Your #1 Guide to Online Casino Odds
If you know anything about casinos, it’s that they win. Over the long term, at least. Of course, it makes sense that if you open up a casino, you do so for your own profit. Over time, a casino will always take in more money than they pay out to players in casino games. In the real money gambling world, this advantage is called the ‘house edge.
But while 'house edge' is the advantage the casino has over the player, what about the actual odds the player has of being paid out? For both new and seasoned gambling fans, understanding game odds is a key factor to winning big. Let’s take a look at the most popular casino games and the various payouts you can expect from each.
Basic Guide to Casino Odds
Every bet and wager in a casino game has an odds payout. Whether it's roulette, blackjack or slots, the game will pay the player a set payout for a result. But are the odds fair? And if not, how can the player make best use of them?
Let's take a look at three popular casino games to see the difference in odds between them. At an online casino, players have a huge choice of games to pick from. It's important to pick and choose the best games for odds where they can.
If European Roulette isn't the best odds, pick an Internet variant like Premier Edition; if regular European Blackjack has poor odds for the blackjack, find a casino that offers Super Fun 21 and see if that works better for you.
Roulette
Roulette is played out on a table layout featuring 36 numbers (1-36) coloured red and black. Bets can be made on the inside numbers themselves or the outside bets like Red or Black, Odd or Even, and groups of numbers 1-18 / 19-36.
Here are the payouts for each bet in a typical game of European Roulette:
Outside Bets
Bet |
Payout Odds |
| Red | (1/1) |
| Black | (1/1) |
| Odd | (1/1) |
| Even | (1/1) |
| 1 to 18 | (1/1) |
| 19 to 36 | (1/1) |
Columns
Bet |
Payout Odds |
| 1 to 12 | (2/1) |
| 13 to 24 | (2/1) |
| 24 to 36 | (2/1) |
Board Numbers
Bet |
Payout Odds |
| Sixline | (5/1) |
| First Five | (6/1) |
| Corner | (8/1) |
| Street | (11/1) |
| Split | (17/1) |
| Any Other | (35/1) |
Casino Odd Basics
Every bet and wager in a casino game has an odds payout. Whether it’s roulette, blackjack, or slots, the game will pay the player a set payout for a result. But are the odds fair? And if not, how can the player make best use of them?
We'll take a look at three popular casino games to see the difference in odds between them. In online gaming, players have a huge choice of games to pick from. To maximise your real money potential, important to pick and choose the best games for odds where you can.
If European Roulette isn’t the best odds, for example, pick an internet variant like Premier Edition. If regular European Blackjack has poor odds for the blackjack, find a casino that offers Super Fun 21 and see if that works better for you.
Understanding House Edge
Every casino game has a house edge, that is, the statistical advantage the casino has over the player. The key is to find the games - and bets - that can help reduce the house edge. When gambling online for real money, players should stick to slots that pay the best odds, the roulette bets that are closest to even money as possible, and the blackjack variants that reward the player far more than the dealer.
Since over time, the house will always make money, you might wonder if it’s not pointless to spend time betting on casino games. However, despite house edge, players show time and time again that it is very much possible to win big at casinos. Theoretically, it could take one million bets for the house edge to play out, and the short term is much less predictable. After all, it’s the excitement that keeps us coming back for more. With a solid grasp of house edge, you can make a mockery of the legend that ‘the house always wins.
Slots Odds
All online video slots have their odds predetermined before you hit the 'Spin' button. That doesn't mean they're fixed, it just means that the online gaming program chooses a number at random which assigns symbols to each reel.
Checking the paytable reveals the various payouts of each combination. A jackpot of five winning symbols in a row might pay 5,000 coins but the actual odds of hitting that jackpot could be 250,000/1. You can see the discrepancy.
Random Number Generator (RNG)
All slot machines are governed by an internal random number generator. This software feature is in the player’s best interest, as it keeps the game fair and ensures that the game remains truly random.
Payouts & RTP
Most slots will list the RTP in their paytable. This Return to Player percentage is the theoretical long-term payout to players for every £100 wagered.
It's merely an expected return and not the actual return, but is usually made up of the return of the normal paylines (say, 60-70%) plus the Scatter pays (around, say 6%) plus the bonus symbols (say, 20-25%). The total of these expected payout odds is the RTP.
As with all slots, every game pays out less than 100%, and so the house always wins. No slot pays back more than the actual odds of you hitting, and your job is to find the slots with the best chances of some long-term profits.
Progressive Odds
Progressive slots are insanely exciting and the jackpots are huge, but the odds of winning are relatively slim. In a regular slots game, the payout is a fixed amount corresponding with the pay table for that specific machine.
However, in a progressive slots game, the jackpot isn’t fixed, but is rather contributed to by every player in the game. In that sense, all the players essentially share the odds, making it extremely difficult to predict your chances of winning.
Roulette Odds
Roulette is a relatively simple game to play, where players make bets hoping that the ball lands on their numbers. The most common versions of roulette are European and American, which differ by the addition of one number, the double zero, in the latter. You don’t need a high skill level to enjoy the game, but there are still a wealth of tips out there to help you make the most of the experience.
