The Reasons to Stay Away From 6-to-5 Blackjack

Single-deck Black Jack 21, sounds like a blackjack players dream right? Well not when the payoff for blackjack is lowered from the typical 3-to-2, or 7.5-to-5, to 6-to-5. This makes the mathematical advantage the casino holds over the player go up by more than eight fold.
In a typical Black Jack 21 game where a blackjack pays $3 for every $2 bet, if you are placing a wager of $20 and are dealt a blackjack, you will be given $30 (assuming you do not push), however if you are given that in a casino where blackjack is only paid 6-to-5 then you will only be given $24 which is $8 less per blackjack. If on average a player is dealt a blackjack four times an hour, this means you will make $32 less every 60 minutes than you would on a table that pays $3 for every $2 bet. Now I do not know about you, but there is just no way I am going to hand over to the casino $32 an hour just to play one-deck blackjack, which is exactly what happens every time you sit down at a blackjack table that pays 6-to-5 with a $20 minimum.

Even though sinking the reward for blackjack to 6-to-5 raises the house edge by over 800%, the general public does not seem to care. Then why does this seem to be the next big trend in casinos? It may be due to the large amount of information out there about single-deck games offering better odds which is true, but only if the payoff for blackjack does not go down. In a single-deck game that pays 6-to-5 the casino edge is around 1.5% rather than .18% with these rules in effect: dealer draws at soft 17; split any pair, resplit any pair except aces up to 4 times; and double on any two cards, except after splitting.

Another one of the unseen disadvantages of 6-to-5 21 is that the numbers for the payout odds on a blackjack only works if your bet is divisible by 5. For example, if you are wagering $12 on a 6-to-5 table and are dealt a blackjack you are paid 6-to-5 on the first $10 and even money on the other $2. Your total win for that hand would only be $14 as opposed to $18 on a 3-to-2 table.

It is kind of funny to see that the 6-to-5 blackjack game is only found at low-roller tables because the higher limit, more experienced players would never waste money on such a terrible sucker bet.