Last updated: 05-06-2026
Walk into the table-games section after a run on the slots and the maths changes completely. A French roulette wheel hands back £98.65 on every £100 staked over the long run; an American wheel keeps more than five pounds of it. That gap is invisible on the lobby thumbnail — both look like roulette. Pub Casino runs its live floor through Evolution and Pragmatic Play Live, with blackjack, roulette, baccarat and game shows like Crazy Time. What it does not do — and nor do most of its rivals — is print the house edge next to each table. So players pick by theme, not by odds. This page fixes that. Every RTP figure below is a general game fact, not a Pub-specific marketing claim, and I have flagged where the numbers come from.
Online video poker free — and for real money
Video poker is the quiet outlier on any live floor. It is an RNG game — you are not playing against a dealer or other punters, you are playing a paytable. And the paytable, with correct play, is more generous than almost anything else in the building. Jacks or Better on a full-pay 9/6 machine returns 99.54% with perfect strategy. Deuces Wild, full pay, actually tips over 100% — though hitting that figure demands flawless decisions on every hand, which most people never manage.
You can run these in demo mode first. On Pub Casino the demo loads without a deposit, so there is no reason to learn the strategy with real money on the line. When you do switch to cash, treat bankroll like a slot session: video poker variance is lower than a high-volatility slot, but a cold streak still chews through a balance. The skill element is real — unlike roulette, your choices move the RTP.
| Variant | RTP | Min bet | Max bet | Demo | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacks or Better (9/6) | 99.54% | unknown | unknown | Yes | Best beginner paytable; figure assumes perfect strategy |
| Deuces Wild (full pay) | 100.76% | unknown | unknown | Yes | Theoretical edge to the player — only with flawless play |
| Double Double Bonus (10/6) | 98.98% | unknown | unknown | Yes | Higher variance, big four-of-a-kind payouts |
| Joker Poker | 98.60% | unknown | unknown | Yes | 53-card deck with a wild joker; Pub does not publish stake limits |
Author's tip from Benjamin Clarke, Online Casino Content Manager: "Those video poker RTP numbers only hold if you play the strategy correctly every single hand. Pull up a free strategy chart in one window, run the demo in the other, and drill it until it is automatic — otherwise you are handing back two or three percent through misplays alone."
Blackjack online — how to play and what RTP to expect
Blackjack with basic strategy sits around 99.5% RTP, which makes it one of the lowest-edge games anywhere. The catch is the word "basic strategy" — hit, stand, double and split decisions that are mathematically fixed for every hand against every dealer up-card. Memorise the chart and the edge is tiny. Guess your way through and the house quietly reclaims a percentage point or two.
Pub Casino carries both RNG blackjack and live-dealer blackjack through Evolution. RNG plays faster and starts cheaper; live runs slower with a human croupier and usually a higher table minimum. The trap to watch is the side bet. Perfect Pairs looks like harmless fun, but it drags the overall return down towards 95.9% — a far worse proposition than the base game. I leave side bets alone.
| Variant | RTP | Decks | Min | Max | Live? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic (single deck, S17) | 99.69% | 1 | unknown | unknown | RNG | Highest RTP, fewest deck-based swings |
| European (no hole card) | 99.60% | 2+ | unknown | unknown | Both | Standard online format |
| Multihand | 99.50% | Multi | unknown | unknown | RNG | Play several hands per round |
| Perfect Pairs (side bet) | 95.90% | Multi | unknown | unknown | Both | The side bet sharply lowers return — skip it |
Live roulette — what's available at Pub Casino?
Roulette is where the variant you choose matters most, because nothing you do at the table changes the odds. There are no decisions to play well — just a wheel and a house edge baked into the layout. European single-zero carries a 2.70% edge. American, with its extra double-zero pocket, doubles that to 5.26%. French roulette is the smart pick: the La Partage rule returns half your even-money stake when zero lands, pulling the edge down to 1.35%.
