Every edge figure on this desk is derived from the stated rules of the game, not from any operator.
Eleven classic wagers, grouped by game family. Each row prints what the wager pays, the real odds against it, and the share of every unit staked that the rules retain.
| Wager | Pays | True odds against | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single number, single-zero wheel | 35 to 1 | 36 to 1 | 2.70% |
| Even-money bet, single-zero wheel | 1 to 1 | 19 to 18 | 2.70% |
| Single number, double-zero wheel | 35 to 1 | 37 to 1 | 5.26% |
| Five-number line, double-zero wheel | 6 to 1 | 33 to 5 | 7.89% |
| Wager | Pays | True odds against | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass line | 1 to 1 | 251 to 244 | 1.41% |
| Free odds behind an established point | true odds | true odds | 0.00% |
| Place bet on the six | 7 to 6 | 6 to 5 | 1.52% |
| Any seven, one roll | 4 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 16.67% |
| Wager | Pays | True odds against | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Six numbers from forty-nine, jackpot line | share of a prize pool | 1 in 13,983,816 | set by the pool, not by a fixed payout |
| Five numbers from fifty, jackpot line | share of a prize pool | 1 in 2,118,760 | set by the pool, not by a fixed payout |
| Wager | Pays | True odds against | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three reels, sixty-four virtual stops each, top line | set by the paytable | 1 in 262,144 | set by the paytable and the weighting |
single number on a 37-pocket wheel, paid 35 to 1expected value = (1/37 x 35) + (36/37 x -1)= (35 - 36) / 37 = -1/37 = -0.02703house edge = 2.70% of every unit stakedEvery percentage above is arithmetic from the payout and the pocket, dice or ball count printed in the same row. No operator is named and no offer is carried; the derivations are on the topic pages.
Three lead pieces working the board figures out in full.
Wheel and dice
A wheel is the cleanest game to analyse because its sample space is printed on it. Thirty-seven pockets paid at thirty-five to one give 2.70 per cent; adding a second zero and changing nothing else gives 5.26 per cent. The same page shows why a split, a column and an even-money bet on the same wheel all return the identical figure.
Wheel and dice
Two dice produce thirty-six equally likely ordered results, and every dice wager ever written is a claim about how those results are grouped. The pass line works out at 1.41 per cent, a one-roll seven at 16.67 per cent, and the free odds bet at precisely nothing.
Cards
A wheel resets every spin. A deck does not, because each card dealt changes what remains. That single structural difference is the reason some card games admit skill, and the reason multiple decks, deep cuts and continuous shufflers exist at all.
One unit staked per round, one thousand rounds, ranked by edge. The percentages are small; the multiplier is not.
| Wager | House edge | Expected loss after 1,000 rounds |
|---|---|---|
| Any seven, one roll | 16.67% | 166.67 |
| Five-number line, double-zero wheel | 7.89% | 78.95 |
| Single number, double-zero wheel | 5.26% | 52.63 |
| Any bet on a single-zero wheel | 2.70% | 27.03 |
| Place bet on the six | 1.52% | 15.15 |
| Pass line | 1.41% | 14.14 |
| Free odds behind a point | 0.00% | 0.00 |
edge on any bet on a 37-pocket wheel = 0.027027rounds = 1,000, stake per round = 1 unitexpected loss = 0.027027 x 1,000 = 27.03 unitsThe table is expectation only. A single thousand-round run swings widely around these figures, and the law of large numbers page shows how quickly the swing stops mattering.
Longer pieces on where these games came from, how they are built, and how they came to be regulated.