The House Edge in Casino Poker Games – Pick The Best Option!

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All casino games favor the house. This is a fact of casino life, and it is how they make a profit.

Some games favor the house more than others, so it is vital to pick what you play carefully.

This article will tell you the advantage the house has over you when you play your favorite casino poker games and ways to reduce this edge to maximize your chances of winning.

The casino house edge, in simple terms, is the advantage the casino has on you while you are gambling.

Unfortunately for us, the house has an edge in every game that we play, whether this is in a land-based casino or online casino, hence the dreaded expression – ‘the house always wins.’

What Can The House Edge Tell You

There are two crucial elements that the house edge tells us when we play our favorite casino poker games.

1. The expected average payout of each game over its lifetime
2. The games we expect to get the best return on our wagers

You will also be pleased to find out that it is not the casino who sets the edge for each casino poker game, the edge comes from the game mechanics itself.

So if you are looking for a casino poker game where the edge is in the player's favor, you will be searching for a very long time as that type of game does not exist yet and, sadly, never will!

Even though the house edge exists to favor the casino, you can use the above information as a tool to find out what games offer you the best return on your investments. You can also find plenty of new review sites like WeGamble to find those games yourself, so never rush into casinos without first doing your research.

Put more simply, the higher the house edge of a casino poker game, the less likely you are going to see a satisfying ROI when compared to playing other casino poker games where the house edge is minimal.

Lucky for us poker fans, the house edge of most casino poker games are some of the lowest casinos offer.

Couple that with some good understanding of fundamental poker and the edge the casino has over us can be reduced even further.

With plenty of resources and poker training sites available online for poker players to hone their skills, a perfect strategy can even overcome the house edge in some casino poker games.

Casino Poker Games with Highest House Edge

• Caribbean Stud Poker: House Edge – 5.22%

Casino Poker Games with a Moderate House Edge

• Three Card Poker: House Edge – 1.5%
• Ultimate Texas Hold’Em: House Edge – 2.19%
• Pai Gow Poker: House Edge – 2.5%

Like with many casino games, some poker games offer side and jackpot bets, but this is where the house can have a major edge over you.

If you want the best chances of seeing a positive return avoid all additional bets.

The edge is also relying on the individual decisions a player will make. Someone with a grasp of basic strategy will make a better decision than the average player.

The next section of this article details Video Poker, the casino poker game where players can see some of the biggest returns on their wagers.

Video Poker – Casino Poker Games with the Lowest House Edge

• Video Poker: House Edge – 0.46%

You can play video poker at land-based and online casinos. Like most of the variants listed, here you are only battling the dealer rather than other players but playing it on a virtual machine.

There are countless video poker games to choose from, all with their individual house edges. This is down to factors such as if a game has progressive jackpots and multi-hand features.

If you play perfectly, in some variations of video poker, you can even overcome the house edge.

House Edge When Playing Perfect Strategy on Video Poker

• Jacks Or Better – This game only pays out when you have the winning hand that is a pair of jacks or higher. When using a basic strategy, you should expect a return of around 99.46%.
• Deuces Wil – When playing a perfect strategy on Deuces Wild, you can have a 0.71% edge over the house.
• Joker Poker – Another poker variant where you can overcome the house edge is on Joker Poker. When a perfect strategy is applied correctly, players can expect to have a 0.64% edge over the casino. You need a pair of kings or better in this game to receive a pay out.
• Double Bonus Poker – Players can expect a net return of 100.17% when playing Double Bonus Poker perfectly. This is another variant where you need jacks or better to have a qualifying hand.

Useful Tips When Playing Video Poker

Like with all games, it makes sense to put some work before sitting down to play to maximize your chances, so here are our tips for Video Poker:

1. Research the machines that have the best payouts

Don’t just jump on the first video poker machine you see, do what many slot players do, and look for the video poker games that show you what you can net for having a winning hand. Some will be more than others. Even in Video Poker, game selection is crucial for any chance of some positive returns.

2. Go Big or Go Home

Always bet the max bet. This will net you the highest payouts because you will be able to qualify for a jackpot.

3. Practice Makes Perfect

There are many apps and websites that allow you to play video poker for free. You can construct a better understanding of the game before hitting up the casino, so it makes sense to try a video poker trainer before you invest any of your own money.

Final Thoughts: Identifying Casino Poker Games House Edge

You have to remember, and this is crucial, that these are still games of chance. Even when playing perfectly, it isn’t a certainty that you will make a profit from every session of play.

Try not to fall into the trap that hot streaks can give you. Sometimes when the shoe or machine is hot, it feels like you can’t lose.

We all know this isn’t true, so do not deviate from perfectly playing because you are on a heater, this over a long time, will massively affect your ROI and bankroll.

Also, there’s now plenty of resources you can find on the web that shows you which games are kinder to casino players, a bit of research before your next casino trip could be all the difference from having a losing session to a winning one.