Table Games

Table games cover the wheel-, dice-, and card-based formats played against a fixed house edge on a physical or virtual table layout. Blackjack, baccarat, and the house-banked poker variants each have their own detailed breakdown elsewhere on this site — this page focuses on the rest of the category: roulette, craps, sic bo, and casino war, the games most often meant when “table games” is used as a catch-all term.

Roulette

A ball is spun around a wheel divided into numbered pockets, and players bet on where it will land before the spin — on a single number, a group of numbers, a colour, or odd/even, each carrying different odds and payouts. The house edge comes entirely from the wheel’s zero pocket (or double zero, on an American wheel), which doesn’t belong to any even-money bet category and is what tips the true odds in the house’s favour.

French roulette’s La Partage rule — returning half a losing even-money bet when the ball lands on zero — is the single biggest edge reduction available across common roulette variants, cutting the effective house edge on those specific bets by half compared to standard European rules.

Bet types split into inside bets (specific numbers or small groups, higher payout, lower probability) and outside bets (colour, odd/even, high/low, dozens, columns — lower payout, higher probability). Every bet on a properly balanced wheel carries the identical house edge regardless of type, since the payout odds are set to match the true probability minus the house’s built-in margin from the zero pocket.

Craps

Played with two dice, craps centres on a shooter’s roll and a sequence of bets that can be placed both before and during a round. The core Pass Line bet wins on a come-out roll of 7 or 11, loses on 2, 3, or 12, and otherwise establishes a “point” that the shooter must roll again before a 7 to win the bet.

The odds bet — placed behind an established Pass Line point — is unusual among casino bets in carrying literally zero house edge, since it pays at true mathematical odds rather than a house-favouring rate. It’s only available after a point is set, and only as a supplement to an existing Pass Line wager, not as a standalone bet.

Sic Bo

Three dice are shaken (physically or virtually) and players bet on the outcome — specific totals, individual numbers appearing, combinations, or whether the total will be classified “big” (11–17, excluding triples) or “small” (4–10, excluding triples). Big/Small bets carry the lowest house edge in the game, around 2.8%, while specific triple bets can carry a house edge above 15% due to their low probability and high payout.

Casino War

One of the simplest table games available: each player and the dealer draw one card, and the higher card wins. Ties trigger a “war” option — doubling the bet to draw again, with the player winning double on a win or losing the whole doubled amount on a loss — or surrendering half the original bet instead of going to war. The base house edge sits around 2.9%, rising slightly if a player always chooses to surrender rather than go to war on ties, since going to war is mathematically the stronger choice in that specific situation.

Other Common Table Games in This Category

Blackjack, baccarat, and house-banked poker variants (Caribbean Stud, Three Card Poker, Casino Hold’em, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Pai Gow Poker) are also table games in the broad sense, but each has enough depth to warrant its own dedicated breakdown — see the blackjack, baccarat, and poker pages for those.

Table Games — FAQ

Which table game has the lowest house edge overall?

The craps odds bet carries literally zero house edge, the lowest of any bet covered here, though it can only be placed as a supplement to an existing Pass Line wager rather than on its own.

Why is American roulette worse than European roulette?

The extra double-zero pocket on an American wheel nearly doubles the house edge compared to a European wheel with a single zero — 5.26% versus 2.70% — without changing any of the payout odds on individual bets.

Do inside and outside roulette bets carry different house edges?

No, not on a properly balanced wheel — every bet type carries the same house edge, since payout odds are set to match the true probability of each bet minus the same built-in margin from the zero pocket.

Is Sic Bo just a dice version of roulette?

Not exactly — while both spread bets across many possible outcomes, Sic Bo’s payouts vary far more by bet type, from around 2.8% house edge on Big/Small bets to over 15% on specific triples, a wider range than roulette’s uniform edge.

Should I always go to war in Casino War, or surrender?

Going to war on a tie is mathematically the stronger choice in the long run compared to surrendering half the bet, even though it risks losing double the stake if the second draw also loses.

Why don’t blackjack and baccarat have a fixed house edge like roulette?

Both games involve player decisions (blackjack) or a choice of which bet to place (baccarat) that affect the realised house edge, unlike roulette where the edge is fixed purely by the wheel’s structure regardless of what a player bets on.