Best Odds in Casino Games: A Guide on How to Beat the House

Best Odds in Casino Games: A Guide on How to Beat the House

Casino Games with the Best Odds and Where to Play Them

The vast majority of casino and online casino games are not profitable.

Knowing which casino game to play is crucial if you want to maximize your odds of making a profit while having fun at an online casino. Every casino game gives the house and edge, but picking the right games could help tip the balance in your favor – at least in the short term. Let’s take a look at the most profitable casino games found both online and in land-based casinos:

Casino Game

Highest RTP

Where to Play Online

Video Poker

100.76%

Wild.io Casino

Blackjack

99.92%

BitStarz Casino

Baccarat

98.94%

mBit Casino

Roulette

98.65%

7Bit Casino

Craps

98.64%

Mirax Casino

In this article, we’ll help you develop a deep understanding of how to get the best out of the most profitable casino games.

RTP stands for “Return to Player”. It’s a percentage that represents the amount of cash that the casino expects to keep, on average, out of all the money bet on a casino game.

1. Video Poker

Video poker is the only casino game that puts the odds of winning on the player’s hands – but this only happens with a few versions of the game. Still, it’s the most statistically-profitable casino game, with most of its versions boasting return rates of over 98%.

Most online and land-based casinos do not offer 100%+ RTP games. Jacks or Better (99.54%) and Deuces Wild with Standard Rules (99.72%) tend to be the games with the highest return rates.

Video poker is a skill-based game, just like blackjack and poker. You will only enjoy a 99%+ RTP rate if you play with perfect video poker strategy. It’s better to play the game for free until optimal play comes natural to you.

Your bet level also influences RTP on most video poker games. Versions with 100%+ RTP require you to play at max betting levels and use perfect strategy in every play.

Best Odds in Casino Video Poker Games

First, let’s take a look at the best video poker odds in popular casino games:

  • Deuces Wild: 99.72%
  • Jacks or Better: 99.54%
  • Aces and Eights: 98.63%
jack or better
Jacks or Better is one of the world's most popular video poker games

These are the odds for the most profitable video poker games ever created. These are, in theory, the only casino games that don’t have a house edge, which is why they’re not commonly offered in any casino:

  • Full Pay Deuces Wild: 100.76%
  • 10/7 Double Bonus Video Poker: 100.17%
  • 10/6 Double Bonus Video Poker: 100.07%

2. Blackjack

Blackjack is one of the world’s most popular games. It’s the most profitable card game in the gambling world, at least when we’re talking about games that are widely available. Back when card shuffling after every round wasn’t an industry standard and multi-deck blackjack wasn’t the norm, it was even more profitable – to a degree that card counters would frequently make a profit when playing the game

Nowadays, automatic card shufflers and the fact that most casinos use 6 or 8 decks on their blackjack tables make it very difficult to count cards. Still, even if you only use basic blackjack strategy, it stands out as the most profitable casino game in both online and land-based casinos.

Best Odds in Casino Blackjack Games

Classic blackjack has an average return rate of 99.50%, which is very high on its own.

blackjack games
Top online casinos offer blackjack games aplenty. Pick the most profitable ones!

However, there are different blackjack versions that offer even more promising RTP rates!

  • Blackjack Switch: 99.92%
  • Atlantic City Blackjack: 99.65%
  • Single Deck Blackjack: 99.69%

3. Baccarat

Baccarat with no side bets may as well be one of the simplest games in the online casino industry, yet it stands out as one of the most profitable. To play, you only need to either bet on the player, the banker, or the tie – and you’ll get paid if you get it right.

icon Casino Wizard Tip
The so-called “No Commission” Baccarat has a lower payout than the classic game where you pay a 5% commission on banker bets. It’s better to avoid it if you’re looking for the best odds in casino baccarat games.

The best way to maximize your odds of winning at baccarat is to only bet at the banker or the player. The banker has the best odds of winning, but the house charges a commission on every win. You may choose to bet on the player as well, but never bet on the tie.

The latter gives you the worst odds of winning and the payout (8 to 1) isn’t statistically large enough to compensate for how unlikely it is to win a tie bet.

Best Odds in Casino Baccarat Games

Baccarat boasts very basic gameplay mechanics, so you’ll be able to pick up any version of the game quite quickly.

baccarat
Live baccarat is very popular in online casinos across the globe

Unlike other casino games, the classic version is the most profitable on average. These are the RTP rates of the most popular baccarat games:

  • Classic Baccarat: 98.94%
  • Mini Baccarat: 98.76%
  • Magic Baccarat: 98.76%

4. Roulette

Roulette is the most popular non-card game in the gambling world. The odds of the game widely vary based on the version that you play: American, European, and French. Each game’s availability also varies based on where you’re from or the casino that you’re visiting.

