Casino Games with the Lowest Edge

Before I get into the specific games, let’s explain what exactly the house edge is in casino games and how it correlates to the RTP (Return to Player) percentage.

• The house edge is the casino’s built-in advantage in a game. It’s expressed as a percentage that represents the average amount the casino expects to keep from all wagers over time. If a game has a 2% house edge, that means the casino keeps about A$2 for every A$100 wagered in the long run.
• RTP, which stands for Return to Player, is simply the opposite side of that equation. Instead of showing the casino’s advantage, it shows how much the game pays back to players over time. For example, a game with 98% RTP has a 2% house edge.

In other words, the RTP and house edge are two sides of the same coin. Now, I have to be very clear here: if a game has a 2% house edge, it doesn’t necessarily mean that if you wager A$100, you’ll end up with A$98. The RTP is calculated over an extremely large number of bets, and the keyword here is ‘average’.

One thing I should point out before we get into actual games with the lowest house edge is that these numbers assume optimal play.

What’s ‘optimal pay’? Well, it means that the RTP (or house edge) only applies when you follow the correct strategy for the game. Blackjack and video poker are good examples of this, since the house edge can increase if you make poor decisions.

There’s usually no ‘optimal play’ in games like pokies or roulette because you’re mostly just choosing your bet size and placing bets, so the house edge doesn’t depend on your strategy.

Here’s a table of the casino games with the lowest house edge you’ll typically find at online casinos in Australia:

As you can see, classic table games still offer the lowest house edge of all casino games. They’re followed by popular instant-win games like Crash, Mines, or Plinko, but pokies come in so many variations that you can sometimes even find a pokie with an RTP that rivals table games.

Whenever I’m looking for a casino game with the best odds, blackjack is usually the first one that comes to mind. In a standard blackjack game with favourable rules and basic strategy, the house edge can drop to around 0.5%, which is one of the lowest you’ll find in any casino.

The so-called ‘basic strategy’ is a well-known strategy that I’ve explained in detail in my blackjack strategy guide, so I recommend you read it. It explains the mathematically correct decision for every possible hand, but I must point out that if you ignore the strategy, the house edge in blackjack can increase.

Also, you should always check the table rules because small details like whether the dealer stands on soft 17 can change the RTP.

Poker is my forte, but when I’m not playing standard PVP poker, video poker is another game I look for. It has some of the highest RTPs of all casino games (sometimes even above 99%), but like blackjack, you need to pick the correct game and play it correctly.

The most common version you’ll see is Jacks or Better, where the goal is to build the best five-card poker hand after deciding which cards to hold. It’s a game where strategy matters quite a bit, since keeping the wrong cards can lower the overall RTP and vice versa.

Other popular variants include Three Card Poker and Deuces Wild, and both of them can have a house edge lower than 1%, which makes them a great pick if you’re looking for the casino games with the lowest edge.

Note from Mike Waters: Games like video poker often don’t count much towards bonus wagering requirements. Some casinos exclude them completely, while others allow only a small percentage to contribute, like 5%. That’s mainly because the RTP is so high compared to most other casino games.

Baccarat is one of the simplest casino games you’ll ever play, yet it also has some of the best odds. It’s a card comparison game where most of the time you’re just choosing between Banker, Player, or Tie, and trust me, you don’t want to bet on the Tie bet because it offers the absolute worst odds.

If you care about the house edge, the Banker bet is the one I usually go for. It has a house edge of around 1.06% even with the standard 5% commission on wins, which is excellent for a game that doesn’t require any strategy at all. The Player bet is slightly worse, but with a house edge of 1.24%, it’s still very decent.

Craps can look a bit chaotic at first, and admittedly, it might take a bit more time than baccarat to learn it.

However, the truth is that you don’t need to understand every bet on the table. If you stick to the simple Pass Line or Don’t Pass bets, the house edge is already quite low. It gets even better when you add odds bets, which technically have no house edge at all.

Because of that, craps can actually compete with blackjack and baccarat in terms of player-friendly odds. As with most other games, however, the special bets usually have much higher house edges, so I suggest you avoid them altogether. Just stick to the basics.

