While there are players who play online casino games just for fun, many of us intend to make a profit. Of course, you must primarily depend on luck and chance, but there are still many games in which you can reduce the house edge and maximize your chances of winning.
We have detailed this in the various game guides that we’ve written for a variety of online casino games. With the right strategy, a lot is possible, even in games where you wouldn’t expect it. The best examples of online casino games where you can significantly increase your chances of winning are Blackjack, Roulette, and Poker.
Every online casino game has a house edge. After all, the goal of an online casino is not to allow you, the player, to win as much profit as possible but rather to make money from you. The chance that the dealer, and thereby the house (casino), will win is greater than the chance that you will win. However, not every game has the same house edge. Below we will explain exactly what the house advantage means and to what extent this influences your winning chances.
In addition, we will discuss the games with the lowest house edge, i.e. the games where the chance of winning is smallest for you. Can you make a lot of money on these games? If you win, of course, that is possible, but the chances are not great. Of course, you can still play these games for leisure, but if you’re looking for money winnings, you are better off choosing other alternatives.
Highlights in this article
The following is a summary of what will be discussed in this article:
- What’s the house advantage?
- Casino games with the lowest chance of winning
What’s the house advantage?
A casino is, first and foremost, a business seeking a profit; it’s as simple as that. In every game, the casino has a greater chance of winning than you do. This is how both offline and online casinos earn their money. In the long run, you always lose. Therefore, the house advantage must always be greater than 0%, otherwise, the house would earn nothing. The house advantage, also known as house edge, is therefore also expressed as a percentage. There are several ways to calculate this percentage.
How do you calculate the house edge?
First, it is possible to calculate the house advantage by taking 100% minus the payout percentage. If, for example, the payout percentage is 95%, the house advantage is 100% – 95% = 5%. The house advantage and the payout percentage are two sides of the same coin. The higher the payout percentage, the lower the house edge and the better that news is for you. This, of course, also works in reverse; a lower payout percentage creates a higher house edge which, in turn, is bad news for you.
There is also another way to calculate the house advantage. This is a little more complicated. You take the number of possible payouts and you divide this by the number of possible outcomes. Let’s illustrate this with a calculation example. Suppose you have a game with 8 possible outcomes. If you guess the correct outcome of these 8, you will be paid 7 times your bet. In this case, the house advantage is (1 – (7 / 8)) x 100% = 12.5%.
What does the house advantage mean?
In the long run, you’re going to lose money in an online casino anyway. You can try your luck, but this is always a factor in most games. The house advantage can be seen as an indicator of happiness. The lower the house advantage is, the greater the chance of profit will be. If you are looking for ways to maximize your chances of winning, it is advisable to always look up this figure for each game. Online casinos are required to indicate this. This is sometimes referred to as RTP, or Return to Player.
Top 5 casino games with the lowest odds of winning
You’ve been able to read about the importance of the house advantage regarding your odds of winning. Within online casinos, you will find many types of games, each with their own winning chances. In addition, there are games available in which you can significantly increase your chances of winning by applying the right strategies. This also affects the house advantage. Did you know, for example, that you can reduce the house edge by tens of percentage points when you use the strategies from our online Blackjack game guide? This is how much influence the right strategies have on the advantage for the casino. However, this is not possible in every game. We list a number of casino games with the lowest odds of winning below.
American Roulette
American Roulette is certainly not the game with the highest house edge. Yet the house advantage with this variant is almost twice as high as the European variant. This is because the wheel of an American roulette table has an extra 0 (i.e. 00) on which the ball can land. This small addition makes a huge difference. Whereas the house advantage in European Roulette fluctuates around 2.7%, it is close to 5.3% in American Roulette. Even the variant you choose can influence your chances of winning. Always check this in advance.
Keno and similar lotteries
Actually, the denominator always advises against participating in online casino lotteries if you want to make a profit. Although there are tactics to increase your chances of winning (as you can read in our online lotteries play guide), the chance of profit remains small. In addition, increasing your winning chance often costs you money, so it may not pay off that much at all. It’s a fun pastime, but if you really want to make a profit, this is not the game you should play.
This is certainly true for the online lottery variant Keno. The house advantage is almost 30% in some variants. In this game, 20 numbers are drawn from 70 to 80 numbers. It is up to you, the player, to choose the right numbers. Usually you can predict 2 to 10 numbers, but, with American variants, it is even possible to predict up to 20 numbers. The profit you make depends on the number of correct numbers and the number of numbers you predicted. However, the chance that you have predicted all 20 numbers correctly and thereby won the jackpot is minimal: 1 in 3.5 trillion.
Progressive jackpot slots
At many online casinos, you are offered the opportunity to participate in progressive jackpot slots. The offer sounds good as you have a chance of winning a significant jackpot. Moreover, part of your bet is added here, contributing to a jackpot that gets bigger and bigger. However, the chance of winning is extremely small which makes these slots, in particular, a good source of profit for the casino. Additionally, you shouldn’t believe an online casino when it claims that the jackpot is about to be hit. This chance of winning remains the same and does not increase or decrease. If you really want to participate, relax, and don’t spend too much money. After all, the chance as profit is minimal.
Money Wheel
Money Wheel, also known as the Wheel of Fortune, is a popular online casino game where your fate is determined by turning a big wheel. You spin this wheel until it stops on a certain section. This section determines profit or loss. The number of boxes differs per online casino. The more sections there are, the smaller the chance of winning is. However, there are often sections with smaller prices. However, there are also sections that force you to lose the game. The house edge varies per online casino and per variant. However, this house advantage can be almost as high as 25%. That’s not good news if you want to make a profit.
Conclusion
You’ve read that the house advantage is an important number to understand and keep an eye on. Based on this figure, you can determine the chance of winning. A good rule of thumb to maintain is: the lower the house advantage is, the greater the chance of profit will be. The opposite applies to the payout percentage: the higher it is, the greater your winning chances are. Often the house edge is fixed, for example, with slots, but it is possible to reduce the house edge in some casino games by tackling it with a clever tactic. A good example of this is Online Blackjack in which you can reduce the house advantage by many points with the right strategies.
You will find various types of games in an online casino. Information on the house advantage of each game is available. Some games have a higher house advantage than others. The following games have the lowest chance of winning:
- Keno
- Online casino lotteries
- Progressive jackpot slots
- American Roulette
- Money Wheel (Wheel of Fortune)
In the long run, you’ll lose in an (online) casino anyway because a casino is focused on winning. However, if you want to make money from the games, it is advisable to choose games of chance which have a low house edge and where you can implement strategies to gain a degree of influence. The more you depend on luck, the harder it is to make money and the more the casino will earn from you.
