Blackjack House Edge
Of all of the table games, blackjack is perpetually among the favourites, and a big reason for that is the blackjack house edge. Not only is it notably small, but with optimised play you can make the blackjack house edge even smaller. So, what is house edge? How does it play into a session of blackjack and how can you minimise the house edge when you play? Let’s dive in.
The Casino Advantage: House Edge Explained
House edge is usually referenced in the form of a percentage. With this percentage, you can see how much of an edge the casino has over its wider player base on a select game, so it’s good to understand how it works.
What is House Edge?
The house edge is a percentage representation of how much the casino stands to make in profit from a table over time. The saying “the house always wins” has such bearing because of the house edge. The payouts and probabilities are calculated in such a way that even if a player wins big, the accumulated losses by all players over time will deliver a profit to the casino.
How House Edge is Calculated
House edge is calculated by finding the difference between the likelihood of an outcome against the payout odds. In a purely 50-50 game like a coin flip, with the odds being even for heads or tails, a casino wouldn’t pay 1:1 for either side, but rather a slightly reduced payout. This could be 1:1 for tails and 0.95:1 for heads. A close to 50-50 split like this can be seen in baccarat.
In baccarat, you back either the Banker hand, Player hand, or a Tie, with the former two usually paying 1:1 and 0.95:1, respectively. The house edge is marginally lower on the Banker hand at 1.17% compared to the 1.36% of the Player hand. Even though it’s nearly a 50-50 game, the edge is lower for the Banker because that hand is always played second, so the Player hand may go bust first.
Significance of House Edge for Players
Just as the house edge tells the casino how much profit they stand to make, it also tells players how much of a disadvantage they’re at when playing the game. Making plays that adhere to the rules of probability in a game like Blackjack VIP allows the player to keep the house edge as low as possible, but ill-advised moves increase the house edge.
Impact of Blackjack Rules on House Edge
Blackjack has a very low house edge because the player can make several decisions throughout. One such decision is picking the blackjack table. All of the rules at the table and even the set-up of the table will have an impact on the blackjack house edge.
Blackjack Rule Variations and their Influence on House Edge
Blackjack has a bunch of different variants. In some, you can play many hands at once, like in Multihand Blackjack while in others, you’ll get a whole stack of side bets on offer. Lucky Ladies and Perfect Pairs blackjack offer long odds for certain card combinations being dealt, and each brings their own implications to the house edge. On top of this, the rules when the dealer stands, the number of decks, and payouts all influence the house edge.
Common Rules Affecting the House Edge
The biggest factor that influences your blackjack house edge is payouts. At a table like Blackjack Fortune VIP, which mainly sticks to conventional rules, you’ll get payouts of 3:2 for blackjack and 2:1 for insurance. This is the standard and invariably, the maximum payouts. However, some tables will reduce these, like 6:5 for blackjack, which will bump the optimised play house edge from around 0.5% to 2%. Without optimised play, that blackjack house edge becomes even higher.
Another common blackjack rule to watch for is when the dealer stands. Usually, the dealer will either hit or stand on 17. It’s known as the ‘Soft 17 Rule’ and tables that make dealers stand on 17 have a lower house edge than those that have the dealer hit on 17 – assuming that all other rules are the same. The difference is small, but as the house edge in blackjack is already very low, a small increase or decrease can be a big deal.
Optimal Rules for Players
The optimal basic rules for players to get the minimum house edge in blackjack are 3:2 odds on blackjack, the dealer standing on 17, and being able to double on any first two cards. On top of these, being able to re-split to more hands is better, as is being able to hit on split aces. Having the later surrender rule in play, and only having the original bet lost by a dealer blackjack will lower the house edge. Another factor that heavily weighs on the house edge for optimal play is the number of decks. One deck is better than many for reducing the house edge.
Strategies to Minimise House Edge
There are many ways to minimise the blackjack house edge, and most of the methods come down to learning optimised plays.
Basic Blackjack Strategy
Basic strategy is a method of making the best possible play with any hand against any dealer’s up card. There are basic strategy charts readily available online, and they are very easy to use.
Card Counting and its effect on House Edge
Card counting is most effective in physical games where the deck or shoe isn’t shuffled after every round. In perfect conditions for the player, card counting can move the blackjack house edge percentage into minus figures, even up to as much as 1% in favour of the player. Still, most physical casinos can spot a counter from miles away and will happily boot anyone attempting to count cards. Online physical games like LeoVegas Free Bet Blackjac will attempt to stifle counting by cutting the shoe and introducing a new shoe regularly.
Betting Strategies and their House Edge Implications
Well-known betting strategies are widely circulated and deployed because they can reduce the house edge. House edge is calculated on probability, so if you’re making the best plays according to probability calculations, you can cut the casino’s advantage.
Factors Influencing Blackjack House Edge
Beyond the payouts, table rules, and side bets available, the way that the casino runs its tables or sets up its blackjack tables will also swing the house edge.
Number of Decks Used
Most blackjack tables run up to eight decks from the shoe, and with each additional deck, the house edge improves slightly because it makes optimised play that more difficult. With all other conditions being the same, the difference between optimised play at a single-deck table and an eight-deck table can be as much as 0.478%.
Casino Policies and Practices
How often the casino changes the shoe of decks and if the shoe gets cut before play will influence the house edge. Ideally, you get the full shoe with fewer decks and play it all the way through. In a game like 3D Blackjack, the decks in play get shuffled every time, but that’s not ideal in a physical game of blackjack.
House Edge in Different Blackjack Variations
Much like in roulette, you can find American and European variations of blackjack, and both of them offer a different house edge.
European Blackjack
In European blackjack, the dealer receives their up card but does not get their face-down card immediately. This means that they don’t check for blackjack until after the players have made their move, and potentially go bust. So, the house edge increases by 0.4%.
American Blackjack
American blackjack is the more common form of blackjack online. Even with a British actor dealing, Vinnie Jones Blackjack plays by the American rules. Here, the dealer gets both of their cards and checks for blackjack before the players decide to move beyond perhaps taking insurance.
Other Popular Variations and their House Edge
There are also many, many variant games of blackjack based around offering side bets. Side bet blackjack games have a lot of appeal for offering long odds on different card combinations, such as 25:1 for a Perfect Pair. For the most part, side bets increase the house edge if taken in every round.
FAQs
What is the house edge in blackjack?
As a standard, the house edge in blackjack is around 2%, but that percentage will vary based on the table’s rules.
How can players minimise the impact of the house edge?
To minimise house edge in blackjack, players should apply the rules of basic strategy to make a statistically optimised play on every hand.
Is the house edge the same in all blackjack games?
The house edge isn’t the same in all blackjack games as the rules on when the dealer stands, when the dealer gets their hole card, and payouts, for example, differ from table to table.
How do you calculate house edge in blackjack?
To calculate the house edge in blackjack, you need to work out the possible payouts against the odds of winning and losing. In blackjack, that probability factors in the number of decks, the dealer’s rules, if you can double after a split, if you can hit or re-split aces, when you can double down, what blackjack pays, what happens to your bet on a dealer’s blackjack, and if the surrender rule is in play.
What casino game has the lowest house edge?
Blackjack is the casino game with the lowest house edge at around 2% down to potentially 0.4% at the ideal table and perfect play.
What is a house edge example?
An example of house edge would be 2% in blackjack.
What does 1% house edge mean?
If a game has a 1% house edge, it means that the casino can expect to take a 1% profit on all bets at the table over time.
What is a good house edge?
A good house edge differs from game to game. In overall casino gaming, blackjack boasts a very good house edge at around 2%, but in blackjack with optimal plays, a good house edge can be less than 1%.