Here Are the 3 Highest Paying Casino Games

Plenty of casino games offer fair return to player (RTP). You can look forward to at least 95% RTP or higher with the majority of games.

However, 95% payback still leaves the casino with a 5% house edge. You probably don’t like spotting the casino this much of an advantage.

Luckily, you don’t have to give up this much ground to the house. Instead, you can find games that offer higher payout percentages than this.

The following guide covers the absolute highest-paying casino games. It also discusses some other games that are worth a mention regarding RTP.

1 – Video Poker

The battle for first place is a close one between blackjack and video poker. The latter, however, wins by a small margin thanks to several variations with extremely high payback.

In fact, real money video poker even offers over 100% RTP through certain variants. Full-pay Deuces Wild (100.76% RTP), 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17%), and 10/6 Double Double Bonus (100.07%) can deliver guaranteed profits.

Unfortunately, these machines are only available in Nevada casinos. For all practical purposes, I’ll throw them out of the discussion.

Even after ignoring these games, though, video poker still offers outstanding payout percentages. Here’s a list of some other variations with high RTP:

• One Eyed Jacks – 99.98%
• Super Aces – 99.94%
• All Aces (online only) – 99.92%
• Triple Deuces Wild – 99.92%
• Double Joker Wild – 99.91%
• Aces & Eights (online only) – 99.78%
• Triple Triple Bonus – 99.75%
• Not So Ugly Deuces (NUSD) – 99.73%
• 9/6 Jacks or Better – 99.54%
• 8/5 Bonus Poker – 99.17%

As you can see, a couple of these games are available exclusively online. You can play Microgaming’s All Aces or Real Time Gaming’s Aces & Eights at mobile casinos.

Assuming you don’t have access to either of these games due to country restrictions, you can still rely on 9/6 Jacks or Better in online and land-based casinos.

The only problem with video poker is that it features the toughest strategy on this list. You’ll need to use a trainer to learn proper strategy through repetition.

But this list is all about the best-paying casino games available—not the top-paying ones with little-to-no strategy. For that reason, I still consider video poker to be number one.

2 – Blackjack

Blackjack isn’t far behind video poker in terms of payback. In fact, it surpasses video poker’s RTP under the right circumstances.

The rules play the largest role in blackjack RTP. They can vary from one table to the next. That said, you definitely want to know what rules do and don’t favor you.

Here’s a look at the most-important blackjack rules that affect your chances of winning:

• Natural blackjack payout – A 3:2 payout (versus 6:5) raises RTP by 1.39%.
• Number of decks – Single-deck tables (versus eight-deck games) increase RTP by 0.5%.
• Double down – Doubling down on any total (versus just 10 & 11) increases RTP by 0.25%.
• Dealer’s action on soft 17 – The dealer standing on soft 17 (versus hitting) boosts the RTP by 0.2%.
• Double down after splitting (DAS) – DAS raises the RTP by 0.17%.
• Re-splitting aces – Re-splitting aces increases the RTP by 0.08%
• Late surrender – Being able to surrender late (after dealer peeks for a natural) raises the RTP by 0.07%.

Many online blackjack games offer an RTP figure in their pay tables/info sections. They save you from having to figure out all the rules and determine payback yourself.

Ezugi’s blackjack surrender is the highest paying online blackjack game that we’ve found with 99.89% RTP. 1×2 Gaming’s bonus blackjack and Saucify’s single-deck blackjack are close runner-ups with 99.82% and 99.79% payback, respectively.

The average mobile blackjack game delivers somewhere between 99.3% and 99.5% RTP. This range is just a shade lower than the common 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker game.

As for land-based casinos, they don’t offer info sections or RTP figures. Luckily, though, online guides exist that show payout percentages for blackjack tables in major gambling destinations.

The average land-based blackjack table features somewhere between 98.5% and 99% RTP. However, you can find better games than this in Vegas.

3 – Craps

Normally, real money craps is outside of the top 3 games regarding payback. Its best regular bet, don’t pass line, offers 98.64% RTP. The second-best wager, pass line, delivers 98.59% payback.

However, you can improve these payout percentages by adding odds to the equation. Odds pay at their true odds of winning and offer 100% RTP overall.

Here’s a look at how you place odds bet:

1. Make a pass line or don’t pass line wager.
2. Wait for a point number to be established.
3. Put odds behind the points number.

Odds are expressed as a multiple of your original bet. Each casino caps how high you can go with these multiples. For example, a gaming establishment may allow you to wager up to 5x odds.

The benefit to betting at higher multiples is that you’ll improve the overall RTP. The downside, though, is that you must risk more money as the multiples increase. A $5 don’t pass line wager with 5x odds, for example, requires betting $30 overall).

Here’s a look at how much the payout percentage rises based on the different multiples:

• 1x odds: pass line 99.15%; don’t pass line 99.32%
• 2x odds: pass line 99.39%; don’t pass line 99.54%
• 3x odds: pass line 99.53%; don’t pass line 99.66%
• 5x odds: pass line 99.67%; don’t pass line 99.77%
• 10x odds: pass line 99.82%; don’t pass line 99.82%
• 20x odds: pass line 99.90%; don’t pass line 99.93%
• 100x odds: pass line 99.98%; don’t pass line 99.99%

You can see that the highest multiples allow you to exceed payback offered by many blackjack and video poker games. Odds this high, however, are rarely available. In most cases, you’ll only be able to bet up to 3x or 5x odds.

Other High Paying Casino Games

Video poker, blackjack, and craps aren’t the only games worth considering when you’re seeking high RTP. The following games also offer respectable payout percentages.

Baccarat

Baccarat features two wagers worth consideration, including the banker hand and player hand. These bets offer 98.94% and 98.76% RTP, respectively.

The banker bet is superior by a slim margin. Even with a 5% commission taken out of wins, it surprisingly offers high payback.

European Roulette

European roulette is named for the fact that it plays out on a European wheel. The latter features 37 numbers, including a single-zero pocket.

This wheel’s zero always favors the casino. By dividing the 36 pockets that don’t favor the house by the 37 total numbers, you’ll find that European roulette offers 97.3% RTP.

French Roulette

French roulette is very similar to the European version because it’s played on the same wheel. However, it offers a twist in the form of the la partage rule.

La partage delivers half of losing bets back when the ball lands on zero. You must make even-money wagers, though, to take advantage of this rule. Assuming you stick with even-money bets, then you’ll be looking at 98.65% payback.

Three Card Poker

This entertaining poker variation begins with placing an ante bet and optional jackpot wager. After looking at your cards, you can either fold or place the play bet.

The strategy behind three-card poker is relatively easy. You should make the play bet when holding Q-6-4 or higher and fold in other instances. By playing your cards right, you’ll be looking at 97.68% RTP.

Casino War

Casino war is much like the common card game war. It revolves around trying to draw a higher card than the dealer.

The twist, though, is that you must forfeit half your bet or go to war in the event of ties. If you go to war, then you must place an extra wager to try and win the original profit. Considering that tie rules favor the house, casino war delivers 97.77% RTP under common rules.

Conclusion

If you want the best chance to beat the casino, then you should concentrate on the highest-paying versions of blackjack and video poker. Additionally, you can play craps while backing don’t pass line with odds.

Of course, you don’t necessarily have to stick with these games the entire time. Some of the games above, including baccarat, French roulette, and casino war, also provide fair odds.

No matter which of the above games you play, though, you’ll want to learn any associated strategy. Otherwise, you’ll be giving up ground to the house.