Highest Odds Casino Games: Which Games Give You the Best Chance?
- What 'best odds' actually means in a casino
- Which casino games have the best odds: the ranking
- The four games with the lowest house edge
- What the house edge costs you: worked examples
- Rule changes that quietly worsen the odds
- Bets with the worst odds to avoid
- Common mistakes when chasing the best odds
- Key takeaways and playing responsibly
Blackjack played with basic strategy, full-pay video poker, the Banker and Player bets in baccarat, and the pass line in craps are the highest odds casino games. Each has a house edge of roughly 0.5% to 1.4%. Keno, most side bets and the Big Six wheel are at the other end, where the casino keeps 11% to 29% of every bet over time.
No casino game gives you an edge over the house in the long run. Some games just cost you far less per £100 wagered. This guide explains how odds and house edge work, ranks the main games, shows what the numbers mean in pounds, and lists the rule changes and bets that quietly make good games worse.
What 'best odds' actually means in a casino
People use ‘odds’ to mean two different things. One is how likely a single bet is to win. The other is how much the casino keeps over time. The second is the one that decides which games are cheapest to play.
That figure is the house edge: the average share of each stake the casino expects to keep over a very large number of bets. Its mirror image is RTP (return to player). A game with a 2.70% house edge has an RTP of 97.30%.
A bet can win often and still have poor odds. In European roulette, a bet on red wins 18 times in 37 (48.65%) and pays even money. A straight-up bet on one number wins only once in 37 and pays 35 to 1. Both have exactly the same 2.70% house edge. How often a bet wins only tells you how bumpy the ride will be. The house edge tells you what the bet costs.
House edge figures are long-run averages. Over an evening anything can happen, so treat the edge as the price of playing, not a forecast of your result.
Which casino games have the best odds: the ranking
The table below covers the most common bets. Figures assume standard rules and, where skill matters, correct strategy.
| Game / bet | House edge | RTP | Skill needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack (good rules, basic strategy) | about 0.3%–0.6% | about 99.4%–99.7% | Yes |
| Jacks or Better video poker (9/6 pay table) | 0.46% | 99.54% | Yes |
| Baccarat – Banker bet (5% commission) | 1.06% | 98.94% | No |
| Baccarat – Player bet | 1.24% | 98.76% | No |
| Craps – Don’t Pass / Pass Line | 1.36% / 1.41% | 98.64% / 98.59% | No |
| European roulette (single zero) | 2.70% | 97.30% | No |
| Three Card Poker – Ante & Play | 3.37% | 96.63% | A little |
| Let It Ride | 3.51% | 96.49% | A little |
| Online slots | typically 2%–15% | typically 85%–98% | No |
| American roulette (double zero) | 5.26% | 94.74% | No |
| Craps – Hard 6 / Hard 8 | 9.09% | 90.91% | No |
| Big Six wheel ($1 spot) | 11.11% | 88.89% | No |
| Baccarat – Tie bet (8 to 1) | 14.36% | 85.64% | No |
| Keno | about 25%–29% | about 71%–75% | No |
Two patterns stand out. The games at the top either reward correct decisions (blackjack, video poker) or have simple core bets with a small built-in margin (baccarat, craps). The games at the bottom are mostly side bets and lottery-style games that pay big prizes on long shots.
The four games with the lowest house edge
Blackjack
With favourable rules and correct basic strategy, blackjack’s house edge can drop below 0.5%. The catch is that the low figure only applies if you play each hand correctly. Guessing, or copying the dealer by always hitting below 17, can push the edge up by several percentage points.
Video poker
Video poker shows its pay table on the screen, so you can work out its RTP before you play. Jacks or Better that pays 9 for a full house and 6 for a flush (9/6) returns 99.54% with optimal holds. The same game paying 8/5 drops to about 97.3%. Our video poker guides explain how to read a pay table.
Baccarat
Baccarat needs no decisions beyond your bet. Banker carries a 1.06% edge even after the 5% commission on winning Banker bets, and Player is close behind at 1.24%. See our guide on how to play baccarat for the drawing rules.
Craps
The pass line has a 1.41% edge and don’t pass 1.36%. Once a point is set you can place an ‘odds’ bet behind your line bet. It pays true odds and has no house edge at all. With 3-4-5x odds, the combined edge on your total stake falls to about 0.37%. Our craps guide covers the full table layout.
What the house edge costs you: worked examples
Expected loss = total amount wagered × house edge. Total wagered is every bet you make, not your starting bankroll, so it adds up quickly.
