Blackjack House Edge by Rules
Not all blackjack tables are created equal. The difference between a good table and a bad one can be over 2% in house edge. That is the difference between losing $5 per hour and losing $50 per hour on the same bet size. Every row below is a lever the casino can pull.
Baseline: 6-deck, S17, DAS, 3:2 payout, no surrender. House edge figures sourced from Wizard of Odds methodology.
| Rule | Baseline | Variant | House Edge Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack payout | 3:2 | 6:5 | +1.39% |
| Blackjack payout | 3:2 | Even money (1:1) | +2.27% |
| Dealer soft 17 | Stands (S17) | Hits (H17) | +0.22% |
| Number of decks | 6 decks | 8 decks | +0.02% |
| Number of decks | 6 decks | 2 decks | -0.19% |
| Number of decks | 6 decks | 1 deck | -0.48% |
| Double after split (DAS) | Allowed | Not allowed | +0.14% |
| Re-split Aces | Not allowed | Allowed | -0.06% |
| Re-split to 4 hands | Not allowed | Allowed | -0.10% |
| Late surrender | Not available | Available | -0.08% |
| Early surrender vs Ace | Not available | Available | -0.39% |
| Double on any two cards | Any two cards | 9-11 only | +0.09% |
| Double on any two cards | Any two cards | 10-11 only | +0.18% |
| Dealer peek | Peek (American) | No peek (European) | +0.11% |
| Charlie rule (5 cards) | No charlie | 5-card charlie wins | -0.16% |
Positive numbers increase the house edge (bad for you). Negative numbers decrease it (good for you).
Rule Breakdown
3:2 vs 6:5 Payout
This is the single biggest rule to check before sitting down. At 3:2, your $100 blackjack pays $150. At 6:5, the same hand pays $120. Natural blackjacks hit roughly once every 21 hands. Over a few hours of play, that $30 difference adds up fast. If the table pays 6:5, walk away.
Dealer Stands vs Hits Soft 17
When the dealer hits soft 17, they get a chance to improve a weak hand. The dealer goes from a guaranteed stop at 17 to having a shot at 18, 19, 20, or 21 (with some bust risk mixed in). The net effect costs you 0.22%. Most Vegas strip tables are H17 now. Downtown and off-strip tend to have more S17.
Number of Decks
Fewer decks slightly favor the player because card removal has a stronger effect. But casinos know this. Single-deck games almost always come with worse rules elsewhere (6:5 payout, no DAS, restricted doubling). Always evaluate the full rule set, not just the deck count. A 6-deck game with good rules beats a single-deck game with bad ones.
Double After Split
DAS lets you double down on hands created by splitting pairs. Without it, you lose profitable opportunities on hands like splitting 3s against a dealer 5 and then getting dealt an 8 on one of the split hands. The 0.14% difference sounds small, but it compounds over thousands of hands. Calculate the cumulative effect in The Lab.
Surrender
Late surrender lets you fold bad hands and lose only half your bet. It saves money on hard 16 vs dealer 9, 10, Ace and hard 15 vs dealer 10. These are hands where you expect to lose more than 50% of the time no matter what you do. If the table offers surrender, use it. Most players do not, which is free money left on the table.
No Peek (European) Rules
In European-style games, the dealer does not check for blackjack before you act. If you double or split and the dealer then reveals blackjack, you lose your additional bets. This adds 0.11% to the house edge compared to American rules where the dealer peeks first.
Check Your Table Before You Sit
Use the house edge calculator to input the exact rules at your table and see the cumulative effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the house edge in blackjack with basic strategy?
It depends on the table rules. Under the most common US rules (6-deck, S17, DAS, 3:2 payout, late surrender), the house edge with perfect basic strategy is approximately 0.26%. Remove surrender and the edge rises to about 0.34%. Switch to H17 and it climbs to around 0.56%. Each rule change shifts the number.
How does the number of decks affect blackjack odds?
Fewer decks reduce the house edge because they increase the probability of natural blackjacks and make card removal effects more pronounced. A single-deck game has about 0.48% less house edge than a 6-deck game, all else being equal. But casinos often pair single-deck games with worse rules (6:5 payout) that more than offset this advantage.
Why is 6:5 blackjack so much worse than 3:2?
On a $100 bet, a natural blackjack pays $150 at 3:2 but only $120 at 6:5. That $30 difference on a hand that occurs roughly 4.8% of the time adds 1.39% to the house edge. It is the single largest rule change a casino can make. No other rule comes close to that impact.
Does it matter if the dealer hits or stands on soft 17?
Yes. When the dealer hits soft 17, they have a chance to improve from 17 to 18, 19, 20, or 21. This costs the player about 0.22% in house edge. It is not the biggest rule change, but it is one of the most common. Look for tables with S17 when possible.