House edge is the price of play
House edge is the complement of RTP: the share of total wager the operator retains in theory. It is the cleanest way to express the price of a game, because multiplying it by turnover gives the theoretical loss directly.
Why turnover dominates
A 1 percent edge sounds small, but applied to $500,000 of turnover it is $5,000 of theoretical loss. When comparing games or planning a budget, the two numbers that matter are the edge and the amount you will actually wager.
- theoretical_loss = wager x house_edge / 100.
- Table games can have a different edge per bet type.
- Rebates reduce the effective edge but do not remove it.
Frequently asked questions
- Can house edge be beaten in the long run?
- Not with games that carry a positive house edge. Expected value stays negative regardless of staking pattern.