House Edge

The odds advantage a casino maintains over the player to assure long range profits.

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The house edge is closely tied to the payback percentage. The payback percentage is the percentage amount that a game pays back to a player. For instance, if a game pays out $90 for every $100 bet, then the game has a payback percentage of 90%. The house edge is the percentage of the money bet which the casino will win (and thereofore the player will never see), so the house edge is 100% minus the payback percentage.

In the case of the aforementioned payback percentage, the house edge would be 10%. Of course, on any given spin of a slot machine, the machine will pay back more than the house edge or take all your money. And on any given slots session, the slot machine might pay out either more or less than the house edge. This is called a deviation from the pay out percentage.

So on one slots session, you might win bet $100 and win $140. This would be a payback percentage of 140%. Or you might bet $100 and only win back 40%, which would be a pay back percentage of 40%. In the first case (or any case where the payout is 100% or higher), there would be no house edge. In the second case, the house edge would be 60%.

The lower the house edge, the better it is for the slots player. Casinos where there are more competition for players are where you'll find the best house edge. That means Las Vegas is the likeliest place you'll find low house edges. Also, internet casinos are likely to offer a solid house edge, since players can easily find other online casinos to play at.

Casinos outside of Vegas are likely to offer smaller house edges, especially those in the outlying regions of the country. Native American casinos tend to have high house edges, because you might not find another slots casino throughout half the state. Generally, slot machines that pay back at less than 90% should be avoided, though many casinos will offer slots with a house edge of 5% to 7%. If you can find slots with a lower house edge, play to your delight.