Underneath "Do you play blackjack with 2 decks?" lies a single number: the share of each stake a game keeps on average, known as the house edge. At table games it follows straight from the rules. A change in one payout or one dealer rule moves it, sometimes by more than the gap between two whole games. Knowing which rules matter lets a player compare tables in a few seconds and see what an hour of play is likely to cost.
Blackjack played with sound strategy carries one of the lowest edges in a casino, often under one percent, and the rules decide exactly where it lands. A natural paid at six to five instead of three to two adds more than a full percentage point on its own. Fewer decks, the right to double after splitting and an offer of surrender each trim the edge slightly. A player who guesses instead of following basic strategy pays a multiple of the published figure.
Video poker is unusual because its edge can be read straight from the pay table on the screen. Two machines with identical cards and rules can differ only in what a full house and a flush pay, and that difference alone can move the return by two or three points. A full pay table, played with the correct holds, returns close to everything staked over time. Machines with trimmed payouts look the same from a distance, so the numbers in the table are what separates them.
The expected cost of play is the edge applied to the total amount staked, and the pace of a game decides how fast that total grows. A fast online table can deal several times more rounds per hour than a busy physical one, so a small edge applied quickly can cost more than a larger edge applied slowly. Multiplying the average stake by the rounds per hour and by the edge gives a fair estimate of what an hour at a given table is likely to cost.
Blackjack with sound strategy often keeps under one percent, the baccarat banker bet a little over one percent, a single zero wheel about 2.7 percent and a double zero wheel about 5.3 percent.
Side bets pay big amounts on unusual hands, and those payouts are funded by an edge that dwarfs the one on the main wager at the same table.
A natural paid six to five instead of three to two adds more than a full point, while fewer decks, doubling after splitting and surrender each trim the edge a little.
A wheel with one green zero keeps about 2.7 percent of each bet, and a second zero lifts that to about 5.3 percent while every payout stays identical.
Multiply the average stake by the number of rounds per hour and then by the house edge; the result is a fair estimate of the expected loss for that hour.
The banker bet keeps a little over one percent after its commission, the player bet slightly more, and the tie keeps around fourteen percent despite its generous payout.