Which Casino Game Has the Best Odds?

If you ever went to a casino or even googled online casinos, you probably noticed that there are plenty of different games available – and while there’s nothing wrong with engaging in random ones when you are playing for free or when the stakes aren’t high, it’s always best to make sure that the game you are playing has quite good odds when real money is involved.

Now, don’t be fooled – no casino game has great odds. There’s a reason why some people say that “the house always wins” – all casino games are designed to give the house bigger chances of winning. However, there are some in which the odds are more favorable than in others. What are those? Well, keep on reading if you want to find out.

Blackjack

ODDS: 49%

Blackjack is probably one of the most popular casino games in the world (if not the most popular!). Also known as Twenty-One, the game dates back to 18th century France, where it was called Vingt-et-Un, standing for 21 in French. It gained popularity during World War I and is now one of the most commonly played casino games in the world. Most casinos, both online and traditional, offer blackjack games to their customers.

The goal of the game is to beat the dealer by getting as close to 21 as possible without going over it. Contrary to most casino games, in blackjack, the player does not compete against other players – only against the dealer.

Once all the players have placed their bets, the dealer gives each participant one card face up to them, and one face up to themselves. The next round is dealt face up to the players, and face down for the dealer. This means that the players receive two cards face up, and the dealer receives one card face up and one face down.

If the player’s two cards are an ace and a picture card or a 10, they have a so-called natural or ‘blackjack.’ If a player has a natural and the dealer doesn’t, the dealer gives the player 1,5 times as much as they bet. If the dealer has a natural and the players don’t, they collect the players’ bets. If both one of the players and the dealer have naturals, then the player takes back their chips.

The player to the left is the first one to go, and they need to decide whether they want to hit (ask for another card) or stand (not ask for another card). Once all the players are served, the dealer’s card that was turned face down is turned up. If the total is 17 or more, the dealer must stand. If the total is lower, they need to take a card. The dealer has to keep taking cards until the total exceeds 17.

The odds of winning in blackjack are quite good, we would say. Since both the players and the dealer rely on luck, the odds are pretty even – in most casinos, the difference between the dealer’s and player’s odds are one or two percent.

Craps

ODDS: Approximately 50/50

Many people are intimidated by craps because of the terminology used in the game, making them hesitant to start playing. However, it is not as hard as it looks – and the fact that it has amazing odds (as compared to some other casino games) makes it all the more worth trying.

Craps is a casino game played with dice. One person acts as a shooter, and rolls the dice, while the others bet on the outcome of the roll. The first roll is called ‘coming out’ – the shooter wins if the dice lands on 7 or 11 and gets to roll again (this is also called a natural). If the dice forms 2, 3, or 12, the shooter loses but still can roll the dice again.

If the shooter rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, they have to roll the dice again – they will win if the number they hit is the same as before (it can be a different combination). If they roll a seven, they get ‘seven-ed out,’ meaning that they lose and the betting round ends.

Craps has a few betting rules.

The first thing you can bet on is ‘Pass Line’ or ‘Don’t Pass Line’. With the first one, you bet that the shooter will win by rolling out a natural or by winning the point before seven-ing out. With the second, you are betting on the exact opposite – that the shooter loses. If 12 is rolled out, you don’t lose nor win. Remember that you can make these bets before a point is established on the table, not after. Other bets that you can make in this casino game are the ‘Come’ and ‘Don’t Come’ bets.

There are also quite a few proposition bets that you can choose from – those are one-roll bets that you can make during any roll. Examples include Aces (the shooter rolls a 2), Any Seven (the shooter rolls a 7), or Boxcars (the shooter rolls a 12).

Roulette

ODDS: Approximately 50/50

Just like blackjack, roulette is a casino game that can be dated back to France in the late 1700s. During the 20th century, its popularity spread worldwide – today, it is very difficult to find a casino that doesn’t have at least one roulette table (or roulette game, if we’re talking about online casinos).

The general rules of this casino game are very simple – the croupier, which is a name given to the roulette dealer, spins the wheel, and the ball falls on one of the numbers on it. There are 38 numbers on it – those between 1 and 36 are either black or red, and the zero (and double zero depending on the version you are playing) are green.

There are several ways in which you can bet in roulette – two of the most common bet types being inside bets and outside bets.

Inside bets are made on the numbered section of the roulette table. They usually have lower odds, but higher payouts. Examples of inside bets include betting on a number on the board, betting on two numbers sitting next to each other, or betting on all three numbers in one row.

The outside bets are placed on the options found around the outside of the board. Contrary to inside bets, those usually have higher odds, but lower payouts. Examples of outside bets include betting on whether the ball will land on a black or red number, betting on whether the ball will land on an even or odd number, or betting on whether the ball will land on a specific group of numbers (e.g., 1 to 18).

Although there are plenty of variations of the game, the main three ones are American, European, and French.

The American version of roulette can be distinguished by the fact that aside from a zero on the wheel, there’s also a double zero. Because of this, the odds of winning are lower than in the other two versions, as the house edge of it is 5.26%.

In the European version, there’s only one zero which, as we already established, influences the odds of winning. The house edge here is 2.7%.

Finally, we have the French version. We know that it might seem a little intimidating at first (especially for new players) because of the French terms, but it’s actually the most favorable one out of the three, as the house edge is only 1.35%.

The game features two rules – ‘la partage’ and ‘en prison’. The first one means that the players who bet on an even-money bet will receive half of their stake back if the ball lands in the zero slot. The second one, on the other hand, means that half of the stake is left on the table (it is put ‘in prison’) for the next bet, and not returned to the player.

Poker

We decided to include poker because the main thing that determines what your odds of winning are are your skills – so, if you know how to play your cards right, you can win a pretty penny.

Something that should also be mentioned when talking about odds in poker, is video poker. Video poker has a payback percentage between 97 and 99 percent, which, if we can be honest, is very good. For comparison, slot machines usually have a payback percentage between 70 and 90 percent. Also, generally speaking, the house edge in video poker ranges from 5% to 0.5% or less (in some cases, it is even negative).

Which Casino Games You Should Avoid?

As we already established, there are casino games that are more favorable to the players than others. Similarly, there are some that you should simply stay away from if you don’t want to lose too much money.

Traditional slot machines can be a good example, although it actually depends on what kind of slots you are playing. The odds of each game are printed on the side of the slot machine so be sure to read them before you select a slots game to play. On average, however, the odds of winning in a slot game are 1 in 49,836,032.

The situation looks a lot better when it comes to online slots – the RTP, which stands for Return to Player, is often very high (between 95 and 100 percent), meaning that a person playing can expect to win even 100% of what they bet back.

Another casino game that you should try to stay away from is Big Six Wheel, sometimes known as a Wheel of Fortune. The odds of winning this game are between 26 and 39 percent.

The Bottom Line

Nowadays, casinos are full of games of all types – it doesn’t matter if it’s an online casino or a brick-and-mortar one. Among all of them, it is easy to become lost and spend money on the wrong casino games, which can have a sad ending – especially when real money is involved.

If you want to win real money, you need to know which casino games you should participate in, and from which it’s better to stay away. We hope that after reading this article, you’ll have a better understanding of what games fall into which category.

Just keep in mind that even if the odds are good, it doesn’t mean that you will win. Because of this, you need to gamble responsibly – no one is denying you a couple of poker games here and there, but make sure you don’t go overboard. Good luck!