With poker, there are two types. Cash games and tournaments.
In cash games players have chips that have an actual cash value. Generally as the hand progresses a 'rake' is taken from the pot, according to the casino rules. The rake varies from one casino to another, but is basically their commission for running the game.
I've also seen casinos that simply charge players every half hour for being at the table. The pot is not raked, but every half hour players have to ante a pre-determined amount, which is simply collected by the dealer and kept. I've only seen this in one casino though. Raking the pot is more common.
When casinos run tournaments, the buy in is normally shown in two numbers; like $100+$10. The first number is what goes into the prize pool. The second number is the fee charged by the casino.
So by using a rake and a buy in, the casino makes money. In addition, during cash games it is common to tip the dealer if you win a decent pot. The dealer keeps all these tips and at the end of the session, some of the dealers tips are taken from him and shared among the other staff of the poker room. This helps keep staff costs lower for the casino, since they can pay lower wages, knowing that the staff will make up extra money in tips.
The casinos simply do not offer any game in which they do not make money. Poker is great for them since there is no risk to the casino. They either take a rake, (a percentage of every pot), an hourly or half hourly fee, or a tournament charge.
I just saw a tournament in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago where it cost $90 to play a 27 player SNG tournament. $60 went to the pot, $20 to the house and $10 to the dealer. That is one expensive tournament to play, usually the tournament fees at the casinos I play at are $100 plus $25.
There is no "House Edge" since you are playing against other players who have also paid the fees.
Be sure to always check the rules for the house fees (make sure you know what the rake percentage is!!) before you sit down, and understand them. I have seen games at certain indian casinos where they took BOTH a rake from each pot and also charged an hourly "seat fee"! That simply just takes too much money out of the game, leaving very little for the players!
And here is a link to some good poker and casino strategy:
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