Edge and RTP are the same coin
RTP (return to player) is the percentage of wagered money a game pays back over the long run. The house edge is simply 100% minus the RTP. A game with 99% RTP has a 1% house edge.
So ‘99.5% RTP blackjack’ and ‘0.5% house edge blackjack’ are the same statement. One sounds generous; the other tells you the truth.
The only formula that matters
Expected loss = total wagered × house edge. Wager $1,000 on a 1% edge game and, on average, you lose $10. It doesn’t matter how you split that into bets — the math is linear.
This is why a ‘small’ 5% edge isn’t small: across volume it compounds against you relentlessly. The difference between a 0.5% game and a 5% game is the difference between a hobby and a leak.
Per hour is where it bites
Edge per bet feels abstract until you multiply by speed. At 120 rounds an hour and a $5 bet on a 2.7% game, you’re wagering $600/hour and expected to lose about $16/hour — every hour, on average.
Lower the edge, lower the bet, or slow down, and that number drops directly.
Pick the lowest-edge game you enjoy and you keep more of your money by default. The House-Edge Decoder turns any game and stake into a real dollar cost per $100 and per hour.
Open the House-Edge Decoder →