Every number in a Dragon Casino guide can be worked out from the rules of the game. This page explains how we do it, so you can check any figure yourself. If a figure in a guide doesn't match this page, that's a mistake, and we'd like to hear about it.
Odds and probability
For table games the chance of each outcome comes from counting. A European roulette wheel has 37 pockets, so a bet on one number wins 1 time in 37, a probability of 2.70%. For card games we count the possible hands, or use published results from simulations of many millions of hands where counting by hand isn't practical, and say which.
House edge
The house edge is the share of each stake the casino expects to keep on average over a very large number of bets. We calculate it as the expected loss on a 1-unit stake:
house edge = (chance of losing × stake) − (chance of winning × winnings)
Take a single-number bet on European roulette, which pays 35 to 1. You win 35 units 1 time in 37 and lose 1 unit the other 36 times, so the expected result is (35 − 36) ÷ 37 = −1 ÷ 37, a house edge of 2.70%. Where a bet can push (a tie that returns your stake), the push counts as neither a win nor a loss.
One figure, from the rules to the page
Here's how one figure in our Sic Bo guide gets onto the page: the cost of the Small bet.
- The rules. The game help for Mega Sic Bo, the version DragonBet runs, says Small wins when the 3 dice total 4 to 10, loses on any triple, and pays 1 to 1. It also publishes the bet's return to player: 97.22%.
- The count. Three dice can land 216 ways (6 × 6 × 6). The code behind the guide goes through all 216 and counts the ones that total 4 to 10 without being a triple. There are 105.
- The figure. A £1 bet gets £2 back 105 times in 216, so it returns 210 ÷ 216 = 97.22% of stakes. The house keeps 2.78%, about £2.78 for every £100 staked.
- The check. Our figure matches the 97.22% in the game help. A separate test counts the 216 rolls again in different code and compares the result with the page, and every change to the site has to pass it. If someone mistyped a payout, or the code counted wrong, the test would fail before the change went live.
Where a figure can be worked out from the rules, we work it out in code and a test checks it against independent working or the maker's published numbers. Where it can't, such as a game show's return to player or a rule's effect from a published simulation, we quote the source and say so. Each guide lists its sources at the end.
Return to player (RTP)
RTP is the flip side of the house edge: the share of all money staked that a game pays back over its lifetime. A 96% RTP means a 4% house edge. RTP is an average across millions of plays. It says nothing about what happens in one session, which can run far above or far below it.
For slots, RTP comes from the game maker, who has it tested. Many slots come in several versions with different RTPs, and a UK casino can choose any of them, so the figure in the game's own help or paytable screen is the one that applies to you.
Volatility
Volatility describes how a game spreads its returns. A low-volatility game pays small amounts often. A high-volatility game pays rarely but sometimes pays big. Two games with the same RTP can feel completely different to play. Volatility labels come from the game maker; there's no single industry scale, so we quote the maker's own label.
How our simulators work
The simulators on this site, such as the roulette wheel on the homepage and the dice and card dealers in the guides, play the game thousands of times using your browser's random number generator, by the rules on the page. They show what tends to happen across many rounds. It can't predict your next session, and the house edge is built into every simulated bet, exactly as it is at a real table.
What this can't do
Nothing on this site can make a casino game profitable to play. The house edge is built into the payouts, and no betting pattern changes it. What the maths can do is show you what each game and each bet costs, so you can choose with your eyes open.
Last reviewed 7 October 2026 by the Dragon Casino team at Dragon Sports Media Limited. Something out of date? Tell us at [email protected].