Blackjack Rules House Advantage
The House Advantage in Blackjack The house advantage, or house edge, is the percent of a player’s initial bet that the casino will expect to make in the long run. The house has an advantage in blackjack simply because the player has to draw first and if he busts, the player automatically losses regardless if the dealer subsequently busts in the same round. This is the casino's solitary advantage in blackjack and if everything were equal, the house edge in blackjack would be about 8 percent.
I’ve heard it described many ways. Some people say it’s “A place to have fun” others say its “Disneyland for adults”. No matter what you think a casino is, keep this in mind. A casino is a business. BIG BUSINESS!! Bob Stupak, the former owner of Vegas World Casino, told US and World Report, “Its our duty to extract as much money from the customer as we can and send them home with a smile on their face.”
So, how does the casino go about extracting money from you? Do they Cheat you?
NO!
They don’t have to cheat because except for Blackjack and Video Poker, every Casino game has a built-in profit on every bet. This is known as the House Edge or Casino Advantage.
Every bet you make has a certain probability of winning or losing. If you bet on the flip of a coin, the probability of heads or tails is 50-50. This would be an even money bet. If you bet a dollar and was paid a dollar when you won, you would be paid TRUE ODDS. However, if the casino only paid you 95 cents every time you won instead of a dollar the House edge would be 2.5%. Simply put, The house edge is the difference between the true odds and the odds that the casino pays you when you win.
Look at this It shows the Casino’s advantage for different casino games. All are fixed except for Blackjack and Video Poker. These two games actually can have a positive payback depending on the skill of the player and the rules or payback table.
Look at the game of Roulette. You will see that the house edge is 5.26% for the double zero game. This is how we figure the edge. In the game, there are 36 numbers plus the 0 and 00. The odds of you winning is one in 38 or 37 to 1. If you win the casino pays you 35 for your dollar bet. You keep your original dollar and are paid an additional $35 returning $36. The difference is two dollars (38 minus 36). Divide the $2 by 38 which is the true odds and you come up with the house edge of 5.26%. So you could actually cover all the numbers on the layout and still lose money. These are great odds for the house but not for you. Games like Roulette, Craps, Big Six a have a fixed percentage because one roll or spin will never change the outcome. There will always be 38 numbers on a roulette layout and 12 numbers on a pair of dice.
Blackjack is in a different category because every time a card comes out of the shoe, it changes the makeup of the cards remaining. The advantage can shift from player to house depending on which cards have been played and the Skill in which you play your cards. Video Poker also is based on skill. If you play the perfect strategy, there are actually some games that have a positive return based on their pay table.
From the above chart, you can see why a casino does not have to cheat to make money. Does that mean you will lose every time? No of course not. If you did you wouldn't keep coming back. However, in the long run, the casino will win on negative expectation games.
Until Next time remember:
Luck comes and goes.....Knowledge Stays Forever.
House edge means the percentage of the player's bet the casino wins on average. This is worth figuring out since the size of house edge has everything to do with how likely you're to win. Educated players always find the games with the least house edge possible and therefore win the most - or at least lose the least.
For example, if house edge is 1.89%, the player loses $1.89 on average out of every $100 bet he makes. Obviously the player doesn't lose that amount on every single bet; you might win two hands and then lose six hands in a row but in the long run the loss will be about $1.89 per bet. One of the goals of Gaming the Odds is to teach you all about perfect blackjack strategy and to minimize the house edge. You can find several house edge percentages for blackjack game variations below in order to help you to find the best games.
The Amount of Decks
Firstly, what kind of an effect the amount decks has on casino's advantage? The table below displays the house edge for a standard blackjack game: blackjack pays 3:2, the dealer stands on soft 17, doubling is allowed for any two cards and splitting to four hands is allowed.
| Number of Decks | House Edge |
|---|---|
| Single Deck | -0.03% |
| Two Decks | +0.25% |
| Four Decks | +0.38% |
| Six Decks | +0.42% |
| Eight Decks | +0.44% |
Under those rules it would actually be profitable to play according to basic strategy with a single deck. It's always optimal to play according to basic strategy but in the vast majority of cases you're still going to have negative expectation.
Game and Rule Variations
Blackjack Games
Let's move on to the next table, which features other blackjack game variations and their house edges. In order to make it easier to compare these games, all the house edge percentages are for six-deck gamesunless otherwise stated.
| Game | House Edge |
|---|---|
| Atlantic City Blackjack | +0.42% |
| Blackjack Switch | +0.58% |
| Double Attack Blackjack * | +0.61% |
| Double Exposure Blackjack | +0.67% |
| European Blackjack | +0.62% |
| Multiple Action Blackjack ** | +0.42% |
| Pontoon Blackjack | +0.45% |
| Spanish 21 | +0.37% |
| Super Fun 21 | +1.40% |
| Three Card Blackjack | +2.10% |
| Vegas Downtown Blackjack | +0.62% |
| Vegas Strip Blackjack | +0.53% |
* Played with a specific amount of decks (which isn't six).
