Video Blackjack: Same Game, Worse Deal

Updated

A video blackjack machine plays the same game as the table it sits beside, at a fraction of the minimum bet. It also, almost always, pays even money on a blackjack — and that single change costs about 2.3%, five times the house edge of the real table.

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 even money on a blackjack costs

You are dealt a blackjack about 4.75% of the time. Going from 3:2 to 1:1 gives up half a bet on each of those, so the cost is roughly 0.0475 × 0.5 = 2.38%.

That is nearly twice what a 6:5 payout costs, and it is applied to a game already carrying the ordinary house edge. A video machine paying even money runs around 2.5–2.8% depending on its other rules.

Table, 3:2 0.46% Table, 6:5 1.82% Video, even money about 2.7%
The low minimum on the machine is the only thing about it that is cheaper.

And it deals much faster

There is no dealer, no chips to handle and no other players. A video machine can deal several hundred hands an hour against about 60 at a full table.

The house edge per hand does not change with speed — but the number of times it is applied does. A worse game dealt four times faster is not a small difference; it is the difference between an evening and twenty minutes.

Why they are popular anyway

Because the minimum is often $1 against $15 or $25 at the table, and because there is no social pressure — no dealer waiting, no other players watching you consult a chart.

Both are real reasons. It is worth knowing that you are paying about five times the rate for them. If the appeal is the low minimum, a $5 table at 3:2 is a far cheaper way to play slowly than a $1 machine at even money.

Stadium and electronic tables

Electronic terminals grouped around a live dealer are a different product: the cards are real and the payouts are usually the table’s, so the game is often the same as the pit. Check the payout on the screen — it is displayed, and it is the only thing that matters.

Keep reading

Payout ruleswhat each is worth Hands per hourwhy speed costs Shufflingwhy counting cannot work

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

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