While some complain about all the 6:5 blackjack games in Las Vegas, there are still hundreds of great tables to play. But where to find the best blackjack in Las Vegas in 2020?
- What Reno Blackjack Casinos Should You Choose? With 20 casinos, the Reno-Sparks area is one of the biggest gambling destinations in the United States. Therefore, you can’t walk into just any casino and expect an easy chance to win. You instead want to target the casinos with the best rules.
- Finding The Best Blackjack. Where to cash in on player-friendly blackjack games, and how to avoid the bad ones by Henry Tamburin. The 6-5 payoff rule increases the house edge by almost 1.4 percent. If you’re a $10 bettor, playing a 6-5 game will cost you $3 each time you get a blackjack (and you’ll average roughly four blackjacks per hour.
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The best Las Vegas blackjack games tend to be away from the tourist corridor, so it may require a drive or rideshare trip.
The exception is a few high-limit games on the Strip. These often require $50 or more per hand to play, while some of the other top blackjack tables are found in the locals market and start at a $5 minimum bet.
Here are details of all the best blackjack games in Las Vegas in 2020, as per our annual blackjack survey.
M Resort retains its title as the home of the best blackjack table in Las Vegas.
Its double-deck game in the high limit stands on all 17s. Double down before and after splitting is allowed. Aces may be re-split up to three times for a total of four hands. The re-split aces rule is the only one of its kind for stand on 17 double-deck games in Las Vegas.
Johnson won the money fair and square, and in the process made Atlantic City blackjack history. Best Blackjack Casinos In Atlantic City. If you happen to be planning a trip to Atlantic City, here is a list of the best casinos to play blackjack: Bally’s Claridge Casino. Here is the link. In addition to a house edge that is low, the Claridge is.
The house edge with perfect play is 0.19%.
Bighorn and Longhorn Casino Blackjack
There is a $5 blackjack game in the locals market that is comfortably one of the best blackjack games in Las Vegas in 2020. It is offered by Bighorn Casino and Longhorn Casino. Bighorn Casino is on East Lake Mead Blvd in North Las Vegas. Longhorn is on Boulder Highway near US 95.
This blackjack game has a special rule that allows players to double down on three cards. The dealer hits soft 17. Double down after splitting, re-split aces, and surrender are also allowed. The house advantage for this game is about 0.25%.
Some of the best Las Vegas blackjack games in 2020 are the many double-deck blackjack games on the Las Vegas Strip that stand on all 17s. These games do not permit re-split aces.
This game is spread at Treasure Island for $50. Aria, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Mirage, MGM Grand, and Park MGM have it for $100. The expected house edge for this game is 0.26%.
High-Limit Six-Deck Blackjack Games
There are many high-limit six-deck games that stand on all 17s. All these high-limit games offer double down before and after splitting and surrender, regardless of location. The ones listed here also have re-split aces. This puts the house edge at 0.29%. You may find this game during slow periods for $25 at MGM Grand, though it is often at least $50.
Bellagio, M Resort, Palace Station, and Treasure Island have it for $50. Aria, Mirage, Mandalay Bay, Green Valley Ranch, Red Rock Resort, and Palms spread it for $100.
El Cortez is one of two casinos that spread 3:2 single-deck games in Las Vegas. Silverton is the other. Both are among the best Vegas blackjack games for 2020, but El Cortez has an advantage as it permits double down on any two cards before a split.
The game has a $5 minimum during most hours of the day, though you may see it for $10 when it is busy. The house advantage is 0.3% at these blackjack tables.
Caesars High-Limit Shoes
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Most Caesars properties in Las Vegas spread a six-deck game in the high-limit salon.
The minimum bet is $50 at Bally’s and $100 at the others, including Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Harrah’s, Paris, Planet Hollywood, and Rio. The house edge for this game is 0.35%.
There are two locals casinos that offer 3:2 double-deck games with re-split aces with low limits. The dealer hits soft 17. The minimum bet is usually $5 at Eastside Cannery and $10 at Silverton.
Station Casinos high-limit salons also offer this game. These include Green Valley Ranch, Palace Station, Palms, and Red Rock Resort. The minimum bet is usually $100 but can be as low as $50. Never be afraid to ask for a lower minimum bet if the table is idle. The house edge for this game is 0.4%.