** Multiple hands played but probability equal to standard blackjack.
The table above was made to give you some idea of which games are better to play than others. It's also important to remember that some casinos may operate with slightly different rules which either increase or decrease the house advantage of the game.
Blackjack Rule Variations
What about other rule variations, then? I'm going to list some of the more common blackjack rule variations and their house edges. The tables below consists of changes made to standard blackjack rules:
| Dealer Hits Soft 17 | |
|---|---|
| # of Decks | House Edge |
| Single Deck | +0.15% |
| Two Decks | +0.45% |
| Four Decks | +0.59% |
| Six Decks | +0.63% |
| Eight Decks | +0.66% |
| Player Can Only Double 9-11 | |
| # of Decks | House Edge |
| Single Deck | +0.11% |
| Two Decks | +0.36% |
| Four Decks | +0.48% |
| Six Decks | +0.52% |
| Eight Decks | +0.54% |
| Player Can Only Double 10-11 | |
| # of Decks | House Edge |
| Single Deck | +0.26% |
| Two Decks | +0.48% |
| Four Decks | +0.58% |
| Six Decks | +0.61% |
| Eight Decks | +0.63% |
| Dealer Doubles on 17 | |
| # of Decks | House Edge |
| Single Deck | -0.03% |
| Two Decks | +0.25% |
| Four Decks | +0.38% |
| Six Decks | +0.42% |
| Eight Decks | +0.44% |
| Player Can Resplit Aces | |
| # of Decks | House Edge |
| Single Deck | -0.06% |
| Two Decks | +0.20% |
| Four Decks | +0.32% |
| Six Decks | +0.35% |
| Eight Decks | +0.37% |
| Blackjack Pays 6:5 | |
| # of Decks | House Edge |
| Single Deck | +1.36% |
| Two Decks | +1.62% |
| Four Decks | +1.75% |
| Six Decks | +1.78% |
| Eight Decks | +1.80% |
A couple of conclusions: first of all, the last section ('Blackjack Pays 6:5') shows you how unprofitable it is to play those games. Never play a game where blackjack pays 6:5.
Secondly, games where the player can resplit aces are preferable for the player. Try to find those games. It's also good for the player when the dealer doubles 17.
Blackjack Side Bets
And finally, blackjack side bets and house edges for them.
| Side Bet | House Edge |
|---|---|
| 21+3 Blackjack | +3.20% |
| 21 Madness | +23.00% |
| Bonus Blackjack | +24.00% |
| Match the Dealer | +3.10% |
| Perfect Pairs Blackjack | +4.10% |
| Royal Match Blackjack | +6.50% |
| Super Match Blackjack | +2.60% |
| Super Sevens Blackjack | +11.70% |
| Bust It Blackjack | +7.00% |
No, casinos didn't include the 'side bet' option just to give players a better chance of winning. As you can see, side bets are good for the casino and bad for the player even if they might make the game a bit more exciting.
Favourable Blackjack Rule Variations for the Player
Here's a list of blackjack rule variations favourable for the player:
- The less decks the better. (Games with one deck are the best.)
- Double down on any 2 cards.
- Blackjack pays 3:2.
- Resplitting aces allowed.
- Dealer stands on a 17.
- Early/late surrender.
- Low deck penetration (for card counters).
- Insurance (for card counters).
Favourable Blackjack Rule Variations for the Casino
- Side bets.
- Double down on 10 and 11 only.
- Dealer hits a soft 17.
- The more decks the better.
- Blackjack pays 6:5
- Low deck penetration (against card counters).
- No doubling down after splitting.
- Not allowed to resplit aces.
I suggest trying to memorize these lists and look for games with beneficial blackjack rule variations for the player. Rule variations in favor of the casino should obviously be avoided.
Blackjack 21 Rules
Blackjack House Edge: FAQ
Do bet sizes impact house edge in blackjack?
It makes no difference whether you bet $10 or $10,000 - the house advantage stays the same. The amount you lose or win per bet changes, of course, depending on how big of an edge either you or the casino's got.
Which blackjack game has the smallest casino edge?
Suggesting all games are played with six decks - which is a common size for a blackjack shoe - Spanish 21 has the best house edge for the player according to the blackjack house edge table on top of this page. Standard 21 Blackjack is good too since you can actually have the edge by playing perfect basic strategy with a single deck.
Blackjack Rules Chart
How big is the house edge if I count cards?
Blackjack House Advantage Calculator
This depends on many variables, such as which blackjack card counting systems you're going to use. In case you're using a highly complicated system, play perfectly and manage to find a good game to play, you may have a significant edge (even 3% or 4%).
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