Short answer: on the same stake, the four modes differ in two numbers: the average you lose (the edge) and how wildly results swing (the variance). Crash is the only one where you also choose when to stop. None of them has an edge in your favour.
One yardstick for all four
To compare fairly, we express every mode per one unit staked:
- Edge: the average loss per unit, as a percentage.
- Swing: the standard deviation of the result per unit. A swing of 1.0 means a typical round moves your balance by about one stake; 3.0 means about three.
All figures below are computed from stated assumptions. They are not measurements of any operator.
The comparison
| Mode | Assumption we computed | Edge | Swing per unit staked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crash, cash out at 1.5x | 1% edge | 1.0% | 0.71 |
| Crash, cash out at 2x | 1% edge | 1.0% | 1.00 |
| Crash, cash out at 5x | 1% edge | 1.0% | 1.99 |
| Crash, cash out at 10x | 1% edge | 1.0% | 2.99 |
| Roulette, red or black | 15 pockets (7 red, 7 black, 1 green), pays 2x | 6.7% | 1.00 |
| Roulette, green | same wheel, pays 14x | 6.7% | 3.49 |
| Coinflip | 50/50, site keeps 5% of the pot | 5.0% | 0.95 |
| Case opening | Hypothetical case, see below | 10.4% | 4.09 |
Roulette layouts, coinflip fees and case odds vary by site. Use the table as a method, then plug in the numbers from the site you are considering.
Crash: the only mode with a decision
In crash you pick the cash-out point. Choosing a lower target means smaller swings and the same expected loss; choosing a higher target means larger swings and the same expected loss. The edge belongs to the site’s rules, not to your choice. The mechanics are in how CS2 crash works, round by round.
Roulette
CS2 roulette sites commonly use a wheel with a small number of colour slots. If the wheel has 15 pockets, with 7 red, 7 black and 1 green, a red bet wins 7 times in 15 and pays 2x. The expected return is 7/15 × 2 = 0.933 per unit, so the edge is 1/15 = 6.7%. A green bet that pays 14x wins 1 time in 15 for the same 6.7% edge, with far larger swings. Check the wheel layout and the payouts on the site you use, because they set the edge.
Coinflip
A coinflip puts two players, or a player and the house, against each other on a 50/50 flip. Both stake the same amount, and the site takes a fee from the pot. With a 5% fee on a pot of 2 units, the winner receives 1.9 for a 1-unit stake, so the expected result is 0.5 × 0.9 − 0.5 × 1 = −0.05. The edge equals the fee. The flip is fair; the fee is the price.
Case opening
You pay a price and receive an item of random value. Your expected return is the sum of each item’s chance times its value. Here is a hypothetical case, not any site’s:
| Outcome | Chance | Value (units) |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 80.00% | 0.90 |
| Uncommon | 16.00% | 2.80 |
| Rare | 3.20% | 11.00 |
| Very rare | 0.64% | 55.00 |
| Top item | 0.16% | 230.00 |
Expected value: 0.72 + 0.448 + 0.352 + 0.352 + 0.368 = 2.24 units on a price of 2.50. That is an expected loss of 0.26 per case, or 10.4%. Almost all the value sits in rare items, so most openings return less than the price and a few return a lot. That is why the swing is the largest of the four.
Real cases publish their own odds on some sites and not on others. If a case does not show its odds, you cannot compute its edge.
Which mode suits which player?
- You want the lowest edge: crash usually has the lowest stated edge, but only if the site’s edge really is 1–2%. Check its fairness page.
- You want small swings: a 1.5x crash target, or a coinflip, keeps results close to a stake per round.
- You want rare big wins: roulette green, high crash targets and case opening deliver them, at the cost of long losing runs.
- You want a decision to make: only crash lets you choose when to stop.
None of these is a way to make money. If you want to compare how our reviewed sites handle several modes, see the CSGORoll review, where case opening and crash sit side by side, and the CSGOFast review. The ranking on the home page covers all five.
How to compare a mode you have not seen before
When a site offers a mode not covered here, ask three questions. What does a win pay, and how often does it win? From those two numbers you can compute the expected return per unit staked, and one minus that return is the edge. Does the site publish the odds and the rules? If it does not, you cannot compute the edge, and that is information in itself. Can you verify results after the fact? A mode that can be recomputed from published seeds is checkable, and one that cannot is a promise. Our guide to provably fair crash explains what that check can and cannot show.
Key points
- Judge any mode by its edge and its swing per unit staked.
- Crash’s edge is a site rule; the cash-out target changes swing, not expected loss.
- Roulette edge depends on the wheel layout; the 15-pocket, 2x example gives 6.7%.
- Coinflip edge equals the site fee; case opening edge sits in the hidden odds.