Three table games, four distinct bet types, and a house edge range that spans from 0.5% to 9.5%. If you care about how much you're paying per hand, those numbers matter a lot. This guide maps each option to the edge it actually costs you.
The Range You're Working With
Not all table games are priced the same. The house edge is the percentage of every wager the casino keeps on average, over a large sample. It's not a fee you pay upfront. It's a statistical drag on your bankroll, and it compounds across every hand you play.
Here's the honest range available at Chips.gg:
- Blackjack with basic strategy: house edge as low as 0.5%
- Baccarat Banker bet: approximately 1.06%
- Baccarat Player bet: approximately 1.24%
- European roulette (single zero): 2.70%
- American roulette (double zero): 5.26%
- Baccarat Tie bet: approximately 9.5%
That's a 19x spread between the sharpest play and the worst single bet on the table. Choose by whim and you might be paying nearly 20 times more in expected losses than you need to.
Blackjack: The Lowest Ceiling, The Highest Effort
Blackjack with correct basic strategy can get the house edge down to around 0.5%. That's not a marketing claim. It's the result of solved mathematics: for every possible hand versus every possible dealer upcard, there is a statistically correct decision. Play those decisions consistently, and 0.5% is achievable.
The catch: that edge requires effort. Basic strategy means memorizing or referencing a chart, not going on gut. Play by feel and the edge climbs fast. Most recreational players bleed more than 0.5% simply through suboptimal decisions like standing on soft 17 or not doubling when the math calls for it.
Blackjack also rewards patience. Slower decision-making doesn't cost you more edge. It reduces your hands per hour, which directly reduces expected losses in absolute dollar terms.
Skip it if: you want passive, low-mental-load play. The 0.5% edge is only real if you're willing to use it.
Baccarat: Low Edge, Zero Decisions
Baccarat is the honest choice for players who want a low house edge without doing any work. You pick Banker or Player. The cards play themselves. The house edge on Banker sits at roughly 1.06%, and on Player at roughly 1.24%. That's it.
One rule worth knowing: Banker wins come with a 5% commission in most implementations, which is already factored into the 1.06% edge figure. It's not a hidden fee. It's how the bet is priced.
The Tie bet deserves its own warning. It pays 8:1 in most versions, which sounds generous. The house edge is approximately 9.5%. That's not a side bet. That's a different game entirely, and a much worse one. Avoid it.
For a deeper look at how the baccarat bets stack up on Chips.gg, Baccarat on Chips.gg: House Edge, Bets, and Who It Suits covers the mechanics in full.
Skip it if: you want decisions that affect outcomes. Baccarat gives you no agency once the bet is placed. Some players find that liberating. Others find it boring.
Roulette: Simple Bets, Real Variance in the Edge
Roulette's house edge is baked into the wheel. European roulette (single zero) costs you 2.70% on every bet, regardless of where you place it. Red/black, single number, column: the edge is the same across all of them. The bet type only changes your variance, not your expected cost.
American roulette adds a second zero. That takes the house edge to 5.26%, nearly double the European version. There is no strategic reason to play American roulette when European is available. It's not a different experience; it's just a worse price.
Chips.gg's live roulette section includes Lightning Roulette, Quantum Roulette, and XXXTreme Lightning Roulette, all powered by Evolution Gaming and Pragmatic Play Live. These variants add multiplier payouts on select numbers, which can produce large individual wins. The trade-off is that base payouts on those numbers are reduced to fund the multipliers, which affects the math on specific bet placements. Know the paytable before chasing the lightning numbers.
Skip it if: you want the lowest possible house edge. At 2.70%, European roulette is fine. It's not the sharpest option at the table.
Where the Chips Originals Fit
If you're comparing table games to the rest of the platform, it's worth noting that Chips.gg's 13 Originals carry a 1% house edge. That puts games like Dice, Hilo, and Crash in the same general tier as baccarat, with the additional feature of provably fair verification.
1% is not better than blackjack with perfect basic strategy, but it's honest, consistent, and verifiable on-chain. That's a different kind of value.
The Comparison in Plain Terms
| Game |
House Edge |
Decisions Required |
| Blackjack (basic strategy) |
~0.5% |
Yes, every hand |
| Baccarat Banker |
~1.06% |
No |
| Baccarat Player |
~1.24% |
No |
| European Roulette |
2.70% |
No |
| American Roulette |
5.26% |
No |
| Baccarat Tie |
~9.5% |
No |
The Honest Version
None of these games reverse the house edge. Blackjack gets it close to zero, but the house still keeps it. Baccarat is passive and cheap. Roulette is priced higher for less complexity. The Tie bet is a donation.
Choose by what you actually want from a session: agency and low cost (blackjack), simplicity and low cost (baccarat Banker), or higher variance with a known price (roulette). What you shouldn't do is pick the Tie bet because the payout sounds good, or play American roulette when European is two clicks away.
Do the math. The table above makes it simple.
