Casino Games With the Best Odds of Winning – Our Experts’ Guide for 2024

While the house always wins, choosing the right casino games with the best odds can definitely help improve your chances. In this article, we explore which games give you the best odds, which variants to choose, and other practical tips to do better.

List of Casino Games With the Best Odds

All online casino games—be they luck-based, skill-based, or a hybrid—have an inherent house edge. This refers to the mathematical advantage the casino has over its players or, in other words, the estimated profit margin the house expects to gain from all taken bets on that particular game. As a rule of thumb, the higher the house edge, the harder it is for the player to win over the long-term.

#1. Odds of Winning at Craps – Approx. 50%

Craps is another game that’s purely based on chance. Players bet on the outcome of a roll of dice, either wagering against each other in street craps or against the house in casino craps. We should note that craps is one of the casino card games with the best odds, as the house edge is generally hovers at just around 1%.

The house edge in craps refers to the probability of the house winning a bet. Players may change the house edge based on a spread of bets, but each wager also has its individual edge. Because game results are generated randomly (e.g. through the RNG technology when playing online), the edge doesn’t change based on the previous rolls of dice, or the bets placed by the other players.

In simpler words, the house edge is the difference between the true odds of the craps bet and what the casino actually pays out, because they also take their cut as profit. For example, let’s say the true odds of rolling a seven are 5:1. That means if you wagered $10 and you were correct, you’d get $50 in return. However, despite the true odds, the casino also applies a house edge, so the payout can drop to 4:1.

To go further, if the house edge for a particular craps variation is 1.5%, it means the house has a 51.5% chance of winning. In terms of specific bets, you should always go for Pass Line/Come, Don’t Pass/Don’t Come, and Buy/Lay to benefit from the highest chances to win. Odds wagers can reduce the house edge to 0%.

To clarify matters even further, we’ve compiled an explanatory table to see the true odds of the most important craps bets vs what the casino actually pays:

If you’re a beginner to the game, we also urge you to explore our ultimate guide to playing craps online.

#2. Odds of Winning at Roulette – 46.37%-48.6% Depending on the Variant

As opposed to blackjack, roulette is purely a luck-based game, meaning that there’s less wiggle room for the player’s actions to affect the result. However, discernment can definitely help you, considering that some roulette variations favour the house more than the player. Factors that affect the house edge are the presence of special betting rules and how many numbered pockets there are on the wheel.

For instance, European Roulette has a 2.70% house edge, because the wheel has 37 numbered pockets (1-36 and a single 0). On the other hand, American roulette has a higher house edge of 5.26%, because it has 38 slots (1-37, a single 0 and a double 0). Furthermore, although European and French roulette have the same wheel layout, the latter offers a lower house edge of 1.35% when employing special bets (La Partage & En Prison).

Aside from the inherent advantage of the casino, your odds to win at roulette also depend on the bet type chosen. Outside bets (red/black, odd/even, high/low) offer the best chances of winning in percentage terms – 48.65% for European and 47.37% for American roulette. Here’s a more accurate representation of the expected payouts, depending on the roulette variation and the wager type:

#3. Odds of Winning at Baccarat – 44.6%

Baccarat is a comparing card game between the hands of the player and the banker’s. Although some strategies like the Martingale or Fibonacci can be successfully employed on your next visit to the best-real money baccarat sites, ultimately, luck is the primary deciding factor. Each round can end in three outcomes: player has the highest score, banker wins, or a tie.

The house edge at baccarat varies, because it’s different on each bet, as such:

As you can see, betting on a tie is not advised. In fact, most players actively avoid it. Furthermore, if there’s a tie and no one’s bet on this outcome, the hand is considered a push, with no wins or losses.

If you don’t take the tie into consideration, the banker’s hand wins 51% of the time, so it’s wise to always use this wager.

#4. Odds of Winning at Blackjack – 42.22%

Blackjack is one of the most popular table games in the world. It’s also a hybrid game, meaning it involves both elements of skill and luck. While there’s no way to cheat the RNG algorithm or know in advance which cards will be dealt, you can manipulate other variables of the game, like employing card counting.

This is important to mention, because the player’s level of knowledge and experience can alter the actual house edge. In general, most games available on the best real-money blackjack sites offer a house edge of only 1%-2%, which is incredibly low. This applies to both online blackjack and live-dealer formats. However, here is where things get a bit more nuanced.

The blackjack odds tell you two important things: your chances of winning a particular bet and how much you can expect to gain from it. In blackjack, the casino’s statistical advantage stems from the player losing when both he and the dealer bust.

When you use basic blackjack strategy, you can expect a 1% edge. However, in blackjack games that pay 6-to=5 instead of 3-to-2, the house edge increases to 1.4%. These are usually the tables with low minimum limits. The same applies if you make any deviations from basic strategy.

Another factor that significantly affects house edge is the presence of special betting rules for the dealer. This will be mentioned in the game variation you’re playing. In some, if the dealer hits on soft 17, the house edge will increase by 0.22%. In others, if the dealer stands on soft 17, the house edge will decrease by the same percentage amount.

