What is the House Edge in Bitcoin gambling?

One of the most common terms heard in relation to casinos and gambling is House Edge. Players will often hear the phrase when referring to the fact that the casino or gambling house will always have an advantage in terms of odds and payouts, and this changes with the casino and even the game that you are playing. This may seem unfair or arbitrary, but casinos, like any other business, exist to make money, and the presence of this advantage does not mean that players cannot pick up big wins. Understanding how the house edge works is the first step towards minimizing its impact on your winnings, so here we will try and explain what exactly this edge is and how it works.

Most Bitcoin casinos will declare the House Edge on various games upfront – if they do not, you should consider playing at a different venue as there is no guarantee that they are not trying to cheat you. The advantage the gambling house retains depends on the game being played, as well as the location of the casino. For example, European roulette games will have a house edge of 2.70%, but this jumps up to 5.26% when we consider the American version, due to the presence of an extra number on the roulette wheel. This number indicates the casino’s profit margin, so, for example, for every $100 that is wagered on a game of American roulette, the casino can expect to make a profit of $5.26 on average. However, this is true over a number of players and rounds, and will not necessarily be the case for each individual player. A player could come to the table with $100 and lose it all fairly quickly, or win a few quick hands and be up $500 in no time. This is where variance comes into play.

Most casino games are games of chance in some way, which means that outcomes will be largely random, within the rules of the game, and therefore these outcomes cannot be predicted, especially in the short term. In the long term, the outcomes are expected to follow a normal distribution, but it will take thousands of outcomes for this to be achieved, and even then it may not be a perfect match. Variance, therefore, plays a big role in terms of casino outcomes and payouts, and this is what makes it possible for players to win or even lose big, even if the casino always wins in the long term.

Online casino games will usually have the return to player, or RTP, posted along with the game. This is nothing but another way of expressing the house edge, as the RTP represents the average winnings for players. So, an RTP of 96% indicates that players will win $96 on average for every $100 wagered, and therefore the house edge, in this case, is $4. Again, it is important that you are aware of the RTP of a game before trying it out, and do not hesitate to move away from games where the RTP is not readily available.

Licensed and regulated casinos will see their games tested to check and confirm that they are fair and that the house edge is exactly as advertised. Every aspect of the games, from the physical gaming equipment to the random number generators, dice, software, cards, data, and so on are meticulously checked and tested, so it is always better to play at these casinos, as you can be quite sure that the game is as advertised and is fair.

It is also important to note that many games will have different house edges based on the bets made. For example, in punto banco baccarat, bets on the banker will have a house edge of 1.06% house edge, bets on the player have a house edge of 1.24%, and bets on a tie have a huge casino edge of 14.4%. Thus, it may be advantageous for a player to bet on the banker every time just to minimize the house edge, but of course, this will depend on the hand and cards on the table as well.

Thus, we have explained this interesting and vital concept for gambling here, and we hope that your gambling experience will be improved as a result.