Any roulette game gives you the best odds of winning when placing “50/50” bets. These are Odd/Even, Red/Black, and 1 to 18/19 to 36.

50/50 roulette bets don’t really offer 50/50 odds. The zero and double zero give the casino a statistical edge.

Double zero roulette, most commonly known as American roulette, offers the worst odds out of all three popular versions of the game. French roulette and European roulette are very similar, but French roulette tables feature La Partage or En Prison rules, which give players and edge on “50/50” bets.

Best Odds in Casino Roulette Games

Let’s take a look at the average RTP of the three versions of the game found in online casinos across the globe.

french roulette
French Roulette games will let you know if La Partage or En Prison rule is active

You'll also find variants of these games in top-rated casinos.

  • French Roulette: 98.65%
  • European Roulette: 97.30%
  • American Roulette: 94.74%

5. Craps

Craps is the most difficult game to play out of all the popular casino games. The table gives you plenty of betting options, making it quite overwhelming for new players. Still, it stands out as one of the most profitable casino games – and we have some good news for you: you don’t need to be an expert to enjoy the highest theoretical RTP of craps.

icon Casino Wizard Tip
New to Craps? Stick to placing Pass/Don’t Pass Line bets until you get the hang of the game. They offer the best return rates and require no strategizing whatsoever.

The game’s basic bets are enough to guarantee players the highest possible return rate. It may not make the game as fun to play as if you were placing all sorts of bets and changing your strategy on the go, but standard pass/don’t pass bets, as well as place bets on the most statistically likely numbers (6 and 8), give you the best odds of winning at Craps on the long run.

Best Odds in Casino Craps Explained

Craps doesn’t have a lot of versions, and even versions that have different RTP rates base them on the presence of different side bets. So, the best way to play high-odds craps is to stick to the classic version of the game.

craps live
Live Craps by Evolution is one of the best dice games available in online casinos

These are the most profitable types of bets that you can place on Craps and their respective average return rates:

  • Don’t Pass: 99.64%
  • Pass Line: 99.59%
  • Place Bets (6 or 8): 98.48%

Honorable Mention: Poker

Poker can easily be the most profitable casino game in the gambling industry – but only when played against real people and not against the casino.

When you play poker against other players, there isn’t a set RTP rate. The skill of each player and the way they play their hands plays a key role in how much they can profit from the game.

Skilled poker players are the only gamblers that can make a living out of it. The house doesn’t have an edge, but player profits must be large enough to cover the fee that the house charges per hand (also known as rake).

If you’d like to test your poker skills against other players, you can visit these online casinos with poker rooms:

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Poker Against the House

Poker is another popular casino game that has transcended all borders. There are many versions of poker, although they aren’t as widely available as blackjack, baccarat, and roulette. The return rate of these games varies a lot based on your skill, and, just like blackjack, the house always has an edge over the player even when using perfect strategy.

poker online katsubet
Live and virtual poker versions are available in reliable casinos like Katsubet

Regardless, playing poker against the house is more profitable than playing slots – in theory, at least. The rules of each version of poker vary more than those of blackjack, so you’ll need to relearn some basic rules whenever you’re looking to play anything that isn’t Casino Hold’em.

These are three of the most profitable poker games that you can find in modern online casinos, as well as their RTP rates:

  • Ultimate Texas Hold’em Poker: 99.47% (Evolution Gaming exclusive)
  • Casino Hold’em: 99.18%
  • Caribbean Stud Poker: 98.19%

Online Casinos with the Best Odds

You know the games that offer the best odds of winning. Now, it’s just as important to find online casinos that are willing to offer them while also being fully regulated and licensed.

Some casinos openly look to avoid offering high RTP games and even look to offer low RTP versions of slots that are known for their high payout rates. That’s why it’s important to play in licensed casinos recommended by experts with a trajectory in online gambling!

We have compiled a list of the 5 best online casinos that offer the best odds in casino games – including many of the titles that we’ve discussed in this article:

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Best Odds in Casino Slot Machines: How They Fare Against Table Games

Online slots have a return rate of 96% on average, giving the house a 4% edge on most reel-spinning games. That means that, on average, slots have lower return rates than table games and skill-based casino games.

However, there are thousands of slots available on the market, many of which offer unique features, gameplay mechanics, bonus rounds, volatility rates, and potential payouts. It’s a good practice to check the RTP of an online slot game before deciding whether to play it.

