A few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and the casino house edge. When you play casino games, the casino house edge can seem like your greatest rival. There’s a common misconception that the house edge means that the casino always wins, but that’s not the case. While the house edge is there to make sure that the casinos can remain profitable, the games still give players a fair chance to win and players every day go home with more than they wagered. The house edge just ensures that the game is profitable in the long run. So, while a slot game, for example, may not pay out every time, it is still possible to win. Instead of complaining about the house edge, why not turn the tables and use the edge to your advantage? This guide will give you tips on how to beat the house edge when you play online casino games.
What Is a Casino’s House Edge & How Does It Work?
When you play blackjack at a casino, you use a blackjack strategy. Think of the house edge as the casino’s strategy. Also referred to as the casino advantage, the house edge is usually shown as a percentage and tells players which games have the best returns and how much they pay out, on average. Games with a lower house edge typically pay out more often than the games with a higher house edge
Whether you play casino table games or slots, the casino will always have a statistical edge or advantage. This edge is a percentage of profit that the casino will always make. No matter how much players win, at the end of the day, the casino still gets this percentage back.
To make it easier to understand, here is an example. Imagine you were playing an online casino slot with a fixed house edge of 3%. This means if you bet $100, the casino would earn a profit of $3 from that wager. Even if you won more money during your spins, the casino would make up this $3 profit from the other players who lost.
Does the House Edge Mean You Always Lose?
The house edge means the house always wins, but it doesn’t mean you always lose. The house edge is the casino’s advantage expressed as a percentage that shows, on average, how much or how often a game pays out over its lifespan. It is not a fixed number showing how much you’ll lose for every bet. You won’t lose the amount every time you play, but the games are programmed to give the casino that percentage profit back in the long term.
It matters what game you select and whether the house edge is low or high. The way you play and the bets you make can also positively or negatively affect the house’s edge. In blackjack, you can reduce house edge if you use the optimal strategy. The house edge doesn’t necessarily mean you always lose — itt means the casino always wins in the long run. But if you play your cards right, you can win, too.
How To Beat the House Edge of Casino Games
The road to becoming a casino maestro and beating the house edge is long. After you’ve learned how to play casino games, you need to learn and test various strategies and work out how to calculate casino odds for the games you play. Understanding the house edge is a crucial part of this process. Although the casino house edge is unavoidable, there are still ways to use it to your advantage or to make the most of your gaming experience despite it.
Choose the Right Game
Casino games are not all equal. If you’re looking to beat the house edge, it’s wise to do a bit of research into the casino games with the lowest house edge so that you stand the best chance of winning. Live dealer casino games like blackjack, craps, and baccarat are some of the casino games with the best odds. In fact, blackjack is seen as the casino game with the lowest house edge. On the other hand, games like American roulette, have a notoriously high house edge.
Learn the Right Strategies
Relying on finding the best casino odds in the games you play is just the first step. After all, luck can only get you so far. For a lot of casino games, especially games like poker or blackjack, you’re going to need a well-thought-out strategy that only comes from repeated practice and a thorough understanding of the game. There are many casino game strategies out there, so you will need to put in the work of researching different strategies and trying them out to find the one that works the best for you. A good strategy will not only prepare you for the different circumstances and challenges the game you play might throw your way, the strategy you choose can affect the house edge you’re up against. In blackjack, for example, using the basic blackjack strategy can reduce the house edge by up to 0.5%.
Know the Rules
Casino game rules vary from casino to casino. Even though you might have an idea of the house edge for a casino game, a slightly modified rule can affect the percentage. For example, in most casinos, blackjack dealers have to hit until they reach 17. This rule increases the dealer’s chances of going bust or losing. But if you play in a casino where the dealers only have to hit until they reach 16, this increases the house edge.
Pay attention to the rules so you can adjust your strategy and not be surprised mid-game. While you’re at it, learn the different blackjack variations, so you know how each variant affects the house edge and the success rate of your strategy.
Count Your Decks
This tip only applies to land-based casinos where physical decks are used. The higher the number of decks used in a casino game, the higher the house edge, and the more difficult it will be for you to win. If you’re playing at an online casino, you can see more information about the game’s odds on that game’s info page. If you’re playing live dealer games, the info page might also tell you how cards are drawn and how many decks are used.
Select the Right Bet
Many table games offer exciting side bets and payouts. But the bets you choose can affect your house edge. To demonstrate this, take a look at baccarat bets. Player bets and banker bets give you a house edge ranging from 1.06–1.24%. But if you place a tie bet, your house edge skyrockets to 14.36%. In craps, the 7s bet can bring your house edge up to 16.67%.
Risky bets are part of the game, but you can’t use them too much if you’re trying to use the house edge to your advantage.
Choose the Right Casino
All these factors are meaningless if you play at a casino with a limited selection. If a casino offers few game options, it isn’t easy to find the variant that offers the most favorable house edge. Some casino software firms can drop house edges by 0.05%, which can make a big difference in the long run.
Playing at a transparent, regulated casino makes it easier for players to access the information they need to bet wisely and beat the house edge.
Is The House Edge Better at Online Casinos or Land-Based Casinos?
With the house edge playing such a critical role in how much money you could potentially win, you may be wondering if it matters whether you play at an online or land-based casino.
When it comes to the house edge, both online and land-based casinos operate within a similar framework, so the main determining factor is the game you choose to play and its specific house edge, rather than where you play it. However, there are a few factors that affect house edge differently in online vs. brick-and-mortar casino games.
Online casinos use Random Number Generators (RNGs) to ensure fairness and unpredictability in the outcomes of their games. These complex algorithms make sure that the results of virtual dice rolls, roulette spins, and card dealings, are completely random, creating a transparent and unbiased gaming environment.
On the other hand, land-based casinos will usually still rely on more traditional methods to shape the odds like using physical dice, cards, or roulette wheels. These physical components actively shape the odds and influence game outcomes by introducing real-world variables. For instance, the texture of the table, the force applied when rolling dice, or the speed of a roulette wheel’s spin can all impact the final result. Still, more and more physical casinos are embracing technology and integrating modern RNG technology into some of their games.
The Casino Games With the Lowest House Edges at Borgata Online
Yes, you’re reading the “cheat codes.” With thousands of games available to play at Borgata Online, it could take forever to find the games with the lowest house edges. To make things easy, here’s a list of titles with unbelievably low house edges.
- Bloodsuckers (NetEnt): House edge is 2%.
- Starmania (NextGen): House edge is 2.32%.
- White Rabbit (Big Time): House edge is 2.28%.
- Lightning Blackjack (Evolution): House edge starts at 0.44%.
- Live Baccarat (Evolution): House edge starts at 1.2%.
Take Your Chances Against the House With Borgata Online
Do you want to see if you can beat the odds and come out victorious? Borgata Online’s extensive casino game catalog is the perfect place to find the most lucrative games from top developers in the industry. One account gives you access to live table games, a world-class sportsbook, and the chance to play slots online for real money. Take your casino gaming into your own hands and register with Borgata Online.