Bets, Odds, & Payouts
The odds of cashing out in roulette depend on what variation of the game you play. In general, European roulette offers slightly better odds to the player, since the European wheel features one less number than its American counterpart. This brings the house edge in European roulette to 2.70%, while it stays at is 5.26% in American roulette.
Betting in roulette games is fairly simple. Players bet on various factors, such as if the ball will land on black vs. red, a high number vs. a low number, an odd number vs. an even number, etc. A straight up bet means that you choose one number to bet on. Here are your odds:
| Bet | Payout | Odds (American) | Odds (European) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Odd or Even Number | 1:1 | 46.37% | 48.6% |
| Black or Red | 1:1 | 46.37% | 48.6% |
| 1-18 | 1:1 | 46.37% | 48.6% |
| 19-36 | 1:1 | 46.37% | 48.6% |
| 1-12 | 2:1 | 31.58% | 32.4% |
| 13-24 | 2:1 | 46.37% | 32.4% |
| 25-36 | 2:1 | 46.37% | 32.4% |
| Single Number | 35:1 | 2.63% | 2.7% |
| Two Numbers | 17:1 | 5.26% | 5.4% |
| Three Numbers | 11:1 | 7.89% | 8.1% |
| Four Numbers | 8:1 | 10.53% | 10.8% |
| Six Numbers | 5:1 | 15.79% | 16.2% |
| 1-2-3-0-00 | 6:1 | 13.16% | - |
House Edge
As you now know, the house always has the slight advantage when it comes to casino games of any kind. In roulette, the house edge can be increased or decreased depending on the variation you play and how you bet.
If you’re playing American roulette, make sure to steer clear of the infamous ‘Top Line’ bet. This includes the numbers 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3. While all other bets on the roulette table have the same house edge, these numbers as a bet offer a less promising return, with a house advantage of almost 8%. Pay attention to tips like these and over time, you’ll learn to work with the house edge to earn some serious money.
Recurring Results
Some newer players think they have a higher chance of winning money if they bet on one number or colour over and over, but this isn’t actually true. If it were, the game would lose some of its fun, anyways. As you can see here, the odds of a repeat outcome diminish quickly.
| Number of Spins | Ratio | % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.06 to 1 | 48.6% |
| 2 | 3.23 to 1 | 23.7% |
| 3 | 7.69 to 1 | 11.5% |
| 4 | 16.9 to 1 | 5.6% |
| 5 | 35.7 to 1 | 2.73% |
| 6 | 74.4 to 1 | 1.33% |
| 7 | 154 to 1 | 0.65% |
| 8 | 318 to 1 | 0.31% |
| 9 | 654 to 1 | 0.15% |
| 10 | 1346 to 1 | 0.074% |
| 15 | 49423 to 1 | 0.0020% |
| 20 | 1813.778 to 1 | 0.000055% |
Blackjack Odds
Even some seasoned players don’t fully understand the odds involved in a game of blackjack, even though it’s a true classic when gambling online. Let’s break those odds down.
Odds of Busting
If you’re hoping to find success in blackjack, then you need to understand odds and probabilities in the game. If you aren’t sure of your odds of busting or winning given the hand you’re dealt, it’s hard to know how to best react.
Here’s a handy table showing your odds of busting with any hand valued from 12 and up. Remember, you cannot bust out on any value of 11 or under.
| Hand Value | Odds of Busting |
|---|---|
| 12 | 31% |
| 13 | 39% |
| 14 | 56% |
| 15 | 58% |
| 16 | 62% |
| 17 | 69% |
| 18 | 77% |
| 19 | 85% |
| 20 | 92% |
Our Betting Recommendations
As the table shows, the higher the value of your hand in a game of blackjack, the more likely you are to bust. Therefore, our general guidance is never to hit on a hand of 17 or up. The only exception here is if you’ve got a soft 17 (meaning, a 6 and an ace) in which case we’d advise you to hit.
A few other gaming pointers:
- If you have a hand with a value of 12 through 16, then we recommend standing if the dealer is more likely to bust, i.e. if their up card is valued between 2 and 6.
- On the other hand, we say hit if the dealer holds 7 or higher. If the dealer doesn’t bust, you don’t stand a chance of winning with a hand under 17.
If these pointers sound a little confusing to you, we recommend taking advantage of bonus games to get the hang of it.
Card Counting
Everyone has seen the blackjack movies where players win millions counting cards. It’s true, counting cards can hugely impact your gaming odds if done right. But for the purposes of this guide, we’ll note that counting cards is impossible to do while gambling online, so you shouldn’t get your hopes up.
Real Money Strategies
At the end of the day, your betting and gaming strategies will be much improved by taking the time to understand casino game odds before diving into new top online casino games. Remember that free play and bonus games both allow you to test out different online casino sites and games, so you can get your feet wet without betting real money.
Once you settle on a few games or an online gambling site that matches your preferences, there’s nothing stopping you from defeating the house edge.
