The 10-second ranking:
- Video poker (9/6 Jacks or Better) – 0.46%, full-pay paytable, correct holds
- Blackjack basic strategy – ~0.5%, playing the chart at 3:2 tables
- Baccarat banker bet – 1.06% with commission, no strategy required
- French roulette even-money bets – 1.35% with la partage
- Craps pass line – 1.41%, even less with the odds bet behind it
The casino games with the lowest house edge are blackjack with basic strategy at about 0.5%, full-pay video poker at 0.46% on 9/6 Jacks or Better, the banker bet in baccarat at 1.06%, even-money bets in French roulette at 1.35% under la partage and the craps pass line at 1.41%. As always, numbers first, and the rest of this page is the detail that makes them so.
Our house edge guide already has the full explanation, so two sentences of definition: The house edge is the average percentage of each bet that a game keeps over the long run, and RTP is the same number from the other side, so a 1% edge means 99% RTP. That is all the theory this article requires.
Two honest notes in front of the table. First, a low edge means the average cost over thousands of hands, not tonight’s result – it makes your entertainment cheaper, not your winning certain. Second, each of the low numbers below is conditional: on a strategy, a paytable, a bet type or a wheel. The number without its condition is another, higher number. We attach the condition each and every time.
Lowest House Edge Casino Games – Full Ranking
Lowest edge first. The figures are the standard published figures from Wizard of Odds, the mathematical reference for house edge across every casino game.
| Game / bet | House edge | RTP | Terms – always check these |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video poker – 9/6 Jacks or Better | 0.46% | 99.54% | Only on the full-pay paytable with correct holds. Short-pay versions are well under 99%. |
| Blackjack – basic strategy | ~0.5% | ~99.5% | Assumes perfect basic strategy, multi-deck, dealer stands on soft 17, blackjack pays 3:2. Instinct play costs about 2%. |
| Baccarat – banker bet | 1.06% | 98.94% | Banker only, normal 5% commission on wins. There’s no strategy – the whole decision is which bet to make. |
| Baccarat – player bet | 1.24% | 98.76% | Second-best bet on the table. A little behind the banker, without commission. |
| French roulette – even-money bets | 1.35% | 98.65% | Red/black, odd/even, high/low only, on a French table with la partage or en prison. 2.70% for any other bet on that wheel. |
| Craps – pass line | 1.41% | 98.59% | Even lower if you place an odds bet behind it, which is paid out at true odds. |
| Casino Hold’em – ante bet | ~2.16% | ~97.84% | With optimal calls. Folding too much costs more. |
| Ultimate Texas Hold’em – ante | ~2.19% | ~97.81% | Assumes optimal raising decisions on all streets. |
| European roulette – any bet | 2.70% | 97.30% | Single zero. All bets on the wheel have the same edge, so your choice of bet changes the variance, not the maths. |
| Lightning Roulette – straight-up numbers | ~2.90% | ~97.10% | The multiplier format is paid out of the straight-up payout (35:1 becomes 29:1). Even-money bets are still 2.70%. |
| Slots – best in class | 2-4% | 96-98% | Check the RTP in the game info panel before you spin. Most titles are around 96%. |
| Three Card Poker – ante-play | ~3.37% | ~96.63% | Standard play on Q-6-4-or-better. The Pair Plus side bet costs more. |
| American roulette – any bet | 5.26% | 94.74% | Double zero, double the edge. The European wheel on the same page is always the better-value choice. |
| Progressive jackpot slots | up to 15%+ | usually 85-95% | Part of each stake goes into the jackpot pool, so base RTP is far below standard slots. You are buying the grand prize. |
| Baccarat – tie bet | 14.36% | 85.64% | Pays 8:1 and looks generous, but costs around fourteen times the banker bet per euro staked. |
| Table game side bets | 13%+ | under 87% | Perfect Pairs, 21+3, Lucky Ladies, baccarat pairs. One click adds a much more costly bet on top of a low-edge base game. Priced as extras. |
What does that spread cost in money? Run the same €100 of stakes through three games. At 0.5% the expected cost is €0.50. At 2.70% it’s €2.70. At 6% it’s €6. Same money, same evening, twelve times the price between the high and low ends of that range – and every row in the table is just another point on the same line.
Blackjack House Edge: ~0.5% With the Chart
Blackjack gets the top spot with one caveat doing all the work. The ~0.5% assumes perfect basic strategy at a multi-deck table with the dealer standing on soft 17 and blackjack paying 3:2. The same table, played by feel, costs about 2%. The difference between a 0.5% and a 2% blackjack game is the player, not the game. The chart is public mathematics and takes an evening to learn. Our basic blackjack strategy guide has the full version and you can practise it at this blackjack table at your own pace before sitting down at a live blackjack table. One number to guard: always prefer 3:2 payout tables, as 6:5 payouts add about 1.4% to the edge on their own.
