What Casino Bet Has the Lowest House Edge?
Last reviewed: June 2026
The single bet with the lowest house edge in any casino is the craps Free Odds bet — which carries exactly 0% edge. It is the only wager in a standard casino that pays true probability with no markup whatsoever. Everything else on this page is ranked against that benchmark.
The full ranking at a glance
| Rank | Bet | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Craps Free Odds (behind Pass/Come) | 0.00% |
| 2 | Video poker — best full-pay paytable | ~0.46% |
| 3 | Blackjack basic strategy — 3:2 table | ~0.50% |
| 4 | Craps Don’t Pass / Don’t Come | 1.36% |
| 5 | Craps Pass / Come | 1.41% |
| 6 | Craps Pass + 3-4-5× Free Odds (combined on total action) | ~0.37% |
| 7 | Baccarat Banker (5% commission) | 1.06% |
| 8 | Baccarat Player | 1.24% |
| 9 | European roulette (single-zero) | 2.70% |
| 10 | American roulette (double-zero) | 5.26% |
| 11 | Blackjack basic strategy — 6:5 table | ~1.40% |
| 12 | Slots | 2–15% |
| 13 | Baccarat Tie (8:1 payout) | 14.36% |
Row 6 is not a standalone bet — it combines Pass Line at 1.41% with Free Odds at 0%, weighted by the proportion of total chips at risk. See the craps section below.
Why craps Free Odds sit at exactly 0%
Every other casino bet has a built-in mathematical advantage for the house: the payout is slightly worse than the true probability would justify. Free Odds are the exception. Once a point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) is established, the casino lets you place an additional wager behind your Pass or Come bet that pays at true odds — 2:1 on 4 and 10, 3:2 on 5 and 9, and 6:5 on 6 and 8. Those are the exact probabilities, so the expected value of the Odds bet alone is zero. No edge, in either direction.
The catch: you cannot place Free Odds by themselves. They ride behind a Pass or Come bet, which does carry a 1.41% edge. So the relevant number for practical play is the combined edge on your total chips at risk, which depends on how large a multiple of Odds the casino allows:
- 1× Odds: ~0.85% combined
- 2× Odds: ~0.61% combined
- 3-4-5× Odds (the most common casino cap): ~0.37% combined
- 5× flat: ~0.33% combined
- 10× Odds: ~0.18% combined
At the common 3-4-5× cap — where you can bet 3× behind a Pass Line point of 4 or 10, 4× behind 5 or 9, and 5× behind 6 or 8 — your combined edge on total action falls to roughly 0.37%. That is among the best positions a player can occupy at any table game. For a deeper look at how the bet works, see Craps Odds Bets.
Blackjack basic strategy: the closest rival
When played with a printed basic strategy chart against a standard 3:2 payout on naturals, blackjack reduces to approximately 0.50% house edge. That makes it the best game in the building if you are not a craps player, and the only game where the player’s own decisions meaningfully control the edge.
The critical qualifier is the blackjack payout. A 6:5 table — increasingly common at lower-limit tables — pushes the edge to roughly 1.40%, nearly three times higher than the 3:2 version. Always verify the payout before sitting down. If the felt says 6:5 anywhere on the blackjack layout, walk to the next table. See Blackjack 3:2 vs 6:5 for the full math.
Card counting can push the player edge slightly positive over the long run, but it requires hundreds of hours of practice and active countermeasures from casinos. Basic strategy — freely available and legal everywhere — is the foundation. Blackjack Basic Strategy covers the full chart.
Baccarat: the easiest low-edge game
Baccarat requires no decisions beyond which side to bet. The Banker bet carries a 1.06% edge after the 5% commission on winning hands; the Player bet is 1.24%. Both are reasonable choices. The Tie bet at 14.36% is not — it is nearly as bad as Any 7 in craps (16.67%) and should be ignored.
Baccarat is popular precisely because it delivers a low house edge with zero strategic complexity. You sit, you bet Banker (the slightly better side mathematically), and the dealer handles the rest. See Baccarat Odds and Payouts for the full probability breakdown.
