Why the House Always Wins

Key takeaways

• On an American roulette wheel, 38 one-dollar bets return about 36 dollars on average: the casino's edge is about 5.26 percent.
• The edge applies to all the money that passes over the table, so time turns a small number into a large loss. In our simulation of 100 players and 1,000 bets, only 7 stayed ahead.
• Near misses and 'wins' that pay less than the bet can make losing feel like winning. These are small studies, and they don't show that near misses cause gambling problems.
• A free bonus can cost more than it gives: in a worked example, 10 dollars that must be bet 30 times has an expected loss of 15 dollars at a 5 percent edge.
• Stopping is the one move the casino can't take from you. Protect rent money first, close the door to the apps, don't chase losses, and tell one person.