Casino cost calculator
Every casino game has a price, and it is simple to work out: the money you put through the game times the share the house keeps. Pick the game, the bet and the pace, and see what an evening costs on average, and what the rakeback on casino bets gives back.
This is the average over many sessions. Any one evening lands far above or below it; that swing is the game. The average is what the house keeps.
How to read the result
The house edge is the share of every bet the game keeps in the long run. A slot at 96.5% RTP keeps 3.5 cents of every dollar; Dice at Basepoker keeps 1 cent. Multiply by how much money you put through the game, which is the bet times the number of bets, and you have the price of the evening. $1 a spin at 300 spins an hour for two hours is $600 through the machine and $21 kept on a 3.5% slot; the same $600 through Dice costs $6.
Rakeback on casino bets is paid on the house's take, not on your turnover, so 15% of $21 is $3.15, and the slot evening costs $17.85 on average instead of $21. It softens the price. It never makes the game profitable, because 15% of the edge is still less than the edge. The same goes for race points and rank bonuses at Basepoker: they are paid out of what the house keeps.
The figures for Dice and Limbo are read from the game screens at Basepoker; the slot figures are what the four Base Studios slots print on their rules screens. The others are the standard edges of each game under its usual rules, and the game's own information screen is the final word. Our casino page lists what each room has and where the edges are lowest; the Casino Game Helper has the rules and a practice table for each game.
What this calculator does not do is tell you how to win at a casino game. There is no such thing; the edge is built in. Poker is the game on this site where skill moves the result, and the rakeback calculator shows what that is worth.
Questions
What is the house edge?
The share of every bet a casino game keeps over the long run, which is 100% minus the game's return to player. A slot with a 96.5% RTP has a 3.5% edge; Dice at Basepoker, with a 1.98 multiplier for a 50% chance, has a 1% edge.
Why does the bet size not change the edge?
Because the edge is a percentage of turnover. A bigger bet puts more money through the game and costs more in dollars at the same rate. The pace matters the same way: 600 spins an hour cost twice what 300 do.
Does rakeback change the result?
It lowers the cost. Basepoker pays 15% of the house's take on casino bets, so the calculator takes 15% off the amount the house keeps. It cannot take the cost below zero, because the rakeback is a share of the edge.
Where do the edges in the list come from?
Dice and Limbo are read from the Basepoker game screens and the 96.5% slot figure from the Base Studios rules screens. The others are the standard edges of each game under its usual rules; the game's own information screen is the final word, and you can type any edge into the calculator.