A few years back, Forbes ran an interesting article titled Blackjack’s Rise and Fall Shows What Drives Customers Away. The article, by David Schwartz, was a thinkpiece, covering the relative decline of blackjack’s popularity in some US (physical) casino resorts. There were several theories behind the decline, but the most prevalent centered on the switch in (some) casinos to a 6:5 payout for a winning blackjack hand from the previous payout of 3:2.
That is not the case at all casinos, and it certainly isn’t the case online. But the article gets to the heart of what makes blackjack popular – the odds. The game has a low house edge, basically a fraction of a percentage point when played with optimum strategy. Moreover, skilled players believe they can overturn the house edge, and that’s what keeps them coming back. So, when physical casinos change the margins, players will likely vote with their feet.
Online casinos have maintained the 3:2 rate
As mentioned, online casino blackjack retains the 3:2 payout in most cases. But there are other issues to deal with, not least the wide range of blackjack games. Top blackjack sites will have dozens of different games to choose from. Some are only aesthetically different, such as themed blackjack games, whereas others introduce new rules and features. Some are tied to lucrative prizes like progressive jackpots. Others resurrect old-school concepts, such as the surrender option.
Nevertheless, you cannot assume that all games have that ultra-tight house edge that is the key draw of blackjack in the first place. As a general rule, classic versions of blackjack will have the low house edge that you are looking for. This goes for both live dealer games and software-based games. With RTP (return to player rate for software-based games), you are looking for something at 99% and above.
Check out the payout section of each game
Here’s an example: if you go to DraftKings Casino and check out its Classic Blackjack game (by Black Throne Studios), check the Paytable section, and look at the explanation of the payouts, which will tell you that the game has an RTP of 99.62%. Now, as you might well imagine, this depends on playing with real strategy, but is, in effect, an example of a game with a tight house edge, albeit as a virtual game.
The games tend to have lower RTPs when there are bigger prizes involved. This is understandable if, for example, the game has a progressive jackpot attached to it. Someone is going to have to fund those big prizes, so it inevitably comes out of the RTP. It is, then, a trade-off between bigger prizes or, in some cases, bonus features and stripped-back classic games with more generous return rates.
The key thing, however, is that you check. We mentioned that most classic blackjack games have a tight house edge, but that’s not always the case. Most licensed casinos will publish the payout information for every game, so it is just a matter of choosing the options that work for you. If you are a blackjack player who values a low house edge/high RTP, then it’s worth taking a few moments to check that you are getting the best value for your bets.
