Effects of Rule Variations on Blackjack Payback Percentage

The Smart Gambler's Game

If you want to be a smart gambler, you should never play any casino game without first knowing about its payback percentage. Only those games with a high payback percentage are worth playing, among them craps, video poker and blackjack.

Blackjack is a particularly wise choice because there are techniques used in this game that can not only give a high payback percentage to the player; it can also take away the house edge. These techniques include basic strategy, card counting and shuffle tracking under favorable blackjack rules.

Blackjack Payback Percentages

What is the payback percentage of blackjack? It depends on how many decks are used. The fewer decks, the better. But the house edge is always more or less 0.5% under typical rules and assuming basic strategy is used.

As you can see from the table below, the payback percentage is highest when a single deck is used; it progressively gets lower as the number of decks in the shoe increases.

No. of Decks House Edge Payback Percentage

Single Deck 0.20% 99.80% Two Decks 0.35% 99.65% Four Decks 0.51% 99.49% Six Decks 0.60% 99.40% Eight Decks 0.63% 99.37%

Effects of Blackjack Rule Variations on Payback Percentage

Blackjack rules change from one casino to another. If you want to make the most out of blackjack, you ought to look for casinos that offer the best table rules. What follows is a table of blackjack rule variations and their impact on the house edge. A plus sign indicates an addition to the payback percentage; a minus sign indicates the opposite. This table assumes Atlantic City rules which have a 0.43% house edge.

Rule Variations Effect on Payback Percentage

5-Card Charlie +1.46% Early Surrender to Ace +0.39% Early Surrender to 10 +0.24% Split Aces Draw Allowed +0.19% 6-Card Charlie +0.16% Re-Split Aces Allowed +0.08% Late Surrender to 10 +0.07% 7-Card Charlie +0.01% Late Surrender to Ace 0.00% Re-Split Only on 2 Hands -0.01% No-peek, Ace Showing -0.01% Double Only on 9,10,11 -0.09% No-peek, Ten Showing -0.10% No Re-Split -0.10% No Double after Split -0.14% Double Only on 10,11 -0.18% Dealer hits on soft 17 -0.22% Blackjack Pays 6:5 -1.39% Dealer Wins 17 Push -1.87% Dealer Wins 17,18 Push -3.58% Dealer Wins 17-19 Push -5.30% Dealer Wins 17-20 Push -8.38% Dealer Wins 17-21 Push -8.86%

To use this table, first take the figure of a standard blackjack game based on number of decks. If you have the exact figure of a particular casino's average, then use it. Add the rule variations that have a positive effect, and then subtract those rules that have a negative effect. The result is the total effect those blackjack rule variations have on the payback percentage.

As you can see, the rare 5-Card Charlie is a god-send, as is a single-deck game. On the other hand, you ought to avoid 6-5 blackjack and any game where the player loses a tie.

Blackjack has one of the best payback percentages of all games in the casino. When you further exploit this using card counting, basic strategy and other methods, you can definitely beat the casinos.