House ADVANTAGE

House advantage is usually presented as a percentage of a game’s wagers that a gambling service provider expects to keep from players over time. It’s not always a big number—it doesn’t have to be for the house to earn a lot of money, since we’re talking about taking a small amount from many players over time. 

For example, the house advantage for someone playing blackjack with basic strategy—which means they understand how to place strategic bets to maximize their likelihood of winning—is only approximately 0.5 percent. But the reality is that very few gamblers know the ideal moves to make in every situation, so the true house advantage is much higher.

All forms of gambling favour the house—slots, poker, blackjack, all of them. There’s no trick to it. If you keep playing, you are more likely to walk away with less money than when you started. Even the lottery has a house advantage.