Top 5 Casino Lowest House Edge Games & Best Strategies To Win

19th Sep 2016

Which Casino Game Has The Lowest House Edge

 

The 5 lowest house edge casino games are 1) Video Poker 2) Craps 3) Blackjack 4) Baccarat 5) Roulette. 

(Source: www.casinouk.com)

I explained key bonus strategies of the 3 most popular casino games (Blackjack, Roulette & Slots) in Win 3 Most Popular Casino Games Online Risk-Free.

However, these most popular casino games are not the best house edge games for the players. 

The left end “Victorious” is a slot game in which RTP (Return To Player) is around 96.9%. RTP % is just the flip side of the house edge, meaning 3.2% (100% – 96.8%) is a house edge.

RTP of 96.80% means for every £100 wagered the slot will pay out £96.80. It is pretty good among all slots based on the standard evaluation of;

Superb: 98% < / Excellent: 97% – 98% / Great 95% – 97% / Acceptable 93% – 95% / Low: > 93%

Anyhow, the above image shows 4 table games of Roulette, Baccarat, Blackjack & Craps are less house advantage than Slot as the most popular machine game.

 

 

Why Does Casino Game with Lowest House Edge Matter?

 

As we explain in Casino Bonus Hunting Guide – 7 Key Tactics, we can’t beat the casino in long run because of the in-built house edge. Don’t get me wrong, I said it long-term.

In the short term, you may win because of the variance but theoretically, it’s impossible to win in the long run.

The only exception is the case you use the casino bonus with the Advantage Play method which doesn’t count on luck but solely relies on mathematical advantage expressed in positive EV (Expected Value).

In order to maximize EV, you need to play the lowest house advantage casino game namely the lowest house edge games. 

For full details, please take a look at Casino Bonus Strategy – How To Beat Online Casino With Expected Value Betting. 

In short, using the bonus and selecting the lowest house edge games is probably the best & surest way for ordinary people to beat the online casino constantly.

 

Video Poker – The Lowest House Edge Game in Casino

 

As seen from the previous image, surprisingly, the lowest house edge game is a Machine game, Video Poker which is, in fact, the only negative house edge game where players can have an advantage. In other words, if you keep playing video poker you will theoretically win without fail in the long term.

Video poker is followed by Craps, Blackjack & Baccarat.

 

EV Calculation

 

So, does a few % really matter? How much does it affect our profitability when extracting Casino Bonus? Let’s see the numbers in EV (Expected Value) as usual.

The EV is calculated with the following formula;

EV = Bonus (£) – (WR Amounts (£) x House Edge (%))

Let’s use the example of Gala Casino’s offer of;

Deposit £20 get £80 free with 20 times (ag. Deposit + Bonus) WR (*Wager Requirement)

Slot Case

EV = £80 – (£2,000) x 3.2% = £16

Video Poker

EV = £80 – (£2,000) x -0.7% = £94

Wow, you see how important to select the lowest house edge game which significantly impacts your expected profitability.

* WR, the wagering requirement is a multiplier representing the number of times you need to play through a bonus (or sometimes bonus + deposit) before you can withdraw any winnings related to the bonus.

Caution – Restriction on the games for WR

However, unfortunately, the above Gala offer excludes Poker games but other low-house edge games such as Craps or Baccarat are permitted although the contribution of WR is smaller than slot but bigger than Blackjack.

So, again it’s a good reminder that you need to check T&C carefully before taking any offer.

Nevertheless, we feel it’s very important for all our readers to know the lowest house edge games tactics other than Blackjack which is quite often excluded from WR-qualified games (besides, we cover Blackjack tactics in Win 3 Most Popular Casino Games Online Risk-Free).

 
 
 

3 Lowest House Edge Games Strategies

 

Now, let’s go into the specific tactics of the 3 Lowest House Edge Games.

BTW, our tactics can perfectly apply to Cryptocurrencies casinos that have been booming particularly spurred by Provably Fair Bitcoin Games. The below guides will ensure your success in the crypto casinos;

Besides, if you’re interested in offshore casinos, check World Best Offshore Betting Sites Offer (all sites listed in the guide provide both casino & sportsbook), just FYI. 

I start up with Video Poker as the lowest house edge though, as seen from the above Gala Casino case, some casinos don’t allow you to use Video Poker to progress WR, therefore don’t omit the Craps & Baccarat.

 

1) Video Poker Strategy

 

Video Poker Key Direction

There are many video pokers you can choose when you go into Poker Lobby as below;

The most popular Video Poker game is “Jacks or Better” or “Bonus” related Poker”.

But when it comes to the lowest house edge, Deuces Wild is the winner. If you use the optimal strategy on Deuces Wild, the house edge goes in negative with -0.7%, in other words, players have an edge over the casino.

