The payoff for a natural on single-deck games was reduced to 6-5, from the traditional 3-2, a few years ago and has become the rule at most tables ever since, especially single-deck games with low minimums on the Las Vegas Strip. All things being equal, it's much better to play at a blackjack table that pays 3-2 than 6-5, same as it's better to play a 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker machine over an 8/5 JoB or a single-zero roulette wheel over a double-zero.
To get technical, we quote James Grosjean from an article he wrote for a recent issue of All In magazine: "The short-pay on blackjacks amounts to a -1.4% penalty on what's already a lousy game (since modern single-deck games are usually dealer hits soft 17, no double after splits, and sometimes double 10 only), putting the game in the neighborhood of -1.8% off the top."
But what most players don't know is that it's actually worse than that. As Grosjean brings to light in his All In article, the casino pays every $5 of a bet at 6-5, but then any portion of the bet remaining that's less than a $5 increment gets paid at even money. Hence, a $7.50 bet that gets a natural is paid only $8.50 (instead of the $9 proper payoff), which works out to 5.67-5 blackjack!
It's true that many players resent the 6-5 payout, but many others simply don't understand the difference. Indeed, Bally's, one of the first casinos to deal it, advertised on its marquee that the game was being dealt "by popular demand." As always, there can be exceptions, but the rule of thumb is to avoid 6-5 blackjack in favor of a game dealing any number of decks, even 6 or 8, that pays naturals at 3-2.
