Casino table games: rules & house edge

You and the dealer each get two cards, and the aim is to finish closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. Cards 2 to 10 count at face value, jacks, queens and kings count 10, and an ace counts 1 or 11. An ace with any 10-value card is a blackjack.

On your turn you can:

• Hit: take another card
• Stand: keep your total
• Double: double the stake and take one card
• Split: turn a pair into two hands

The dealer has no choices and draws by a fixed rule. Because your decisions matter, playing basic strategy brings the house edge down to about 0.5%. Skip insurance: it is a side bet with an edge of about 7%.

The dealer spins the wheel, the ball drops into a numbered pocket, and every bet covering that number wins. The wheel decides the house edge:

• European: 37 pockets with a single zero. 2.70% edge.
• French: The same wheel, plus La Partage: you get half your even-money stake back when the ball lands on zero. 1.35% on those bets.
• American: 38 pockets, adding a double zero. 5.26% on most bets.

Two hands are dealt, Player and Banker, and the one whose total is closer to 9 wins. Tens and face cards count zero, and only the last digit of a total counts, so 7 and 8 make 5. The dealer draws any third cards by fixed rules. Your only decision is which bet to place.

Banker wins slightly more often, which is why it pays a 5% commission. Even with that, it is the lowest-edge bet on the table. The tie pays well but has a far higher edge.

It's Texas Hold'em played against the dealer instead of other players, and it plays out in four steps:

1. 1Place an ante. You and the dealer each get two cards, and three community cards are dealt face up.
2. 2Call by betting twice the ante, or fold and lose the ante.
3. 3Two more community cards are dealt, and both hands make the best five-card poker hand.
4. 4The dealer needs a pair of 4s or better to qualify. If the dealer doesn't, your ante is paid from the paytable and the call is returned. If the dealer does, the better hand wins.

The ante carries a house edge of about 2.16%.

Place an ante and you and the dealer each get three cards. Look at your hand, then make a Play bet equal to the ante or fold. The dealer needs queen high or better to qualify. If the dealer doesn't, your ante pays even money and the Play bet is returned. If the dealer qualifies, the better hand wins both bets. The optional Pair Plus side bet pays on your own hand, whatever the dealer holds.

With only three cards, a straight is rarer than a flush, so it ranks higher. The Ante and Play combination has an edge of about 3.4%.

The dealer shakes three dice and you bet on what they show. The two main bets are Small, a total of 4 to 10, and Big, a total of 11 to 17. Both pay even money and both lose when all three dice match (a triple). That rule is where the 2.78% house edge comes from.

Other bets cover a specific total, a single number appearing, pairs and triples. They pay more and usually carry a much higher edge, so check the table's paytable first.