166.70 | $416.75 | $1,667.00 | $250.05 to $500.1 |
| Blackjack side bet: Lucky Ladies (1000/125/19/9/4) | 24.71% | 70 | $172.97 | $432.43 | $1,729.70 | $308.88 to $741.3 |
| Slot machines: Typical range | 2% to 15% | 600 | $510.00 | $1,275.00 | $5,100.00 | $150 to $3375 |
Slots and keno use the midpoint of their published edge range for the central figure. The pace band for those two also uses the low edge at the slow pace and the high edge at the fast pace, so it is wide.
Source: Our cost-per-hour study (S4); edges from Wizard of Odds and the site's house-edge fact file
How to read it
The bets-per-hour column is an assumption, not a measurement. No single authoritative source exists for how fast each game runs, so the study uses a central pace and a slow-to-fast band for each game. Blackjack, for instance, runs from about 50 to 120 hands an hour, from a full live table to a fast online one. The last column shows what the $25 figure becomes at the slow and fast ends of that band.
Three assumptions drive every number:
- The bet is made on every decision. Side bets are priced as if you place them on every hand, and insurance as if you take it every time it is offered.
- Blackjack assumes perfect basic strategy. Players who make strategy mistakes lose more than the blackjack rows show.
- Ante-based poker games such as Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold’em quote the edge per ante. The table treats your average bet as the ante, so the money actually on the table each hand is larger than the bet shown.
Pace matters as much as the edge. Video poker at 9/6 Jacks or Better has a 0.46% edge, yet at a $10 bet and about 600 hands an hour it costs $27.60 an hour. European roulette at 2.70% and about 40 spins an hour costs $10.80 at the same $10 bet. A low percentage applied to a lot of hands can cost more than a higher percentage applied to a few. The same logic works the other way for roulette: double-zero costs about twice what single-zero does at the same speed, simply because 2.70% becomes 5.26%.
What this does not tell you
These are expected values, not forecasts. Slots and keno edges are broad ranges, and individual machines and online titles differ and are often not disclosed. If gambling stops being something you can afford, get support.
Why edge per hand is not the whole story
Speed
Hands per hour is the multiplier. Slots and video poker deal several times faster than table games. Live roulette and baccarat are slower than the RNG versions of the same games. If you are watching your budget, a slower game at the same edge stretches the same money across more time.
Volatility
Volatility is how far results swing around the average. It does not change the long-run cost, but it changes the experience.
- Low volatility: blackjack, baccarat banker, craps line bets, even-money roulette. Results move slowly.
- High volatility: keno, slots with big top prizes, straight-up roulette, Crazy Time bonus bets, Pairplus. Most sessions lose, and a few win a lot.
A high-edge game with high volatility feels the most like a lottery ticket. A low-edge game with low volatility is the most boring and the cheapest. Neither can be beaten over time, but one costs less per hour.
The rules behind the percentage
The table’s blackjack figure of 0.28% is for good rules. Worse rules, such as paying 6 to 5 on a blackjack instead of 3 to 2, raise the edge by more than a point, which changes the ranking. Always check the rules and pay table before you assume the headline edge applies to the table in front of you.
What to play and what to avoid
This is a comparison of cost, not advice to gamble.
Better value
- Blackjack with 3 to 2 pay and decent rules, played with basic strategy.
- Baccarat banker or player, nothing else.
- Craps pass or don’t pass with odds, and nothing in the middle of the table.
- Full-pay video poker, if you know the strategy.
- Single-zero roulette over double-zero.
Poor value
- The baccarat tie, craps proposition bets, Big Six, keno.
- Side bets such as Pairplus.
- Double-zero roulette when a single-zero wheel is available.
- Any blackjack game paying 6 to 5.
In between
- Three Card Poker ante and play, Let It Ride and Caribbean Stud. They are fun, and they cost more than blackjack or baccarat.
- Slots, because the return is set by the operator and not displayed, and the range is wide.
Common mistakes
- Reading a headline edge as if it applied to every table of that game.
- Ignoring speed. A fast game at a small edge can cost more per hour than a slow one at a higher edge.
- Mixing a good bet with a bad one at the same table, such as a banker bet plus a tie bet.
- Assuming skill beats the edge. Perfect strategy only gets you to the numbers in the table.
- Confusing playing a lot of hands with a higher chance of winning. More hands means the result sits closer to the average, which is a loss.
Try it yourself
The house edge ranking tool on this site lets you sort these bets, change the bet size and hands per hour, and see the expected cost. Change the speed assumptions above to match how you play.
Whatever you play, decide the budget before the first hand, and treat the loss as the price of entertainment.
Related guides
- Do baccarat strategies work?: roadmaps, banker-only, Martingale and dragon streaks tested.
- How wagering requirements are calculated: what a bonus is really worth once the wagering is done.
- Baccarat third-card rules chart: when each side draws, with worked examples.
- Where the blackjack house edge comes from: why the casino has an edge at all and how rules move it.