More on the Dealer’s Edge

I’ve had a few questions on why the dealer’s edge starts at 7.8%. This is because most blackjack games start at around 5%, and, yes, I have been one of the ones to say that.

But remember that the 7.8% is based on the game itself. It doesn’t include rules or payouts. And what is the biggest reward of winning around of blackjack? The 3-2 payout. It doesn’t matter if you’re surrounded by other players in a casino, or home by yourself playing blackjack online. The feeling of winning that 3-2 payout is incredible.

And it is that payout alone that knocks the house edge down from 7.8%.

The 3-2 payout knocks 2.35% off of the house edge in itself. That brings the house edge down to 5.45%. So there you go.

The reason blackjack is said to start at 7.8% rather than 5.45% is because the 3-2 payout is crucial to lowering the housed edge to that 5.45%. But remember that there are blackjack games that carrying a 6-5 payout, and that payout doesn’t impact the house edge as well as the 3-2.

So a 6-5 game would not carry a house edge of 5.45%. A 6-5 game has worse odds for the player, which is why any smart blackjack player doesn’t play them. And thankfully you can’t really find 6-5 blackjack games online.

But where does the 7.8% come from? It comes from double busts. A double bust is when the blackjack player hits to beyond 21 and busts and the dealer also busts. The odds increase for the house then because even though the dealer lost, the house still collects your wager.

It would be fair if the player collected when the dealer busts but that doesn’t happen. The dealer keeps the money of your lost round regardless of whether they bust or not. This is another reason why playing in a 3-2 game is so important—you can recover more money in a 3-2 blackjack game than in a 6-5 game because a 3-2 pays more.

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