Why Do Casinos Call It 6-5 Blackjack When It's Usually 5-5 Blackjack?

Why has the Gaming Control Board not told (or more accurately forced) casinos to stop calling it 6-5 blackjack, which is a gross misnomer? On a per-dollar-bet basis, 6-5 is true only 20% of the time! Gaming should force casinos at the very least to provide $0.20 and $0.40 tokens, so players can be paid accurately (though still badly) as is done with 3-2 and 50-cent chips. At 6-5 for a natural 21, a $1 bet is supposed to be paid $1.20, a $2 bet $2.40, a $3 bet $3.60, and a $4 bet $4.80. Only a $5 bet is actually paid 6-5. Bottom line, casinos 80% of the time are running 5-5 blackjack, since they round down. Far from shortchanging players, they're no-changing players! I thought Gaming Control Boards were supposed to protect players!

[Editor's Note: We handed this one off to Andrew Uyal, author of our soon-to-be published book Blackjack Insiders -- The Untold Stories, and floor supervisor at a major Strip casino.]

First of all, I can't speak for the Gaming Control Board. What I can do is explain how this rule is interpreted and presented by casinos.

The mistake in the question is misinterpreting the term "6-5 payout." The question assumes that 6-5 = 1.2 payouts on blackjacks, rather than the traditional 1.5. In other words, because 6 is 120% greater than 5, every bet will be paid 120% of its value.

What the rule really means is that every $5 bet pays $6 for a natural blackjack. The mistake here is overcomplicating the math and misinterpreting the intent of the rule. 6-5 literally means you'll be paid $6 for every $5 wagered.

Having started dealing almost 20 years ago on a $2 crap game, I feel confident in saying that the intent of the rule is understood by players and the industry as a whole. Players knew that if they bet $2 on the six or eight, they'd be paid $2, and even money would be paid until they reached the $5 bet that triggers the $6 payout.

Simply put, rather than interpreting the 6-5 payout as 1.2, think about it like this: Every $5 increment gets paid $6 at 6-5 blackjack tables.

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Tomorrow's Question

Have many American casinos outside of Las Vegas adopted 6-5 blackjack, or is 3-2 still considered the industry standard?

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Kevin Lewis May-30-2026

Well, "screw the players blackjack" probably wouldn't have sold

But it would be more accurate!

Euphemisms abound in every context. Don't call it genocide; call it "ethnic cleansing." Don't call it "crashed our airliner"; call it "forced conversion of assets." Don't call it "bombing our own troops by mistake"; call it "friendly fire." Don't go into details re what's in that Bounty Beef Stew; just say "100% guaranteed animal byproducts."

And for that matter, don't say "loser" when the shooter fails; say "seven-out." Don't say "money disposal device"; say "slot machine."

I could go on.

Bob May-30-2026

Assumptions

I always assumed that when they went 6:5  the table minimums went to $5,$10 etc. and players were wagering in increments of $5? stacking the $1 chips till you had 5?

Theodore Donald Kiravatsos May-30-2026

Um

What if the table was full of big shots who were all betting $5 instead of $1 or $2. Wouldn't the naturals be paid correctly at 6-5 100% of the time (instead of 20% of the time)? Maybe it would help to have dimes instead of 10c chips in the dealer tray. Then after you land a few $1 blackjacks, you'd have dimes on hand for when you want to tip the servers

That Don Guy May-30-2026

The obvious reason

Casinos call it "6-5" or "3-2" blackjack because that's what most serious players to call it, to differentiate between the two. Of course, that assumes that they call it anything; I have seen any number of tables where the amount that a blackjack paid was not on the felt at all.

It's sort of like asking the casinos not to use the term "double-zero roulette" since there are two "zero numbers" on the wheel, and not just 00.

Question of the Day - 30 May 2026

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