Video Poker RTP: 99.54% on the Full Pay Paytable
The unsung hero. 9/6 Jacks or Better – the numbers are the full-house and flush payouts – pays back 99.54% with mathematically correct holds on every hand. Both conditions matter. An 8/5 paytable drops the return towards 97% and casual hold decisions give back more still. Video poker is the perfect game for a player who reads articles like this one: check the paytable in the game info, study the hold chart, and the game is one of the cheapest entertainments in the building. Titles available vary, so check the online casino lobby for current titles.
Baccarat House Edge: Banker Bet at 1.06%
Baccarat is the opposite proposition: no decisions, no charts, nothing to learn except which box to put your chips in. Because of the drawing rules, the banker wins just a little more often than the player, and therefore it charges a 5% commission and still comes out best at 1.06%. Player is a perfectly respectable 1.24%. That’s the whole program. The live baccarat tables use the same maths as any land-based room – and the third option on the layout, the tie bet, appears in the expensive-bets section below for good reason.
Roulette House Edge: It’s All Up to the Wheel
The edge in roulette is just the wheel and the rules, not the wager. Three tiers: French tables with la partage give back half of even-money stakes when zero hits, lowering those bets to 1.35%; European single-zero wheels charge 2.70% on everything; American double-zero wheels charge 5.26% on everything. Therefore choosing the right live roulette table is worth more than any staking pattern ever devised – the full comparison lives in our guide to odds in the casino.
Craps and Slots: The Rest of the Low-Edge List
The craps pass line is a top-tier 1.41% and the free odds bet behind it is the only casino bet paid at true odds, so the combined edge is under 1%. Slots have a wider range than any table game: the best titles are at 96-98% RTP, most are around 96%. The number is printed in every game’s info panel – reading it before spinning is the only skill.
Which Bets To Avoid: The Costly End of the Table
None of the items on the list are prohibited: all bets are priced, some just priced high. The ones to know before you click: the baccarat tie bet at 14.36%, paying 8:1 and costing fourteen times the banker bet for every euro staked; side bets across the table games – Perfect Pairs, 21+3, Lucky Ladies – at 13% and up, adding a premium-priced extra on top of a low-edge base game; the American wheel at almost twice the European price; and progressive jackpot slots, where part of every stake feeds the jackpot pool and base RTP can fall below 90%. That’s a fair purchase if you are playing for the jackpot dream – just make it knowingly.
Skill or Selection? Which Group Are You Choosing?
The ranking divides nicely into two types of games, and it’s good to know which one you’re signing up for. Blackjack and video poker reward learning: the low numbers are earned hand by hand by playing the chart, and the difference between studied play and casual play is measured in full percentage points. With baccarat, roulette and craps there is no such lever – the drawing rules and the wheel do all the work, and your only decision is which bet to make, and that is made once, before the game starts. Neither group is superior. One rewards homework. The other rewards a single good choice. Pick the relationship you actually want with the game.
Using This List
The entire article comes down to 4 habits:
- Check the RTP or edge in the game info before you play anything.
- Skip the side bets unless you are knowingly paying for the entertainment.
- Take the European or French wheel whenever both are offered.
- Match the game to your temperament – charts if you enjoy them, banker if you don’t.
Then bring a bonus. We are a licensed OlyBet casino and sportsbook provider and publish the edge, the RTP and the rules on every game. And if you are heading there first, the what is live casino guide covers how the streamed tables work.
FAQs
Which casino game has the lowest house edge?
The lowest numbers are for full-pay video poker (9/6 Jacks or Better) at 0.46%, and blackjack with basic strategy at about 0.5%. Next is the banker bet in baccarat at 1.06%, then even-money bets in French roulette at 1.35%, and the pass line in craps at 1.41%. Each of those figures depends on its condition: the correct paytable, the strategy chart or the particular bet.
What is a good house edge for a casino game?
By casino standards, below 1.5% is superb, 2-4% is normal for European roulette and the better slots, and above 5% is expensive. A benchmark on the long horizon is a cost of about €1 for every €100 staked per percentage point.
Does a low house edge mean I am more likely to win?
No – it means you spend less on average for entertainment over a lot of hands. Variance dominates short sessions, so any given evening can finish anywhere. A low edge pays for a slower, cheaper, longer game. The long-term maths still favours the house in all of the games on the list, which is why budgets matter more than rankings.
Play Responsibly
The theme of this whole page is knowing what the game costs – and even the cheapest price on the list is a cost, paid over time, by every player. Think of the low-edge games as better-value entertainment, not as income. Set yourself deposit and session limits before you start playing. And step away when it stops being fun. OlyBet’s OlySafe hub gives you all the tools you need for responsible gaming, from setting limits to self-assessment tests and guidance.
The Bottom Line
So what are the casino games with the lowest house edge? Video poker and blackjack are below 0.5% with the right strategy. Baccarat’s banker is 1.06%. French roulette is 1.35%. Craps is 1.41%. Every number is only true with its condition attached. Knowing the ranking, reading the conditions and skipping the expensive extras is the whole skill, and it turns the same bankroll into a longer, better evening.