Roulette: single-zero only
European (single-zero) roulette carries a 2.70% edge on every bet on the layout. The math is simple: 37 pockets, 35:1 payout, so wagering $1 on each of the 37 numbers costs you $37 to play. The winning number returns $36 (your $1 stake plus $35 profit), meaning the net loss is $1 on $37 wagered — exactly 2.70%.
American roulette adds a second zero, stretching the edge to 5.26%. The five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) on an American wheel is the single worst standard bet in roulette at 7.89%. If you enjoy roulette, the game variant matters more than the specific bet you choose — always prefer single-zero. See American vs European Roulette for a side-by-side comparison.
Bets to avoid
Knowing the best bet is only half the picture. The other half is recognizing the traps built into every casino floor:
- Baccarat Tie (8:1): 14.36% edge — roughly 14× worse than Banker.
- Craps proposition bets: Any 7 pays 4:1 against true 5:1 odds, giving the house 16.67%. Any Craps (2, 3, or 12) pays 7:1 against true 8:1 odds — a 11.1% edge.
- Craps Place 4/10: Pays 9:5 against true 2:1, carrying a 6.67% edge.
- Slots: Return-to-player figures of 85–98% mean house edges of 2–15%, widely variable and not disclosed on the machine.
- Blackjack Insurance: 2:1 payout on a side bet that only wins when the dealer has a natural — a 5.88% edge. Skip it unless you are counting cards.
For a comprehensive game-by-game breakdown, see Best and Worst Casino Bets and Craps Trap Bets.
Practical priority order
If you want to minimize the mathematical cost of your session, the clearest hierarchy is:
- Craps Pass/Come + maximum Free Odds — at a 3-4-5× table, ~0.37% combined edge on total chips at risk. Start at the craps table.
- Blackjack basic strategy, 3:2 table — ~0.50% edge; requires reading a strategy chart. See how to play blackjack.
- Baccarat Banker — 1.06% edge with zero decisions required.
- European roulette — 2.70%; acceptable for entertainment, meaningfully worse than the options above.
Everything else on a standard casino floor is substantially higher than 2.70%.
Frequently asked
Is there really a 0% house edge bet? Yes — the craps Free Odds bet. It pays exact true probability on every point number. The casino profits from the Pass/Come portion of the bet, not the Odds portion. You cannot place Odds without a Pass or Come bet already working, so the practical combined edge depends on the table’s Odds cap.
Why isn’t video poker at the top of the list? Full-pay video poker paytables (like 9/6 Jacks or Better) produce around 0.46% edge — slightly better than blackjack basic strategy. But “full-pay” machines are scarce, identifying them requires knowing the paytable by memory, and optimal play is more complex than a basic strategy chart. It belongs near the top in theory, but craps Odds and blackjack are more consistently accessible.
Does betting Banker every hand in baccarat really work long-term? It works in the sense that 1.06% is a real and relatively low house edge. It does not work in the sense of producing a profit — every bet with a positive house edge loses money over enough repetitions. Banker is the best bet at the baccarat table, but all baccarat bets lose to the house over time. See Can You Make Money Gambling? for the full picture.
What is the worst bet in a casino? Among common, easily-accessible bets: the Baccarat Tie at 14.36% (8:1 payout) and the American roulette five-number bet at 7.89%. Among proposition bets in craps, Any 7 at 16.67% is the single worst standard wager at the table.
Sources & further reading
- Wizard of Odds — House Edge by Game — canonical edge figures across casino games (accessed June 2026)
- /learn/house-edge/ — what house edge means and how it compounds over time
- /learn/best-and-worst-casino-bets/ — full ranked comparison across all major games
Educational explanation only. No real-money gambling happens on LearnTheOdds.
Responsible gambling: Play for entertainment, not income — the math favors the house over time. Set limits, never chase losses, and if it stops being fun, take a break. 21+. Need help? Call 1-800-MY-RESET (1800myreset.org).