Question of the Day - 16 December 2025

We reached out to some friends and long-time blackjack players to see what they said about the best rules they’ve ever encountered (not including promotions or short-term offerings). The answers we got left us nostalgic and eager to travel back and play games like these that were once readily available. 

Richard Munchkin: The best in Vegas were at the Las Vegas Club, where they had rules similar to Super Fun 21, but paid 3-2 on naturals. It was a 6-deck game and very trackable, but the rules alone were advantage off the top. The best rules were at Walker Hill in Seoul, Korea, where they had 4-deck, early surrender vs. 10, and 6-card automatic half win. I forget the edge off the top, but it was very good. But the very best were in Moscow, where the casinos had a blackjack happy hour for an hour or two and offered 2-1 on blackjacks or sometimes 3-1, in addition to large payoffs for 678 or 777.

Colin Jones (the most recent inductee into the Blackjack Hall of Fame; congrats Colin!): When I got started in card counting, I remember a small number of downtown Las Vegas casinos, like Binion's, offering single-deck, H17, double any first two cards. It had a 0.1% edge and they dealt 5-6 rounds heads up. With our bankroll size and bets, it was worth $1,800/hour. My goal was to keep the pit boss distracted with requests, so I could try to get 20 minutes in and get out of there before a backoff, then come do it again on another shift.

Nathaniel Tilton: The best blackjack rules I ever saw in a major casino were at the Wynn Las Vegas shortly after it opened in the mid-2000s. They offered a double-deck game with stand on soft 17, double after split, resplit aces, and late surrender — a combination that was almost unheard of for double-deck games on the Strip at the time. Penetration hovered around 75% and most dealers were still hand-shuffling, which gave sharp players a legitimate edge. It didn’t take long before the word spread and those rules quietly disappeared, but for a short stretch, it was one of the most player-friendly games I’ve ever encountered.

Anthony Curtis: If you’re including promotions, coupons, comps, etc., I’ve played games where the “rules” yielded returns in excess of 20%. But if you’re talking about a regular game that anyone could play, the best was the old Las Vegas game (several casinos) -- single deck, 3-2 on naturals,  stand soft 17, double any two cards, no dbs, no sr, no rsp aces. The game had a player edge of .04% with basic strategy.

Tommy Hyland: Other than promotions, I’d have to go with the rules in place when Atlantic City opened in 1978. Early surrender and hit soft 17 on a 4-deck game at Resorts and a 6 deck games at Caesars. They were the only two casinos open in New Jersey at the time.

And yes, you’re correct in assuming that none of these games are available in today’s casinos. Both the game and the industry have evolved, much to the chagrin of the savvy players like the ones we asked, and the new generation of players, who are probably salivating at the thought of playing the games we mentioned.