Start with what you want
- Risk: high-volatility pokies pay rarely but big; low-volatility games pay small amounts often and stretch a budget.
- Pace: pokies and crash games run a round every few seconds, so they cost more per hour than a slow table.
- Company: live dealer tables add a host and chat; RNG games are solo and faster.
- Time: decide how long a session lasts before you start, and stop when it ends.
Your risk tolerance sets the volatility you should pick. A player with a $50 budget needs a game that survives a long losing run. Low-volatility pokies and even-money table bets fit that budget best. A player who accepts a short session for a chance at a large win can choose high-volatility pokies instead.
Pace sets the cost per hour. A pokie spin takes a few seconds, so a $1 stake turns over hundreds of dollars in an hour. A live blackjack table deals far fewer rounds in the same hour. The slower game costs less per hour at the same stake. Slow tables also suit players who like to think before each decision.
Skill separates the games that reward learning from the games that do not. Blackjack rewards basic strategy, a fixed chart of the correct play for each hand. Pokies, roulette and baccarat reward no skill beyond the choice of bet. Pick a skill game if you want your decisions to matter. Pick a luck game if you want to switch off.
RTP and house edge
RTP is the share of all bets a game pays back over the long run; the house edge is the rest. A 96% RTP pokie keeps about $4 of every $100 staked, on average across all players. Your own session can land far above or below that.
The same pokie can run at 96%, 94% or lower depending on the version a casino picks. Open the info or paytable screen and compare it with the studio's published figure.
The house edge is the number to compare across games. It is the average percentage of each bet that the casino keeps. Roulette on a single-zero wheel has a house edge of 2.7%. Roulette on a double-zero wheel has a house edge of 5.26%.
Blackjack shows how much table rules matter. Blackjack with basic strategy and a 3:2 payout for a blackjack has a house edge of 0.46%. The same game with a 6:5 payout has a house edge of 1.82%. The payout rule alone raises the cost several times over. Read the payout line on the table, and use the blackjack guide to learn what a good table looks like.
House edge applies to the total amount staked, not to your deposit. A $20 deposit that you stake five times over is $100 of bets. At a 4% edge that costs about $4 on average. Over a short session luck swamps the edge. Over thousands of bets the edge decides the result.
The main game types
Pokies
Most of any new casino's lobby. RTP is usually 94 to 97%, and features such as free spins, multipliers and bonus buys raise the volatility.
Roulette
Pick European (one zero, 2.70% edge) over American (two zeros, 5.26%). French roulette with La Partage is better still on even-money bets. See how to play new roulette games.
Blackjack
The lowest edge in the casino if you follow basic strategy, about 0.5% at a 3:2 table. Avoid tables that pay 6:5.
Baccarat
No decisions beyond the bet. Back the banker (1.06% edge) and skip the tie.
Sic Bo and craps
Dice games with many bets. Stick to the simple ones: big or small in Sic Bo, pass line in craps. The exotic bets carry much higher edges.
Matching the game type to the player
Pokies suit players who want variety and low minimum stakes. Pokies also carry the widest spread of RTP figures. Check the paytable of each pokie before you play it. A new casino lists a long run of pokies, so use the studio and the RTP to narrow the field.
Roulette suits players who want simple bets and a result they can watch. Roulette is best played on a single-zero wheel, so skip double-zero tables. French variants add La Partage, which returns half of an even-money bet when the ball lands on zero.
Baccarat suits players who want a low edge with no decisions. The banker bet has a house edge of 1.06%. The tie bet that pays 8:1 has a house edge of 14.36%. The rules of baccarat fit on one page, and the choice of bet is the only decision you make.
Sic Bo and craps suit players who enjoy a busy table. Each game offers a few simple bets with low edges and many exotic bets with high ones. Learn the simple bets first and ignore the rest until you know the layout.
Making the choice
- Drop games whose rules you do not understand yet.
- Try the rest in demo mode or at the lowest stake.
- Check the RTP or table rules at the casino you will play.
- Set a budget for the session and a stake that lasts the whole of it.
New to casino games? Start with the best new games for beginners; experienced players can read games for advanced players.
A shortlist of two or three games is enough. Test each one in demo mode for twenty minutes. Note how fast your balance moves and whether the pace feels comfortable. Drop any game that feels rushed or confusing.
Set the budget before the first spin. Divide the session budget by your stake to count the bets you get. A $40 budget at $1 stakes gives 40 bets. The same budget at $0.50 gives 80 bets. Most online casinos offer deposit limits and time-outs, and the responsible gaming page explains how to use them before you play.