In order to aim at this lowest edge, you need to select Full Pay Deuces Wild Video Poker (“Full Pay” means the top payout machine while the short pay” game is a decreased payout.) Pinnacle Video Poker odds & strategy summarized the video poker house edge as follows;

Video Poker Playing Tactics

So, you need to use the optimal strategy based on the initial five-card hand. The basic Deuce Wild Poker rule first;

  • In order to win you need at least 3 of a kind. This is because all four 2’s in the deck are wild cards. Given the condition, you will need a different strategy than a video poker machine without wild cards.
  • How does the Deuce “2” work in the game? As seen from the below image, when you get “2” in your hand, the machine automatically suggests “Hold” together with the other cards that give you more pay. In this case, 2 x Queen (One Pair) thus combining 1 x “2” wild cards you already have 3 of a kind (, means you already win);
  • If you want to follow the machine’s suggestion, then just Draw, the result could be;
  • However, the machine doesn’t always suggest and even if it does it is not necessarily designed to achieve the lowest edge. Therefore it’s very important to ensure you follow the optimal strategy.

Video Poker Optimal Strategy

Let me quote the instruction of the Simplified Optimal Strategy introduced in The Wizard of Odds which I think is easy to follow & remember as follows;

The following strategy is my “simple strategy” for deuces wild video poker. Using the strategy on a full pay machine will result in an expected return of 100.71%. Compared to the optimal strategy return of 100.76%, mistakes in the simple strategy will cost 0.05%, or one total bet every 1869 hands. To use the strategy look up all viable ways to play an initial hand on the following list and elect that which is highest on the list.

4 deuces

  1. 4 deuces

3 deuces

  1. Pat royal flush
  2. 3 deuces only

2 deuces

  1. Any pat four of a kind or higher
  2. 4 to a royal flush
  3. 4 to a straight flush with 2 consecutive singletons, 6-7 or higher
  4. 2 deuces only

1 deuce

  1. Any pat four of a kind or higher
  2. 4 to a royal flush
  3. Full house
  4. 4 to a straight flush with 3 consecutive singletons, 5-7 or higher
  5. 3 of a kind, straight, or flush
  6. All other 4 to a straight flush
  7. 3 to a royal flush
  8. 3 to a straight flush with 2 consecutive singletons, 6-7 or higher deuce only

0 deuces

  1. 4,5 to a royal flush
  2. Made three of a kind to straight flush
  3. 4 to a straight flush
  4. 3 to a royal flush
  5. Pair
  6. 4 to a flush
  7. 4 to an outside straight
  8. 3 to a straight flush
  9. 4 to an inside straight, except missing deuce
  10. 2 to a royal flush, J,Q high

Terms:

Outside straight: An open ended straight that can be completed at either end, such as the cards 7,8,9,10.

Inside straight: A straight with a missing inside card, such as the cards 6,7,9,10. In addition A,2,3,4 and J,Q,K,A also count as inside straights because they are at an extreme end.

Any hand that does not appear on the above lists should never be played. Most notably a two pair, keeping a single pair has a higher expected value.

Example: Suppose you have the following hand. 

The top two plays are (1) keep the pat flush, and (2) keep the 4 to a straight flush. The 4 to a straight flush consists of 3 consecutive singletons with a range of 5-7 or greater. This appears higher on the list than a pat flush,and is thus the better play.

(Source; The Wizard of Odds)

BTW, in any of the video poker games, you can expand your hands often up to 10 like below; 

You may get such a good hand like below; 

You hold all your cards then; 

Jacks or Better Video Poker Strategy

I’m sure most of the casino sites offer Deuce Wild games. However, just in case it’s not available, then Jacks or Better (House Edge is 0.46% in Full Pay) is probably the one you don’t miss in any online casinos.

Therefore I also give you its optimal strategy that is simpler (or fewer choices) than Deuce Wild as follows;

If you have been dealt four-of-a-kind, straight flush, or royal flush then hold all. Otherwise, make the most of the cards contained in your hand by using the following priorities:

(Source; Luckyladygames.com)

In case you want to try real poker rooms online, you need “Best Crypto Poker Sites – Latest Soft List to Prey Fishes” to beat the weak players hard.

 

 

2) Craps Strategy

 

Craps Key Direction

Unlike the other casino games, Craps doesn’t have many game variations to select but just a standard version like the below;

If you’re new to Craps, read How To Play first carefully because the betting method is the optimal strategy.

The best way you understand what it does mean is by reviewing the below table that indicates the difference in the house edge based on the betting method;

(Source: The Wizard of Odds)

The centre column % is a house edge while the right end column number shows standard deviation. Simply put, the optimal strategy is choosing the ones with the lowest combination of house edge & standard deviation. which are:

  • Odds Bet (0%)
  • Pass / Come Bet (1.41%)
  • Don’t Pass / Don’t Come Bet (1.36%)

Craps Play Tactics

In a nutshell, you should not make any other bets than the above 3 bets. These 3 bets are the lowest house edge among all Craps bets, and many other bets are extremely high house edges.

