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
- Payout line first. "Blackjack pays 3:2" or you leave. This single check filters the worst tables in one step.
- S17 or H17. Stated in the rules panel of every online table. S17 preferred.
- Doubling and splitting rules. DAS allowed, doubling on any two cards, re-split to 3–4 hands — each small, together meaningful.
- 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.