The Built-In Advantage of the Casino
The old adage "the house always wins" is well-known for a reason. This saying describes the house edge, the core principle upon which all casinos operate. It is the casino's built-in mathematical advantage over the player in any given game. Understanding it is crucial for casino any smart gambler.

The Math Behind the Advantage
The house edge is derived from the difference between the true odds of winning a bet and the odds that the casino pays out for that win. Roulette provides a very clear illustration.

The wheel has 37 numbers in total. If you place a bet on a single number, casino your true odds of winning are 1 in 37. A winning bet is rewarded with a 35-to-1 payout. This discrepancy between true odds (36:1) and casino payout odds (35:1) is the house edge. In this case, the house edge is 2.7%. This means that for every $100 bet on the wheel over a long period, the casino expects to make an average profit of $2.70.

House Edge in Different Casino Games
Not all games are created equal