Pub Casino's live tables run through Evolution and Pragmatic Play Live, including formats like Mega Roulette and Lightning Roulette. Lightning adds random multipliers on straight-up numbers — fun, but the base edge sits around 3.0%, slightly worse than plain European, because that multiplier glamour is paid for somewhere. Table minimums are not published, so check the lobby before you sit down; live limits often start above what you would stake on a slot spin.
| Type | House edge | Provider | Min | Max | Feature | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| French (La Partage) | 1.35% | Evolution | unknown | unknown | Half stake back on zero | Best value wheel for even-money bets |
| European | 2.70% | Evolution / Pragmatic Live | unknown | unknown | Single zero | The standard online wheel |
| Lightning Roulette | ~3.00% | Evolution | unknown | unknown | Random multipliers | Higher base edge than plain European |
| American | 5.26% | varies | unknown | unknown | Double zero | Avoid where a single-zero wheel exists |
Author's tip from Benjamin Clarke, Online Casino Content Manager: "If a French wheel is open, take it over European every time — the La Partage rule literally hands back half your even-money stake on a zero. Same game, half the long-run cost. And keep your stakes within a deposit limit you set in advance; live tables move fast and it is easy to lose track."
Which game has the best odds — video poker, blackjack or roulette?
Put the three side by side and the picture is clear. Video poker and blackjack reward skill — your decisions move the return, sometimes by whole percentage points. Roulette does not; you pick a wheel and accept its edge. The chart below scores each game out of 100 across the factors that actually decide whether it suits you: return to player, how much strategy matters, pace, how cheaply you can sit down, and how social the table feels.
None of this is about chasing a "winning" game — the house keeps an edge on all of them. It is about matching the game to your temperament and bankroll. Want control and the lowest cost per hand? Video poker or blackjack, strategy learned. Want atmosphere and a real croupier with no homework? Live roulette, on the best wheel available.
Live casino vs RNG games — key differences
The choice between a live table and its RNG twin comes down to four things: pace, price, atmosphere and connection. RNG games deal instantly, start cheaper and never buffer. Live games bring a human dealer, real cards and a slower, more deliberate rhythm — but they need a stable connection and usually a higher minimum. The RTP itself is broadly the same for the same rules; what differs is the experience around it.
Here is the part most pages skip: the expected loss in pounds. Stake £100 across a session and the game type decides roughly how much the house keeps. Video poker and blackjack with strategy cost you under fifty pence on average; European roulette costs £2.70; American roulette and a typical slot session cost several pounds more. Same hundred pounds, very different burn rate.
| Parameter | Live Casino | RNG Games | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | Dealer-paced, slower | Instant, very fast | RNG can drain a bankroll faster per minute |
| Minimum stake | Usually higher | Usually lower | Pub does not publish exact table limits |
| Atmosphere | Human dealer, chat | Solo, software | Evolution / Pragmatic Play Live studios |
| Connection | Needs stable stream | Tolerates weak signal | Buffering can interrupt live play |
| RTP (same rules) | Comparable | Comparable | Side bets and game shows lower the return |
So if you are deciding where to spend a session, the order of preference is straightforward on cost grounds:
- Video poker or blackjack with correct strategy — under 50p expected loss per £100.
- French roulette on a La Partage wheel — 1.35% edge, the cheapest table game with no strategy to learn.
- European roulette and most live game shows — fun, mid-range cost.
- American roulette — avoid wherever a single-zero wheel is offered.
Author's tip from Benjamin Clarke, Online Casino Content Manager: "Decide live or RNG by your connection and your budget, not by the lobby graphics. On a flaky signal, RNG won't freeze mid-hand. And remember RNG deals far more rounds per minute — same edge, but the money moves faster, so set a session limit before you start."
These games are for adults aged 18 and over, and every figure here is a long-run average, not a prediction of any single session — set deposit and time limits before you play, and use Pub Casino's responsible-gambling tools or GamStop if play stops being fun.
Live tables play slower and skew lower on house edge than most reels — a different rhythm to the slots library, and worth knowing before you sit down. The bonus page is where it gets fiddly, since live games usually contribute little toward wagering. For straightforward funding, the payment methods page covers it, and the sportsbook rounds out the live-action side.