So we can interpret this as that Casino gets profits from these high house edge bets and generously redistribute the profits to those who bet the above 3 bets.

Having said,

  • Come Out Roll – Always Bet on Pass Line;
  • When it goes into the Series after establishing the Point–Place Odds Bets (to the maximum if you want);

Alternatively,

  • Come Out Role – Bet Don’t Pass which is a slightly lower house edge but can’t place odds bet (assuming you play online you don’t have to care for the Taboo betting on Dark Side which provokes other player’s antipathy by expecting the shooter to lose);
  • Just Keep the Don’t Pass bet after the shooter establishes Point;

These are the simplest very basic tactics that make your result as close to the lowest house edge of Craps as possible (for those who want to learn more tactics, go craps for money introduces top 5 craps strategies).

Just in case, if you don’t follow the logic of the original Craps house edge for each bet and the above tactics, just look at the below probability of dice number combination; 

(Source: Casinator.com)

Remember the number “7” has the largest probability, and there are four ways to throw craps (2,3,12) and eight ways to throw winners (7,11). That means that players have an advantage on the come-out roll.

This is compensated after the point number is thrown as it is the casino that has the edge. It is the basic principle behind all the above logic.

Craps Key Note

Casino’s principle is the higher the real odds the larger the House’s markup, which is clearly observed in the Craps house edge table.

Never be tempted by the big payout like “Any 7” that gives the house a massive 16.67% advantage.  The worst thing you can do in Craps is to make “Big Round”, Hard Way, or Field bets.

Punters who bet on individual numbers are the big moneymaker for casinos, and you as a smart punter should focus on the simple & boring best strategy that yet gives you the biggest return in the end.

If you want to try Craps in the best online casinos, check “World Best Offshore Betting Sites Offers” which is based on sportsbook criteria but they are all-in-one sites including casinos & poker.

 

 

3) Baccarat Strategy

 

Baccarat Key Direction

Baccarat is probably the simplest casino game; 

This is the game of Banker vs Player (not you, online Baccarat both are done by computer) and what you do is only betting.

You have only 3 main bets in Baccarat, you can either bet on the “Player” square, the”‘Banker” square, or on a tie.

Here are the odds of the Player and Banker winning and the tie:

  • Banker: 44.615% – Payout 0.95-to-1 (5% is a Casino Commission)
  • Player: 45.843% – Payout 1-to-1
  • Tie: 9.543% – Payout 8-to-1

Well, actually you don’t have to be bothered by all these payout & odds, etc. all you need to know is the final House Edge for each case.

Bacarat Casino Commission

However, the only point you keep in mind when selecting the Baccarat game is the Commission Casino deducts for Banker Bet Win.

The absolute standard is 5%, and the common house edge publicized is based on this 5%. However, occasionally you can find slightly lower commissions like 4% or temporarily lowered during the promotion period if you are lucky enough to find such Baccarat you should select it.

Baccarat Play Tactics

Since you are not a game player, there is no particular best game strategy but simple Do & Don’t bet instruction as an optimal strategy based on the house edge on each bet.

See the house edge below;

(Source: The Wizard of Odds)

Having seen the odds, the Do & Don’t are;

Don’t

Let’s start Don’t first. It’s absolutely clear to forget about the Tie bet. The tie will happen approximately one in 11 times, and the payout is 8-to-1 (sometimes with player/banker bets remaining for the next hand), which will result in a horrible house edge of nearly 15%.

Do

Always bet on Banker since the Banker’s house edge of 1.06% is better than the Player’s house edge of 1.24%. Simple as that; 

So, try to find a lower commission game and keep betting on Banker, that’s it.

BTW, you may want to try Baccarat in the safest casino sites, check the “List of Most Trusted Best Online Casinos in Europe” based on 4 key critical criteria.

 

 

Online Casino Lowest House Edge Games – Other Resources

 

Casino Bonus Hunting – Key Process & Tactics

 

Let me summarize & list general processes & tactics related to online casino bonus hunting as follows;

For those who desire to make serious money from high-risk casino games, use this advanced tool, not for newbies but only for experienced players

Sign-Up 5 Key Tactics

For the above B, people should know the best casino sign-up strategy before taking up the popular No Deposit Bonus (NDB) easily, so I would urge you to first take a look at the guide, which covers;

 

Best Online Casinos Lists

 

You may want to explore the following 4 lists of the best gambling sites which can satisfy each player’s unique needs;

 

 

 

If you have any inquiries or need any help from us, please contact us anytime (don’t worry, we will not charge you any fee, everything is free here).

 

 

Good Luck!!

 

Joshua Walker (bio)

Editor – Global Extra Money (GEM)

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