Another final point to consider is the number of decks used in the game. In general, the fewer decks there are, the lower the house edge. When there are fewer decks in place, the odds for the player to draw an ace are higher. There’s also a decreased likelihood for a blackjack-blackjack push to occur.

To conclude, the chances of winning at blackjack can be as high as 42.22%, while the odds of losing are around 49.10%. However, remember that this doesn’t mean the remaining 57.78% is automatically collected by the house, because the third possibility of a push or tie still exists. There is an 8.48% chance for a blackjack game to end in a push.

Casino Games With the Lowest Odds of Winning

With certain casino games, the odds are stacked against the player and greatly favour the house. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t choose them at all, but it’s good to be conscious of the factors that play into it.

Depending on the title, odds may be influenced by the time spent by the player in that particular game, the total amounts wagered, skill level, understanding, and proper application of strategies, the number of participants, and/or card decks.

Odds of Winning at Poker – 25%

The poker odds are essentially the probability to win or lose, depending on the strength of your hand and the other opponents at the table. Because it’s a skill-based game, any expressed house edge can be alleviated if you understand advanced strategies, master the psychology of the game, and know when to perform specific actions (e.g. fold, call, or bluff).

The payout ratio is different for every poker variation and hand. For example, at Casino Hold ‘Em, a Royal Flush pays 100:1, while a Straight or Less pays 1:1. Advanced players sometimes use poker odds calculators or simulators, which estimate the likelihood of certain events occurring in the hand.

In general, the odds become better the longer you stay in the game. For example, at the Pre-flop stage, you have an 87.86% chance, while the opponent only has a 11.66% chance.

Any poker player must also understand pot odds, or your chances of winning the pot. To calculate it, we use a simple mathematical formula, namely:

Pot Odds = Pot Size:Bet Size.

If your opponent’s just bet $10 into a $10 pot on the flop, the pot odds are 20:10 (or 2:1). In general, if you have higher equity than the pot odds, there’s a high chance you’ll make a good call. If it’s lower, you’ll be making a bad call.

To recap, in this case, equity refers to what you think your rightful share of the pot is, based on the chance of winning the current hand. So, if you have $100 in the pot and a 50% chance of winning the hand, the equity is $50.

Keeping all of the above in mind, if the opponent bets half the pot, you must have the best hand at least 25% of the time to make a profitable call.

In addition, you should also have a good grasp of the probability of being dealt certain hands or making certain combos at different stages of the game. In this respect, our table should provide some guidance.

Odds of Winning at Slots – Up To 1 in 34,000,000

Although they are the most popular titles worldwide and a staple of the top online casinos, slots are among the hardest to beat.

Online slots are the digital equivalents of the vintage one-armed-bandits, meaning that results are generated through a distinct algorithm, the RNG technology. No matter what so-called experts tell you, there is no way to cheat the algorithm, and each spin outcome is independent of the previous one.

There are notable differences in house edge when playing at land-based vs online casinos, as well. In physical establishments, the RTP of slots hovers around 90%, resulting in a house edge of 10%. When playing online, the average is 95% for classic slots (e.g. fruits & bells, Egyptian), and up to 97% for newer releases.

You should also keep in mind that progressive jackpot slots have lower RTPs and a higher house edge on average. That’s because the casino needs to also protect itself financially in the case of a big win. In addition, a fraction of every bet placed by the players in the network finances the total pot. In certain situations, using the maximum bet will give you better chances of hitting the big prize, but this isn’t a fixed rule for all games.

As such, your odds of winning at slots greatly depend on all of these variables, and they range between 1 in 5,000 to 1 in 34 million.

It’s also important to understand RTP and how that relates to the odds. RTP stands for return-to-player, and it refers to the total of all wagered bets that returns to the player as profit, expressed as a percentage. However, here is where most gamblers get it wrong.

RTP is an estimation obtained after millions of spin simulations, and short-term results vary. So, if a slot has an RTP of 95% and you wager $100, you can expect $95 back only if you play for longer periods of time, not on every single session, while the house is guaranteed to retain the $5 difference. Hence… the house always wins!

Casino Games with the Best Odds – Our Verdict

In the online gambling sphere, the final game outcomes are usually dictated by luck, be that the result of a slot spin or a dice throw, with some variables influenced by skill and experience. We hope our breakdown of the casino games with the best odds for the player has helped you narrow your search and improve your chances!

Our Sources

1. The House Edge and the Basic Strategy of Blackjack – This paper by Xinyi Cai outlined the effects of the number of cards used, basic strategy, and other key factors on the house edge at blackjack.
2. Volatility, House Edge and Prize Structure of Gambling Games – This study analysed how volatility and house edge affect the frequency of long-term and short-term winners at various casino games.
3. Pushing the Limits of Increased Casino Advantage on Slots: An Examination of Performance Effects and Customer Reactions – In this paper, researchers Lucas and Spilde looked into the effects of installing identical games with different stakes on player participation.
4. House-edge information and a volatility warning lead to reduced gambling expenditure: Potential improvements to return-to-player percentages – This research Philip Newall, Christopher Byrne, Alex Russell, and Matthew Rockloff looked at the importance of stating the house edge for slots and adding a “volatility warning”, alongside RTP, to help players understand the long-term statistical implications of playing.