Two blackjack tables at the same casino can differ by a factor of four in cost. The rules panel tells you which is which — this page translates it. Effects below are stated against a baseline of about 0.5% house edge (4–8 decks, 3:2 blackjack, S17, double after split).
The rule cost table
| Rule | Effect on house edge | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Blackjack pays 6:5 instead of 3:2 | +1.4 percentage points | Disqualifying. Walk. |
| Dealer hits soft 17 (H17) | +0.22 | Prefer S17; acceptable if other rules compensate |
| No double after split (no DAS) | +0.14 | Mildly bad |
| Double on 10–11 only | +0.18 | Mildly bad |
| No re-splitting aces | +0.07 | Minor |
| Dealer wins ties (some variants) | +1.9 or worse | Disqualifying. Variant games only |
| Single deck (with 3:2) | −0.48 | Good — but almost always paired with 6:5, which erases it |
| Early surrender vs 10 | −0.24 | Rare online; take it where it exists |
| Late surrender | −0.08 | Small plus |
If you want the math: the 6:5 figure follows directly from blackjack frequency. You are dealt a natural about once every 21 hands; receiving 1.2 units instead of 1.5 on each costs 0.3 units per 21 hands ≈ 1.4% of total stakes.
How to read a table in 20 seconds
1. Payout line first. "Blackjack pays 3:2" or you leave. This single check filters the worst tables in one step. 2. S17 or H17. Stated in the rules panel of every online table. S17 preferred. 3. Doubling and splitting rules. DAS allowed, doubling on any two cards, re-split to 3–4 hands — each small, together meaningful. 4. Surrender. A bonus if present; its absence is normal online.
A 3:2, S17, DAS table is the standard good configuration and exists at every serious online casino. Nothing else on the panel moves the math enough to chase.
The single-deck trap
"Single deck" is mathematically the best base game (−0.48 against the baseline) and the most reliably booby-trapped product in the building: most single-deck tables pay 6:5 on blackjack, which costs three times what the deck count saves. Deck count is a footnote; the payout line is the headline. An 8-deck 3:2 table beats a single-deck 6:5 table by about a full percentage point.
Live dealer notes
Live studios publish the same rule panels. The common live configuration is 8 decks, S17 or H17 by studio, 3:2, no surrender — fine when the payout and S17 boxes check. Side-bet-heavy live tables (and "Infinite" variants with altered payouts on certain totals) need their own reading; treat any payout deviation from the table above as a cost until verified otherwise.
Our casino reviews record the rule sets each operator actually spreads, so the filtering work is done before you deposit.