No strategy eliminates the house edge. No system overcomes it. No lucky streak lasts long enough to neutralize it. But bet selection — choosing which games and which specific bets to make — can reduce your expected hourly loss by 90% or more compared to making poor choices. The difference between the best bet in the casino and the worst is not a few percentage points. It's a factor of 50 or more.
This guide ranks the best bets available in a standard casino, with exact house edge figures. These aren't estimates or approximations — they're derived from complete mathematical analysis of all possible outcomes.
The single best bet structure in any casino. The Pass Line bet has a house edge of 1.41%. But behind the Pass Line, casinos offer "Free Odds" — a bet that pays at true mathematical odds with zero house edge. When combined, the blended house edge on your total wager can fall below 0.4% at 3x-4x-5x odds tables and below 0.2% at 10x odds tables.
Why doesn't everyone play this? Because craps looks intimidating, the table is noisy and complex, and the Free Odds bet isn't marked on the felt. Casinos have no financial incentive to advertise a zero-edge bet. But for a player willing to learn the basics — Place a Pass Line bet, take maximum odds — craps offers the best expected-value gambling in any building.
With full basic strategy and standard rules (3:2 blackjack, dealer stands soft 17, double after split allowed), the house edge at blackjack falls to approximately 0.4-0.5%. This makes it one of the most player-favorable games in the casino when played correctly.
The critical qualifier is "when played correctly." Playing blackjack by feel or intuition — hitting when basic strategy says stand, standing when basic strategy says hit — typically adds 1.5-3% to the house edge, making it a mediocre game. Learning the basic strategy chart (which fits on a card and can be used at the table in most casinos) is the single most valuable thing a casino player can do.
Always verify: does the table pay 3:2 for blackjack? Tables paying 6:5 add 1.39% to the house edge, making them significantly worse than a properly paying table.
The best machine game in the casino. Full-pay Jacks or Better — identified by its full house / flush payout of 9:1 / 6:1 on the pay table — returns 99.54% with optimal strategy, a house edge of 0.46%. On Deuces Wild with full pay (100.76%), the player actually has a mathematical edge over the house.
Video poker rewards skill. The correct hold decision on every hand can be learned — it's more complex than blackjack basic strategy but the same concept. Playing hunches or holding "pretty" cards without mathematical basis adds significant house edge. With correct play, video poker at full-pay machines competes with the best table games.
Baccarat's Banker bet carries a house edge of 1.06% — among the best in any casino — and requires zero strategy or skill. You place the Banker bet. Cards are dealt according to fixed rules. You win or lose. The casino charges a 5% commission on winning Banker bets, which is how they maintain their edge on this otherwise exceptional bet.
Baccarat is excellent for players who want low house edge without learning strategy. The pace is slower than some games and the minimum bets are typically higher, but for edge-per-dollar-wagered it's hard to beat.
European roulette — the single-zero wheel — has a house edge of 2.70% on every bet. This applies uniformly: red/black, specific numbers, columns, dozens — every bet on the European wheel carries exactly 2.70%. This is because every bet pays odds calculated assuming 36 possible outcomes, while the actual wheel has 37 (36 numbers plus a single zero).
Compared to American roulette (5.26%), European roulette is dramatically better. If you're going to play roulette, find a single-zero wheel. The second zero on American wheels exists purely to double the casino's take.
The contrast between best and worst bets in a casino is enormous:
| Bet | House Edge | vs. Blackjack |
|---|---|---|
| Baccarat Tie Bet | 14.36% | 29x worse |
| American Roulette | 5.26% | 10x worse |
| Blackjack Insurance | 7.39% | 15x worse |
| Slot Machines (typical) | 5-10% | 10-20x worse |
| Keno | 25-40% | 50-80x worse |
The best bets in the casino are craps with free odds, blackjack with basic strategy, full-pay video poker, and baccarat banker. These four options give you the lowest house edge available on a standard casino floor. The difference between choosing these games versus choosing slots, keno, or bad roulette is not cosmetic — it's the difference between losing $15 per hour and losing $150 per hour on the same stakes. Game selection is the most powerful tool available to any casino player.
Use our full odds table to compare house edges across every casino game and bet type before you play.