There are literally thousands of pokies, created by hundreds of different providers, and I really can’t emphasise enough how much variety there is. I wouldn’t get much into the different features (I have my top picks for different pokies like Megaways, Jackpots, Bonus Buy, etc), because I’d need a day just to cover them all, so I suggest you read my mini game reviews to get a feel of the games.

The RTP and house edge in pokies can vary a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean that the RTP can start at ~85%, all the way to 99%. The average in modern games is around 95% to 96%, but I’ve seen many games that go higher than that, which is competitive compared to some table games.

The key point here is that every pokie is different. Two games from the same provider can have completely different RTP and volatility, which is why you always need to check the game info before playing. Many are available in demo too, so you can test the game for free.

Here are several pokies from different providers that are known for having relatively high RTP:

• Ugga Bugga by Playtech: about 99.07% RTP
• The Catfather by Pragmatic Play: about 98.10% RTP
• Merge Up 2 by BGaming: about 98% RTP
• Fruit Million by TaDa Gaming: about 97.50% RTP
• Texas Tea by IGT: about 97.35% RTP

It goes without saying, but there are many other features in pokies that shape the gameplay, like bonus features or special symbols. And, even with high RTP pokies, volatility still matters a lot. For example, a high volatility pokie with a theoretical RTP of 98% can produce long dry spells, and even a low volatility pokie with an RTP of 95% will feel like it produces more wins, albeit smaller.

So, while RTP and house edge are important, they’re only one piece of the puzzle when choosing which pokies to play.

Note from Australian Gamblers: Some pokies are released with multiple RTP settings, which means the casino can choose which version to run. Because of that, the same game might have 96.5% RTP at one casino and 94.5% at another, and you can only check this info once you launch the game.

Roulette is probably the most recognisable casino game in the world, yet not all versions offer the same odds. The biggest difference is between European roulette and American roulette.

European roulette has a single zero, which gives it a house edge of about 2.7%. American roulette adds a double zero, raising the house edge to 5.26%, almost twice as high. That’s why I always recommend sticking to European roulette whenever possible. The gameplay is identical, yet the odds are simply better for players.

Some roulette casinos also offer French roulette, which can be even better thanks to rules like La Partage, which reduce the house edge to around 1.35% on even-money bets. As a general rule of thumb, exclusive variants with special features like multipliers (like Lightning Roulette or Mega Roulette) typically have a higher house edge.

In the past few years, instant-win games like Crash, Plinko, and Mines have become extremely popular at online casinos. I see them everywhere now, especially at crypto casinos and hybrids, and it seems like developers have been getting very creative with these games.

What I personally like about these games is that the RTP is usually clearly displayed, you don’t have to implement some special strategy to enjoy them, and they’re often quite competitive. Many Crash or Mines games have 97% to 99% RTP, depending on the settings or the provider.

That said, the house edge can still vary depending on the risk levels you choose. For example, in Mines, the volatility changes based on how many mines you select, while in Crash, it depends on when you decide to cash out. While it doesn’t affect RTP, it still affects how often and how much you will win.

Keno is slightly different from Crash, Mines, and Plinko, and it usually has a higher house edge of ~2% up to ~10%, so it’s not the best game if you’re looking for the highest possible RTP.

At the end of the day, the house edge is what defines the long-term odds of every casino game. Some games are designed with a very small advantage for the casino, while others are built to keep a much larger share of player wagers.

I still remember how, a few decades back, most pokies in pubs, clubs, and casinos had an RTP of around 70-80% and an enormous house edge of 20-30%. Luckily, modern pokies and other casino games you’ll find at online casinos are nothing like that, and even the ‘worst’ games (in terms of house edge) have it at around 5-6%.

However, if you want the best possible odds, table games like blackjack, baccarat, and certain craps bets are usually the best place to start. Video poker can be just as competitive, provided that you choose the right variant and follow the correct strategy.

Instant-win games like Crash, Mines, and Plinko usually have higher RTP than pokies, but lower than blackjack and baccarat, so they’re a great pick if you want a high return percentage, but don’t want to bother with strategies.

Pokies can also offer solid RTP, yet the numbers vary a lot depending on the game, provider, and sometimes even the casino itself.

The key takeaway here is: always read the rules of each specific game, and avoid games and bets with a high house edge.