Understanding the game

On a recent trip to Las Vegas I was quite surprised with the amount of players I saw at the blackjack tables where the house was paying only 6 to 5 for a blackjack. I heard some players say “its only single deck, so it must be a good game.” However, you should know that the house advantage with this rule goes from a small 0.18 percent for the normal single-deck game to about 1.45 percent. Here is the math: the traditional 3-2 payout for a blackjack will get the player $7.50 for a $5 bet. With the 6 to 5 rule the player is only paid $6 for a $5 bet. That difference in the payout will rate the game as a poor one for the player. Al Rogers, manager of the website bj21.com and a semi-retired professional gambler is quoted as saying "People are being scammed, and I don't like to see them being ripped off." Going back in time when Doctor Edward Thorps’ great classic blackjack book “Beat The Dealer” came out, casinos panicked and changed the game rules, which greatly increased the house edge. Well, players stayed away from the game since the odds were so bad and that forced the casinos to suspend those poor rule changes. Today, if players would avoid blackjack tables with a 6 to 5 payout they could again get the rule changed and return blackjack to a reasonable game.