Blackjack in Las Vegas: Reading a Table Before You Sit

Updated

Las Vegas does not have one blackjack game, it has dozens, and the gap between the best and worst tables in the same building is larger than the entire house edge of the good one. Four things on the felt tell you which you are looking at.

The short version
Every figure here is computed with our own solver and checked against an independent reference. The calculator applies the same numbers to your table.

What the common Vegas games are worth

All computed for correct basic strategy. The differences between the top four bars are real but small; the gap to the fifth is not.

The Strip mostly deals six or eight decks. Higher-limit tables tend to have the better rules — 3:2 payouts and often S17 — while low-minimum tables in tourist areas are where 6:5 concentrates.

Downtown and the locals casinos historically offer better rules at lower minimums, including double-deck games. A double-deck H17 game at 0.42% beats a six-deck H17 game.

6 decks, S17, 3:2, LS 0.38% 6 decks, S17, 3:2 0.46% 2 decks, H17, 3:2 0.42% 6 decks, H17, 3:2 0.67% 6 decks, S17, 6:5 1.82%
The bottom bar is the one advertised most aggressively, usually at the lowest minimum.

The four things to check, in order

1. The payout. Printed on the felt. “Blackjack pays 3 to 2” is what you want. “Pays 6 to 5” costs 1.36% and no other rule can make it back. This is not a close call: walk away.

2. Soft 17. Also printed. “Dealer must draw to 16 and stand on all 17s” is the good version, worth 0.213%.

3. Doubling and splitting. Not printed. Watch a few hands or ask — whether you can double after splitting and double on any two cards are each worth around a tenth of a percent.

4. Deck count, last. It matters least. Six against eight decks is worth 0.029%.

If you are counting, the list is different

Everything above still applies, but one thing outranks all of it: penetration. Watch where the cut card goes. A table with mediocre rules and deep penetration is worth more than a perfect table shuffled at the halfway point — by a factor of several.

Also watch for continuous shufflers, which end counting entirely and are increasingly common at lower limits.

Keep reading

3:2 against 6:5the check that matters most Double deckoften the best game in the building Penetrationwhat counters look for

By Martin Kosek · every number on this site is computed by us, not copied.

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