Progressive jackpot slots like Mega Moolah or Mega Fortune have lower-than-average RTP rates to allow for a faster buildup of their total jackpot pools.

Online Slots with the Best Odds

Fortunately, if you’re a slots fan, you don’t need to play just about any game that you come across. We have a compiled a list of the high RTP online slots that we’ve played through the years – and we tell you where you can play each of them in safe, licensed casino environments.

mega joker
NetEnt's Mega Joker boasts a 99% RTP rate. Click the image to play it!

Casino Games with the Worst Odds

We’ve looked at the casino games that offer the best payout rates. Now, it’s time to see which titles offer the very worst payout rates on average. As with anything on this article, it’s important to know that there are many different versions of casino games, meaning that you should always look at the particular return rate of a game before dismissing it.

icon Casino Wizard Tip
Most casino bonuses allow players to spend the bonus cash playing games with the worst odds. Always look for 96%+ RTP games in each category to maximize your chances of withdrawing a bonus.

Skill-based games and lottery games are on two different sides of the spectrum. The more skill a game requires, the more profitable it tends to be. On the other hand, the bigger part luck plays in your results, the lower return rate it tends to boast.

Let’s take a look at the casino games with the worst odds:

Low-paying Slots

There are many online slots with particularly terrible odds. This is why it’s important to check the RTP of a game before you play it. In fact, since some games are released in multiple RTP versions and casino operators choose which one to host, it’s a good idea to open the “Info” of a casino slot and make sure that you’re playing a version with a fair RTP.

Low-paying slots with high volatility may still pay a lot of money on a single round, but choosing slots with over 96.50% RTP will give you the best statistical chance of profiting on a casino – especially when playing with online casino bonuses; rewards tend to allow players to play casino slots of up to 97.50% to fulfill wagering rules.

Keno

You’ll find dozens of versions of keno in online casinos. The classic lottery game, which slightly resembles bingo and it’s widely popular in South American countries, is arguably one of the worst types of casino games that you can play in the online gambling industry.

Most keno games come with return rates of 92% or less, with many offering as little as 70% estimated returns.

Keno games with less than 50 numbers tend to offer better odds.

The reason why people play online keno so much is because it’s one of the most volatile types of games in the online gambling world. A lucky round of keno could result in a payout worth over 500,000 times the amount of your bet, however unlikely it is for such a win to occur.

This high winning potential is what keeps players coming back to keno. However, an average round of keno usually ends up with the player losing a good chunk of money.

Scratch Cards

The classic scratch-and-win cards, which are traditionally bought on kiosks and gas stations, are also very popular in the online casino world. 

You won’t be participating to win a massive jackpot when you play them, though. In the online world, they work very similarly to slots: if you win, you’ll be paid a jackpot that is a multiplier of the total amount of money that you used to “purchase” the ticket (place a bet, in this case).

Scratch cards come with varying RTP rates that very rarely surpass 96%. Most scratch cards offer RTP rates of 92%, whilst it’s very common to find some variants with less than 88% return rates.

Pick a Game to Play and Choose a Reliable Casino to Visit

The world of online casinos is vast. You’ll come across hundreds of sites and you’ll have thousands of games to choose from. This guide should help you decide which casino games to play, which games to avoid, and which online casinos to visit if high RTP titles is what you’re after.

Practice makes perfect: if you’re going to play skill-based games, don’t be afraid to use the “Demo” versions offered in online casinos to hone your skills before you play with real money.

Pick a reliable casino, take advantage of its bonuses, and enjoy the best odds in casino games from your computer or mobile phone!

Last updated  March 19, 2024

Frequently asked questions

Licensed online casinos tend to offer many games with very good return rates. They tend to be more profitable, on average, then their land-based counterparts.

There are only a few versions of video poker with over 100% RTP, but they’re almost impossible to find in modern online casinos. Even if you find them, you’d be required to play a perfect strategy to fully take advantage of the RTP.

The highest-paying video poker games pay more than their blackjack counterparts. However, online casinos rarely offer 100%+ RTP games, making blackjack a more reliable option throughout the online gambling world.

Video poker and blackjack offer the best odds in casino games, boasting return rates of over 99%.

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About the author

Klaas

Klaas

Co-founder The Casino Wizard

Klaas

Co-founder The Casino Wizard

Klaas is a co-founder of The Casino Wizard and has the biggest gambling experience out of every member of the team. His passion for poker is evident, having visited Las Vegas on numerous occasions, in addition to being a regular attendee at iGaming conferences across the globe. Drawing from his rich hands-on experience, he currently devotes his efforts to curating the finest online casinos and bonuses for The Casino Wizard's visitors.

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