What's the Penalty to a Basic Strategy Player for 6-5 Blackjack?

What is the actual “penalty” that a basic strategy player suffers by playing blackjack on the Strip? In other words, the casinos on the Strip pay 6-5 for a blackjack. Smaller casinos and local places pay 3-2. So if I play at a Strip hotel instead of a locals place, assuming the same skill and “luck,” how much more will I lose, on average? And what is your advice for finding the best blackjack games?

[Editor's Note: The following answer was provided by Andrew Uyal, casino supervisor at the Cromwell, ex-blackjack advantage player, contributor to our book Vegas Golden Knights, and author of our upcoming book Blackjack Insiders, the story of two pit bosses who beat the casinos at their own game.]

You’re off to a great start; you understand that playing 6-5 blackjack indeed incurs a penalty paid by visitors and gamblers who are unaware or don’t care about the price to play blackjack at many of the properties on the Las Vegas Strip. Some, in my experience, even erroneously believe that 6-5 blackjack is superior to 3-2 — both numbers in the former being larger than the latter.

How much is the penalty? Let’s find out.

Let’s assume an average blackjack table, rules-wise: double on any two cards, double after split, no re-splitting aces, and late surrender. When natural blackjacks pay 3-2, the house edge is 0.55%, or a little more than half a percentage point. Not bad. Changing only the payoff for blackjacks to 6-5, the house edge climbs to 1.9%, nearly two percent and 3.5 times more than 3-2.

No one won’t recognize that paying nearly four times more for the same product is way more expensive than it should be. And imagine all the money people have thrown away on 6-5 blackjack tables, when they could’ve simply gone to the casino next door or up the street to pay 3.5 times less.

As far as finding the best tables to play, blackjack is a universe unto itself. Dozens of books and several computer programs have been written to answer this question. Please keep in mind that the following advice consists of broad generalizations, some of which I qualify along the way. You can go down a nearly bottomless rabbit hole in the pursuit of making money at blackjack.

I'll give you an example.

As I've explained, 6-5 payouts should be an immediate deterrent. Beyond that, you’ll have to look at the number of decks in play and the rules of the game. In general, the fewer the decks, the lower the house advantage. But immediately, it starts to get tricky. Yes, if two tables have the same rules, but one is double deck and another is 8 decks, the double deck is better. But especially on the Strip, they won't have the same rules. Most double-deck games on the Strip aren't very good.

Furthermore, when it comes to blackjack advantage play, it's even more confusing. Deck penetration (how far into the pack the dealer keeps dealing) affects it as much as the rules. A 6-deck game that cuts out a deck and a half is better than an 8-deck game that cuts a deck and a half. But an 8-deck game that cuts off only one deck is better than a 6-deck game that cuts off two.

Again, in general, the good rules are some combination of the following: dealer stands on soft 17 (though this is found almost exclusively in the high-limit pits), double on any first two cards and after splitting pairs, resplit pairs, resplit aces, late surrender, early surrender on rare occasions, and manual shuffle (for basic strategy players; advantage players sometimes prefer the faster machine shuffle). The rules are usually posted on the table, or you can ask the dealer if they’re not.

If you’re really serious about finding the absolute best games out there, I’ll tell you about a valuable tool.

When my partner and I were making our living playing blackjack, we purchased a subscription to Stanford Wong’s Current Blackjack News. For a nominal fee, this monthly newsletter (single issues available) provides information on every relevant blackjack table in the country. CBJN has people in every region go into casinos and report on how many tables they have, all the rules, the house edge, and notes that might be helpful.

It will show you that not all Strip casinos pay 6-5 on blackjacks, at least not on all their tables. A few places still deal playable games.

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Comments

Kevin Rough Sep-09-2018

Hitting on Soft 17

While the dealer may stay on soft 17 only in the high limit rooms in Las Vegas, the dealer stays on soft 17 at every blackjack table in Pennsylvania by law.  For what it's worth all blackjacks pay 3-2 by law as well.

O2bnVegas Sep-09-2018

surrender

Have never seen Surrender advertised, and I always ask, as some have it and it can be good for the player.  Wizard of Odds web site has good charts on Surrender, late and early.  I didn't know about early, so thanks for prompting me to check it out.

mattyodotcom Sep-17-2018

3:2 vs 6:5

Try as I might, I didn't really see an answer to the question in there.  Here's my crack at it: 
Assuming the respective house edges (.55% and 1.9% for 3:2 and 6:5, respectively), and assuming a flat bet of $10/hand at a full table where you are being dealt 52 hands/hour, your expected losses per-hour are as follows:
At the 3:2 game- $2.86 per hour.
At the 6:5 game- $9.88 per hour.
So, if you're a $10 player, you stand to lose approximately one of these per hour:
-A paid well drink or beer at the bar
-A south-strip to mid-strip Uber ride
-A tip on a coffee shop meal for two, etc.
It's about $7 per hour in lost EV if you play 6:5 BJ at a $10 table.

Question of the Day - 09 September 2018

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