Lowest house edge casino games

Which casino games have the lowest house edge?

Five bets sit at the cheap end of any UK casino lobby: blackjack with correct strategy, the banker and player bets in baccarat, the pass, don't pass and odds bets in craps, video poker played well on a full-pay table, and even-money bets on French roulette. Each of these keeps somewhere between nothing (the craps odds bet) and about 1.4% of what you stake over the long run.

The house edge is the average share of every pound wagered that the casino expects to keep. It is the mirror image of return to player (RTP): a game with a 1.06% edge has an RTP of 98.94%. Neither figure predicts a single session. They describe what happens across thousands of rounds, which is why a low-edge game can still empty a balance quickly on a bad run.

The most useful idea on this page is that edge attaches to the bet, not the table. Baccarat contains one of the cheapest bets in the building and one of the dearest. Roulette's edge changes with the wheel. Blackjack's changes with the rules printed on the felt and with the decisions you make. Our wider guide to the best odds casino games covers odds of winning a single bet; here the focus is purely on cost.

Lowest house edge casino games ranked bet by bet

The figures below are the standard published mathematical edges for common rule sets. Online versions can differ, so treat the table as a guide and confirm the live figure on the game's help screen before you play.

Two things jump out. First, the gap between the top and bottom of the list is enormous: a pound on the tie bet costs about 13 times as much, on average, as a pound on banker. Second, several of the cheapest options rely on you making the right decisions. Blackjack at 0.5% assumes basic strategy; guess your way through hands and the edge can climb past 2%.

Blackjack: the lowest edge, if the rules are right

Online blackjack is the usual answer to which game has the lowest house edge, and with good rules and correct play it is. The catch is that the headline 0.5% belongs to a particular rule set. Read the help screen for four things before you sit down.

• Blackjack pays 3:2. A £10 natural returns £15 profit. Tables paying 6:5 return £12, and that single change adds roughly 1.4 percentage points to the edge.
• Dealer stands on soft 17. Hitting soft 17 adds about 0.2 points.
• Doubling and splitting. Doubling on any two cards and doubling after a split help you; restrictions cost you.
• Number of decks. Fewer decks are slightly better for the player, though online shoes are usually reshuffled every hand anyway.

Side bets change the picture completely. Perfect Pairs, 21+3 and similar wagers are separate bets with their own pay tables, and their edges are typically several times the main game's. Our guide to blackjack side bets explains how each one is priced. The full rule list is in our blackjack rules page, and the Wizard of Odds blackjack guide (opens in a new tab) publishes the effect of each rule change.

Baccarat banker bet: low edge with no decisions

Online baccarat appeals to people who want a low edge without learning a strategy chart. The drawing rules are fixed, so you only choose where to put the chips. The banker bet wins slightly more often than the player bet, which is why the casino takes a 5% commission on banker wins; even after that, banker carries the lower edge at 1.06%.

The tie bet is the trap. At the common 8:1 payout its edge is 14.36%, and even 9:1 versions remain far more expensive than banker or player. No-commission tables are worth a careful look too: they usually pay banker wins at even money except on a particular total (often a winning six), and the edge on banker rises as a result. The Wizard of Odds baccarat page (opens in a new tab) sets out the edges for each variant.

Roulette with the lowest house edge: French beats European beats American

Roulette's edge comes from the green pockets. A European roulette wheel has 37 pockets but pays as though it had 36, giving 2.70% on every bet. An American wheel adds a double zero, lifting most bets to 5.26%.

French roulette uses the single-zero wheel and adds La Partage: when zero lands, even-money bets such as red or odd lose only half the stake. That halves the edge on those bets to 1.35%. Some tables use En Prison instead, which holds the bet for one more spin and works out at a similar cost. Only even-money bets benefit; a straight-up number on a French table still costs 2.70%.

Multiplier games such as Lightning Roulette reshape the pay table rather than lowering the edge, so check the published RTP rather than assuming standard roulette figures apply.

Craps and video poker: low edges that reward knowledge

Craps looks intimidating but its core bets are among the cheapest available. Pass line costs 1.41% and don't pass 1.36%. Once a point is set, the odds bet pays at true odds, so it carries no edge at all; the casino earns from the line bet that has to come first. The proposition bets in the middle of the layout are another story, with edges that can exceed 10% (any seven sits at 16.67%). The Wizard of Odds craps page (opens in a new tab) lists every bet.

Video poker is the one game where you can read the edge straight off the pay table. In Jacks or Better, the '9/6' version pays 9 for 1 on a full house and 6 for 1 on a flush, returning about 99.54% with perfect play. The common '8/5' version returns about 97.3%, and 7/5 or 6/5 tables cost more again. The Wizard of Odds video poker guide (opens in a new tab) publishes the return for each pay table. Strategy matters: holding the wrong cards can add several points to the edge.

