Which Casino Games Have the Lowest House Edge and the Best Return To Player (RTP)?
Few things are as exciting for a gambler as playing casino games and slots. It does not matter if you are playing blackjack at your local brick-and-mortar venue or are spinning the roulette wheel at a Las Vegas casino online; there is something incredible about taking on the house and walking away as the winner. There are no guarantees that you will win when playing casino games; quite the opposite, but you can increase your chances of enjoying a winning session by playing casino games with a high Return To Player (RTP).
You may be new to casino games or an experienced player but do not know what RTP is or why it is important. That will change as you read through the following few hundred words. You will discover all about RTP, including how it is calculated, why you should look for games with a high RTP, and what those games are.
What Is House Edge Return To Player (RTP)
From iconic Las Vegas casinos like the Bellagio and Caesars Palace to small local venues, casinos are ultimately in business to make money. In the long term, they guarantee themselves a profit by offering games to customers that have odds stacked in their favor. This is known as the house edge.
The house edge guarantees the casino makes money. Imagine a casino that offers a coin toss game that costs $1 to play. The casino pays 1:1 each time you correctly predict the coin landing on heads or tails. It would be fair to assume you would break even in this game because the chances of winning or losing are 50:50, and the casino is paying 1:1. However, suppose the casino only pays 0.95:1 when you win. Eventually, the casino would win all your money, $0.05 at a time. That is how a house edge works.
Return To Player, or RTP for short, is usually displayed as a percentage and shows how much money a casino game or slot returns to its players for every $100 staked. A table game with a 95% RTP would, on average, return $95 to the player for every $100 wagered. Of course, you would not win $95 every time you wagered $100. Sometimes, you would lose $50, while other times, you may win $200, but play the game billions of times, and your winnings will be very close to $95 for every $100 you wagered.
There is a direct relationship between the house edge and RTP in that the numbers add up to 100%. For example, a game with a house edge of 5% will have an RTP of 95%. A different game with a 13% house edge has an RTP of 87%, and so forth. House Edge is usually used when discussing casino table games, while RTP is used when discussing slots. So, which games have the lowest house edge or the highest RTP?
Slots
Slots come in many shapes and sizes, especially regarding RTP. Some have RTPs in the mid-70s, but some boast of RTPs in the high 90s, with 99% or more possible. Live casinos often place high RTP slots near busy areas or entrances because the sound of people frequently winning attracts others to the casino and its games.
Online slots tend to have higher RTPs and lower house edges than their live counterparts because online casinos have smaller operating costs, so they can afford to win less from their customers.
Video Poker
Believe it or not, it is possible to have the edge over a casino if you play video poker. Most video poker terminals have a house advantage of between 0.5% and 5%, but the full-pay version of Deuces Wild has a 100.76% RTP. That is correct; you would have the edge over the house! Such machines hardly ever exist online but can be found in live casinos, usually in older establishments.
If you find such a machine, the only way to achieve the 100.76% RTP would be to play the game perfectly without a single mistake during your sessions, which is not an easy task.
Blackjack
Out of all of the casino card and table games, blackjack has the lowest house edge, but only if you adopt what is known as basic blackjack strategy. Following blackjack strategy to the letter can result in a house edge of a mere 0.5% or an RTP of 99.5%, which is almost as good as it gets for table games.
The number of decks used, the dealer standing on soft 17, and the payout for hitting blackjack are the three most significant factors for blackjack’s house edge and, therefore, RTP.
Baccarat
Baccarat and its variant Punto Banco also have a very low house edge. This is between 1.06 and 1.24%, depending on the types of bets you make. Betting on the banker has a 1.06% house edge, which includes the 5% commission winning bets while betting on the Player comes with a 1.24% house edge.
You should stay clear of betting on a Tie because if this pays 8-to-1 like in most casinos, the house edge soars to 9.5%, which is an RTP of 90.5%
Roulette
Fortunes have been won and lost at the roulette table, but roulette has a higher RTP and lower house edge than you would believe. European roulette, which has a single green zero, has a house edge of 2.6%. American roulette also has a green zero but also a green double zero. That additional double zero increases the house edge to 5.26%
Conclusion
Playing casino games and slots should be about having fun first and foremost, but looking at a game’s house edge or RTP is worthwhile. Playing games with a low house edge or a higher RTP can be better for players who are more risk-averse or have smaller bankrolls because those games return more money to those players’ pockets. Good luck!