Baccarat
In baccarat the best bet is always on the banker and the fewer the decks the better the banker bet is. The following table shows the house edge on the banker and player bets among those software brands offering baccarat.
Software Decks Banker Player
Microgaming 1 1.0117% 1.2864%
Boss Media 1 1.0117% 1.2864%
Starnet 1 1.0117% 1.2864%
Real Time Gaming 6 1.0558% 1.2374%
Cryptologic 8 1.0558% 1.2374%
Unified Gaming ? ? ?
Blackjack
See my section playing blackjack online for information on blackjack.
Caribbean Stud Poker
The usual pay table in Caribbean Stud Poker has a house edge of 5.22%. Two software brands offer a slightly more generous table with a lower house edge. The following table shows the pay table and house edge according to each brand.
Online Caribbean Stud Poker
Hand Microgaming Cryptologic Boss Media,
Starnet,
Real Time Gaming
Royal flush 999 to 1 200 to 1 100 to 1
Straight flush 199 to 1 50 to 1 50 to 1
Four of a kind 99 to 1 20 to 1 20 to 1
Full house 14 to 1 7 to 1 7 to 1
Flush 9 to 1 5 to 1 5 to 1
Straight 5 to 1 4 to 1 4 to 1
Three of a kind 3 to 1 3 to 1 3 to 1
Two pair 1 to 1 2 to 1 2 to 1
Pair 1 to 1 1 to 1 1 to 1
Ace/king 1 to 1 1 to 1 1 to 1
House edge 5.01% 5.21% 5.22%
Starnet and Boss Media offer an optional one dollar side bet. When I researched this article both had extremely low jackpot sizes, resulting in a house edge of 49.05% at Starnet and 61.47% at Boss Media.
Casino War
Starnet offers a great game of Casino War where a tie after going to war pays 3 to 1 on the total amount bet. In other words an initial wager of $5 can lead to a $30 win. Real Time Gaming follows the standard rule that a tie after going to war is a player loss.
Software Decks House Edge
Starnet 1 0.6627%
Real Time Gaming 1 2.4154%
Craps
Most online casinos do not understand proper rules of laying odds. In real casinos the player may lay the odds relative to how much the player can win. For example if a casino allows 2X odds and the player rolls a 4 after a $10 don’t pass bet then the player can bet $40 on the odds because the amount the player can win is $20, two times the original bet. Online casinos usually only allow the lay bet to be relative to the don’t pass or don’t come bet. I refer to this rule as “partial odds.” Unified Gaming follows the correct rule, allowing 1X odds on their $1-$25 table and 2X on their $10-$100 table.
Overall the best craps game online is at Boss Media, WildCasino.ag Review offering 3X odds. However Boss Media’s partial 3X odds on the don’t pass and don’t come coincidentally work out the same combined house edge as Unified Gaming’s correct 2X odds in their high limit game. The following table displays the combined house edge on the pass and don’t pass along with buy or laying the maximum allowable odds.
Software Odds Pass Don’t Pass
Boss Media Partial 3X 0.4714% 0.4545%
Unified Gaming Correct 2X 0.6061% 0.4545%
Cryptologic Partial 2X 0.6061% 0.5844%
Microgaming Partial 1X 0.8485% 0.8182%
Players making buy and lay bets should be happy to learn that Boss Media only charges the 5% commission on winning bets. Starnet has craps on their menu but whenever I try to play it I get a message that it is not online.
Keno
The following table displays the expected return by software brand and number of marks chosen. The best game is Microgaming’s pick 13.
Marks Microgaming Unified Gaming Cryptologic Boss Media
1 75.00% 75.00% 75.00% n/a
2 92.09% 92.09% 72.15% 68.04%
3 93.04% 94.35% 73.54% 69.38%
4 93.79% 94.55% 73.79% 67.39%
5 93.87% 94.79% 73.22% 67.57%
6 93.79% 94.62% 71.61% 70.64%
7 96.35% 94.58% 72.41% 69.56%
8 92.90% 94.61% 72.71% 67.47%
9 92.86% 94.66% 71.87% 64.53%
10 94.54% 94.74% 72.35% 69.61%
11 93.10% n/a n/a n/a
12 94.22% n/a n/a n/a
13 96.54% n/a n/a n/a
14 95.42% n/a n/a n/a
15 95.19% n/a n/a n/a
Let it Ride
Starnet, Cryptologic, and Real Time Gaming offer Let it Ride. Real Time Gaming calls the game Let ’em Ride and Starnet calls it Free Ride. The rules are standard under all three brands.
All three offer a side bet, Cyrptologic offers a flat pay schedule while the other two are based on a progressive meter. The house edge on the Cryptologic side bet is 22.61%. At the time I researched this material the meters were so low at the other two the house edge was 76.45% (Real Time Gaming) and 49.78% (Starnet).
Pai Gow Poker
Boss Media, Microgaming, Cryptologic, Starnet, Real Time Gaming, and Unified Gaming all offer pai gow poker. All brands except Unified Gaming only let the dealer bank. At Unified Gaming the turn of banker alternates. This results in a house edge of 1.46% at Unified Gaming and 2.86% at all others. Another nice feature of the Unified Gaming pai gow poker game is a house way button to automatically set the player hand.
Red Dog
In Red Dog the greater the number of decks the better the odds are for the player. This is because of the greater probability of drawing a three of a kind, which pays 11:1. The following table shows the number of decks and house edge of all brands offering Casino War.
Software Decks House Edge
Cryptologic 8 2.75%
Real Time Gaming 2 3.08%
Microgaming 1 3.16%
Starnet 1 3.16%
Roulette
Cryptologic offers half back on even money bets if the ball lands in zero. Assuming you play only even money bets then Cryptologic is your best bet in roulette. If you must make other bets then a single zero wheel is preferable, which can be found at Microgaming and Real Time Gaming.
Software Single Zero Half Back House Edge
Cryptologic No Yes 2.63%
Microgaming Yes No 2.70%
Real Time Gaming Yes No 2.70%
Boss Media No No 5.26%
Starnet No No 5.26%
Unified Gaming No No 5.26%
Sic Bo
Only Microgaming and Starnet offer sic bo. Overall Microgaming offers better odds than than they do in Atlantic City and Starnet offers worse. For example real casinos usually pay 60:1 on a 4 or 17, Microgaming pays 62:1 and Starnet pays 50:1. However the best bets in either game are the small and big which both carry a house edge of 2.78%.