High house edge bets to avoid on low-edge tables

Low-edge games almost always sit next to high-edge options. A side bet is optional, usually offers a large payout, and is priced so the casino keeps far more than on the main wager. The table below shows how the same game can contain both.

Game shows, keno and many jackpot games sit higher still, often well above table games, because part of what you stake funds big top prizes. That is not a reason never to play them, only a reason to know what you are paying for.

How much the lowest house edge games cost per hour

The edge on its own does not tell you what a session costs. The formula that does is: stake per round × rounds played × house edge = expected cost. Speed is the hidden multiplier, and it differs hugely between a live table and an automated one.

The round counts are illustrative, not measurements. The last two rows show the maximum pace UK rules allow, and few people play that fast for an hour, but they make the point: a 2.70% game played quickly can cost more than a 4% game played slowly. Expected cost is an average, too. Any single hour can finish well up or well down, and the expected value only settles in over a very large number of rounds.

Use this alongside a set gambling budget: decide the hour's cost you are happy to pay for the entertainment, then pick a stake that fits it. Our bankroll basics guide shows how to size stakes against a balance.

How to check a game's house edge at a UK casino

You do not need to rely on tables like ours. Every game at a UK-licensed casino carries a help or information screen, and that is where the operator publishes the return for the version you are playing.

1. Open the game, then tap the 'i', menu or help icon (on live tables it is often under a 'game rules' tab).
2. Find the RTP or theoretical return figure. Some games list one per bet; baccarat and craps usually do.
3. Subtract it from 100% to get the house edge: an RTP of 98.94% means a 1.06% edge.
4. Read the payout rules: 3:2 or 6:5 on blackjack, commission or no-commission on baccarat, La Partage on roulette.
5. Check any side bets separately; their RTPs are listed apart from the main bet.
6. If a bonus is active, check the bonus terms for which games count and at what rate before staking.

Typical layouts differ from studio to studio; this walkthrough of casino game help screens points to the usual spots, while game weighting explained covers why table games often contribute less towards bonus wagering.

Low house edge myths and betting systems

A few beliefs cause people to pay more than they realise.

• 'Low edge means I'll win.' It means you lose less on average. Most players of any game end up behind over enough rounds.
• 'A progression can beat the edge.' Doubling up after losses, as in the Martingale system, changes the pattern of results but not the edge on each bet. Table limits and bankroll cap the progression long before it can 'work'. Our guide to betting systems runs the numbers.
• 'The banker has been winning, so player is due.' Each hand is independent; this is the gambler's fallacy.
• 'Card counting works online.' RNG blackjack reshuffles every hand and live shoes are cut deep, so the counting advantage disappears; see card counting online.

UK rules that apply to low house edge table games

Since 17 January 2025, the Gambling Commission's game design rules cover online casino games beyond slots. For RNG table games that means at least 5 seconds per game cycle, no autoplay, no playing several games at once, and a running display of your net position and session time. The Commission's speed of play decision (opens in a new tab) sets out the 5-second minimum, and our page on table game speed rules explains how it applies in practice.

The £5 and £2 per-spin stake limits apply only to online slots, not to blackjack, roulette or baccarat; table stakes are set by each game's own limits. Other rules still apply across the board: you must be 18 or over, credit cards cannot fund gambling, and every casino must offer deposit limits. Our UK casino rules summary lists them with dates.

Where to play the lowest house edge casino games in the UK

Any UK-licensed casino can offer these games, but the rules and returns vary by table, so the steps above matter more than the brand. Check each lobby yourself; we only state which specific games a partner carries when we have verified it.

No partner currently runs a bonus designed around blackjack or baccarat. The offers shown below are general welcome deals. Coral Casino (18+, new players, terms apply) gives 100 free spins at 10p each on selected slots when you deposit with an eligible method and bet £10 on slots; accept them within 48 hours and use them within 7 days, with no wagering on spin winnings. PlayOJO (18+, new UK customers excluding Northern Ireland, terms apply) gives 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each with a first deposit of £10 or more, and winnings are paid as cash. Casumo (18+, new customers, opt-in, terms apply) matches 50% of a first deposit of £20 or more up to £100; the bonus must be wagered 10x within 7 days, bets are capped at £5 while it is active, and game restrictions apply, so check which table games count before relying on it.

Whichever site you choose, set a deposit limit first. If gambling stops feeling like entertainment, GamCare's National Gambling Helpline (opens in a new tab) is free and open 24 hours on 0808 8020 133. You can also browse every rule and guide from our guides hub.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Set a deposit limit before you play: how to set deposit limits. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.