Say you play one hour of £10 bets at 100 rounds per hour. That is £1,000 wagered:
| Game / bet | House edge | Expected loss on £1,000 wagered |
|---|---|---|
| Blackjack (basic strategy, good rules) | 0.5% | £5.00 |
| Baccarat – Banker | 1.06% | £10.60 |
| Craps – Pass Line (no odds) | 1.41% | £14.10 |
| European roulette | 2.70% | £27.00 |
| American roulette | 5.26% | £52.60 |
| Baccarat – Tie | 14.36% | £143.60 |
| Keno (25% edge) | 25% | £250.00 |
Where roulette’s 2.70% comes from: £10 on red wins £10 with probability 18/37 and loses £10 with probability 19/37. Expected result = (18 × £10 − 19 × £10) ÷ 37 = −£0.27 per spin, or 2.70% of the stake. Adding a second zero turns it into (18 − 20) ÷ 38 = −5.26%.
Speed matters as much as edge. A slot with 96% RTP looks fine next to roulette. But at £1 a spin and 500 spins an hour you wager £500, so the expected cost is about £20 an hour. That is more than an hour of £10 blackjack. A slow game with a slightly higher edge can cost less than a fast one with a lower edge.
Rule changes that quietly worsen the odds
Two games with the same name can have very different house edges. Check these before you sit down:
- Blackjack paying 6:5: a £10 blackjack pays £12 instead of £15. This one rule adds about 1.39 percentage points to the house edge, which is more than every other rule change combined. Only play tables that pay 3:2.
- Dealer hits soft 17: adds about 0.22 points compared with the dealer standing on soft 17.
- No doubling after splitting: adds about 0.14 points.
- More decks: a single-deck game is roughly 0.48 points better than eight decks, if the other rules are the same.
- Double-zero roulette: American wheels nearly double the edge, from 2.70% to 5.26%. Our roulette odds and payouts chart covers each bet in detail.
- Video poker pay tables: one unit less on the full house or flush can cost one to two percentage points of RTP.
- Slot RTP settings: providers often release several RTP versions of the same slot, and the casino chooses which one to offer. Check the game’s information screen at each site rather than assuming the figure you saw elsewhere applies.
Some European roulette tables offer la partage: if zero lands, you get half your even-money stake back. This halves the edge on those bets to 1.35%.
Bets with the worst odds to avoid
Many tables pair a low-edge main bet with tempting side bets that cost much more. Common examples:
- Baccarat Tie (8 to 1): 14.36% edge, more than 13 times the Banker bet.
- Craps proposition bets: Any Seven carries 16.67%, and hard 4 or hard 10 carries 11.11%. The Field is 5.56% when 12 pays 2 to 1, or 2.78% when it pays 3 to 1.
- Three Card Poker Pairplus: 7.28%, compared with 3.37% for Ante & Play.
- Big Six / money wheels: 11% to 24% depending on the segment.
- Keno: 25% or more. See our keno guide if you play it for fun, but budget for the cost.
- Progressive jackpots: part of each stake funds the jackpot, so the base game often returns less. Our guide to progressive slots explains the trade-off.
None of these bets is forbidden. They just cost more for the same entertainment, so treat them as occasional extras rather than your main bet.
Common mistakes when chasing the best odds
- Treating a low edge as a way to win. 0.5% is still negative. Over thousands of hands, a player using basic strategy will on average lose about 50p per £100 wagered.
- Playing a skill game without the skill. Blackjack and video poker only have the best odds if you play them correctly. Keep a strategy chart open until the decisions are automatic.
- Believing betting systems change the odds. Martingale, Fibonacci and similar progressions change the size of your bets, not the house edge on each one.
- Ignoring bonus terms. Low-edge table games often count for only 0–20% towards wagering requirements, or are excluded altogether. Read our casino bonus terms guide before you use a bonus on table games.
- Chasing losses. Raising your stakes to win back losses increases the total you wager, so your expected loss grows.
Key takeaways and playing responsibly
- The highest odds casino games are blackjack with basic strategy, 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker, baccarat’s Banker and Player bets, and the pass or don’t pass line in craps with odds.
- Choose single-zero roulette over double-zero, 3:2 blackjack over 6:5, and check the pay table or RTP before every new game.
- Your expected cost is total wagered × house edge, so game speed and stake size matter as much as the edge.
- Skip high-edge side bets such as the baccarat Tie, craps propositions and keno, or keep them to small amounts.
Good odds make your money last longer. They do not make gambling a way to earn money. Set a deposit limit and a time limit before you play, and stop when you reach either one. Use the reality checks and time-outs that licensed casinos provide. Gambling is for adults aged 18 and over. If it stops being fun, take a break and seek support from a gambling help service in your country.