House Edge in Roulette Games

You know that in roulette game the casino, has an advantage. And if somebody offers you to purchase systems how to win in roulette you must know that they just want to earn money because the house advantage is steady and can’t be decreased by any techniques.

In the original casinos the house edge was 27/1, therefore the roulette player was able to win $27 on his or her $1 bet. Nowadays the house advantage is set by law and the probabilities are 34 to 1 or 35 to 1. It means that the winner is paid $34 or $35 on $1 bet, and the house keeps your initial bet. This is actually how casino earns money.

The house advantage is regarded as a medium amount of money the gambler loses relating to the bet he/she placed. For example, in American type of roulette the player has the 1/38 probability to get 35 times the original bet and the possibility to lose is 37/38. Hence the house has the edge:

1*37/38 + 35*1/38 = 0.0526 (5.26% house edge)

In European or French roulette house advantage is:

1*36/37 + 35*1/37 = 0.0270 (2.70% house edge)

The introduction of 0 and 00 zero spaces on the wheel and the corresponding spaces on the numbered area leads to the existence of the house advantage. In case of outside bets the gambler loses when the ball rests on single (0) or double (00) zero space. If the player makes one of the inside bets the payoffs of a only one number is 35-to-1 while the real opportunity to win is 37 to 1. For instance, when you make $1 straight bet on all inside numbers (from 1 to 36 plus 0 and 00) you may win only $35 betting $38. It must be noted that in the case of you place Five-number bet the house edge is bigger (7.89%), but this type of bet can be placed only in American roulette.

At times house edge may be confused with the hold which actually is the full amount of cash paid for the chips without those chips taken away from the table. It is the actual amount the casino gains. Actually the hold for American wheels is 21-30%, because the players place repeated bets after each win or loss of a big part of their bankroll. In gambling world it is called “churning".

Since the total size of all bets is bigger than that the player has in the bankroll, he or she can not win or lose all amount at once. Actually the house edge is applied not to the whole sum of money but to a certain type of bet, hence the gambler can lose more than 5.26% (2.7%) of the initial amount. For example, in case the player starts the roulette game with $100, he/she can make $10 bets on red or black more than 10 times, as undoubtedly he wins. Entirely, the gambler can place bet on red or black 20 times during the game. In this case the house advantage raises 20*$10*5.26% = $10.52. That’s why while the house advantage in every game is 5.26%, nearly 10% of the cash turns into the hold. If the gambler continues betting he risks to lose all money and leave the casino 100% hold.

Main Menu

Search

House Edge in Roulette Games