The house average or house edge is the amount the player loses relative to a bet, on average. If a player bets on a single number in the American game there is a probability of 1/38 that the player receives 36 times the bet (35 times the bet plus the return of the bet itself), so the player ends up, on average, losing 5.26% on each bet:
( (probability * payout) / bet ) - 1 = expected value as fraction of bet
For example, betting $10 on a single number on an American wheel:
( ((1/38) * 360) / 10 ) - 1 = -0.0526
The house has the same edge on all of the other kinds of bets, except for the five number bet where the house edge is considerably higher (7.89% on an American wheel).
The house edge should not be confused with the hold. The hold is the total amount that the house wins from a player. While the house might have an edge of 5.26%, if a player keeps playing until his or her bankroll is exhausted, the house will enjoy a hold of 100%.
This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
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