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Contact UsDoes Blackjack Have the Best Odds?
But does blackjack offer the best odds in the casino overall? The following guide answers this question by exploring what factors affect RTP, average blackjack payback, and how well real money blackjack pays compared to other casino games.
How Are the Best Blackjack Odds Determined?
Odds typically refer to your chances of winning a single outcome. For example, your odds of winning a single blackjack hand are roughly 1:16:1 (or 46.36%) on resolved bets.
When people wonder about the best blackjack odds, though, they’re typically referring to return to player (RTP). RTP measures your long-term chances of making money with a blackjack game.
A table that offers 99.5% RTP, for example, provides better long-term odds of winning than one that features 99.0% payback.
Of course, you won’t be able to determine these payout percentages off the top of your head. Instead, you’ll need some help in the matter.
Many online blackjack games list the RTP in the pay table. As for land-based tables, you can search for guides that have already determined the payback for blackjack games at different casinos.
Blackjack RTP Varies Based on Multiple Factors
Unlike some casino games, blackjack doesn’t have a set payout percentage. Instead, the RTP varies based on the different rules and your skill level. Here’s a closer look at what affects the payback.
Natural Blackjack Payouts
Almost every blackjack game delivers a bonus payout when you get a “natural”—or a score of 21 on your first two cards.
The size of the bonus, however, varies from table to table. You’ll either receive 3:2 or 6:5 on your original bet when getting a natural.
You definitely want to choose tables that offer 3:2 payouts. After all, these higher natural payouts boost the RTP by 1.39% when compared to 6:5 payoffs.
Number of Decks
Casinos began introducing multiple decks in the 1960s as a way to thwart card counters. As a byproduct, they also boosted their advantage over players.
Not surprisingly, multi-deck games have hung around and are quite common today. More decks mean more winnings on average for the casino.
Keep in mind, though, that casinos sometimes offer single-deck games with 6:5 payouts. By comparison, an eight-deck game with 3:2 payouts increases RTP by 0.8%. That said, don’t let the number of decks alone be the only factor you consider.
Other Game Rules
Natural payouts and the number of decks have the biggest impacts on blackjack payback. However, several other game rules influence the odds as well.
Here are some additional blackjack rules that have a noticeable impact on the RTP:
- Double down on any total = +0.25% RTP
- Dealer stands on soft 17 = +0.20%
- Double down after splitting = +0.17%
- Re-splitting aces = +0.08%
- Late surrender = +0.07%
Your Skill Level
Blackjack is one of the most-strategic games in the casino. It requires you to make good decisions on every hand to achieve optimal payback.
That said, you want to be well-versed in blackjack strategy. Otherwise, you’ll be yielding more ground to the house and not win as much money.
Land Based or Online Blackjack
Online casinos tend to offer higher-paying blackjack games. They have fewer overhead costs than land-based casinos and can afford to deliver better RTP.
Of course, some brick-and-mortar venues do offer worthwhile tables. On average, though, you’re going to find better payback with mobile blackjack.
What Is the Typical Blackjack RTP?
Again, blackjack payback varies based on the individual table and rules. Your skill level also plays a big role in the matter.
Assuming you’re a good blackjack player, though, you can generally expect certain payouts percentages based on whether you’re playing online or in person.
Land-based casinos, meanwhile, offer 99.0% payback on average. This figure goes as high as 99.7% or as low as 97.8% in more-extreme examples.
How Do Blackjack Odds Compare to Other Casino Games
You can see that blackjack games normally offer high payout percentages. How exactly do they stack up to other casino games, though? Here’s a look at common payback for popular casino games.
Baccarat
The best real money baccarat bets involves wagering on the banker hand to beat the player. This bet offers 98.94% RTP, even with a 5% commission taken out of wins.
You can see that baccarat pays a shade lower than the average online blackjack game. However, baccarat doesn’t require any extensive strategy beyond knowing that the banker wager is best.
Caribbean Stud
Caribbean stud isn’t a great game as far as your long-term chances of winning go. Even if you use perfect Caribbean stud strategy, you’ll still only be getting 94.78% RTP.
This game is mostly about the progressive jackpot, which can grow to $250,000 or more. You usually only have to place a dollar side wager to go after this jackpot.
Craps
Don’t pass line offers the highest RTP in craps at 98.64%. However, you can improve the payback even more by placing odds behind your bet. Odds pay at their true odds of winning, meaning they, by themselves, offer 100% payback.
To do so, you must wait for a point number to be established with don’t pass (or pass line as well). Afterward, you can take odds up to whatever multiple the given casino allows.
- 1x odds: pass line 0.85%; don’t pass line 0.68%
- 2x odds: pass line 0.61%; don’t pass line 0.46%
- 3x odds: pass line 0.47%; don’t pass line 0.34%
- 5x odds: pass line 0.33%; don’t pass line 0.23%
- 10x odds: pass line 0.18%; don’t pass line 0.12%
- 20x odds: pass line 0.1%; don’t pass line 0.07%
Let It Ride
Let It Ride is a poker variation that sees you place three equal bets to start rounds. You can pull back up to two of these wagers as the hand goes on.
You must be well-versed in strategy to know exactly when to pull one or two of your bets back. Assuming you use perfect strategy, then you’ll achieve 96.49% RTP.
Roulette
Roulette comes in a few different variations, including the American, European, and French variations. Out of these, French roulette offers the highest payback at 98.65%.
It features a special rule in la partage, which pays half back on losing even-money bets when the ball lands on zero. The key, though, is that you must make even-money wagers, including red/black, odd/even, and high/low, to achieve the 98.65% RTP. Any wager outside of this category only delivers 97.3% payback.
Slot Machines
Slot machines can be some of the lowest- or highest-paying games in the casino. At the highest end, you can look forward to 99% RTP.
Video Poker
Along with craps, video poker is blackjack’s biggest rival when it comes to RTP. It features plenty of variations that offer over 99% payback and beyond.
In fact, video poker even features games that deliver more 100% RTP. Although these machines are rare and only available in Nevada, they show what kind of money video poker can offer.
What’s the Verdict on Blackjack Odds?
Blackjack can feature the best odds. However, much depends upon the rules in play at each specific table.
This game can offer less than 98% RTP if the rules are bad enough. In this case, it pays less than baccarat, blackjack, craps, and many video poker variations.
If a blackjack table offers 3:2 natural payouts, two decks, and other favorable rules, then it can feature over 99.5% payback.
High-paying tables are available in both land-based and online casinos. You just need to know the right rules to look for when searching for them.
Of course, you can take a shortcut in this matter by doing online research. You’ll find guides that cover the best-paying land-based and online blackjack games this way.
Conclusion
In answer to the original question on if blackjack is the highest-paying game, the truth is that it varies. Again, this game can feature the best odds. It can also offer less than 98% RTP, putting it behind baccarat, craps, and most video poker variations.
You must physically find the best-paying blackjack tables—they won’t just come to you. Online research is your friend in this matter. You can, however, take a shortcut towards finding the best games with this guide.