As noted in the top spot of this best Las Vegas blackjack list, M Resort offers this game for $50 with the dealer standing on all 17s.
Other 3:2 Double-Deck Games in Las Vegas
There are dozens of Las Vegas casinos that offer 3:2 double-deck blackjack games with double down before and after splitting but not re-split aces. The dealer hits soft 17. Locations with the game for $5 include Aliante, Cannery, El Cortez, Fiesta, Gold Coast, Jerry’s Nugget, Jokers Wild, M Resort, Rampart, Orleans, Palace Station, Railroad Pass, Sam’s Town, Santa Fe Station, Suncoast, and Texas Station.
Casinos with this game for $10 include Palms, Green Valley Ranch, Red Rock Resort, and Treasure Island. For $25, it’s found at many tourist casinos. The house edge for this game is 0.46%.
The games detailed above are objectively the best blackjack games in Las Vegas in 2020. However, you may have your own personal preferences in terms of what you want from a blackjack game.
Perhaps you want to play in a specific location, or enjoy a particular type of game. That’s where our 2020 Las Vegas blackjack survey can help. You’ll find details of every single blackjack table in Vegas, broken down into several different categories.
Check it out and enjoy the best blackjack Las Vegas has to offer!
Where to cash in on player-friendly blackjack games, and how to avoid the bad ones
by Henry Tamburin
The 6-5 payoff rule increases the house edge by almost 1.4 percent. If you’re a $10 bettor, playing a 6-5 game will cost you $3 each time you get a blackjack (and you’ll average roughly four blackjacks per hour), which comes to $12 that you are forking over to the casino bosses every hour.
This month, my column is going to accomplish four things:
- Provide you with a convenient list of casinos that offer a single-deck blackjack game that pays 3-2 for a blackjack (also known as a “natural”)
- Give you an accurate single-deck basic playing strategy that you can use to play this terrific game
- Summarize the casinos in and around Las Vegas that offer the abominable 6-5 single-deck games (so you can avoid them)
- Give you some advice on how you can help eradicate the awful 6-5 games, which have been spreading like a cancer in casinos throughout the U.S.
Note: The information on which casinos offer single-deck games and the corresponding rules and house edges mentioned in this article were obtained from Current Blackjack News (CBJN), with their permission (www.bj21.com). Casinos can change the rules at any time, so check CBJN for the latest rules and playing conditions in casinos across the country.
In the March 2008 issue of Casino Player magazine, I wrote a detailed column about why the 6-5 single-deck game is bad news for players. Without rehashing all the points that I made back then, let me briefly summarize why this game should be avoided like the plague. The 6-5 payoff rule increases the house edge by almost 1.4 percent (no, that’s not a typo). If you’re a $10 bettor, playing a 6-5 game will cost you $3 each time you get a blackjack (and you’ll average roughly four blackjacks per hour), which comes to $12 that you are forking over to the casino bosses every hour.
That is an atrocity, which is why a smart blackjack player would never play this game.
If you talk to casino bosses about their 6-5 games (which I‘ve done), you get this sort of universal response from them: we know players don’t like the 6-5 games, but as long as they keep playing them, we’d be crazy not to offer them. In a moment, I will give you some tips on how you can help us eradicate the 6-5 games from casinos everywhere. But first, let me discuss the single-deck game that I am encouraging you to play; namely, the game that pays the traditional 3-2 for a natural. It’s available, and I’ll show you where.
The house edge against a basic strategy player in a 3-2 single-deck game is a function of the mix of playing rules. The best single-deck games have h17 (dealer hits soft 17), and allow players to resplit aces. The house edge in this game is a meager 0.13%. Second best is an h17 game without resplit aces (house edge: only 0.18%).
The following chart summarizes the relationship of the rules and the house edge for a basic strategy player in a 3-2 single-deck game. You’d be hard-pressed to find a multi-deck game with these low house edges.
Playing Rules | House Edge (%) |
h17, rsa | 0.13 |
h17 | 0.18 |
s17, d10 | 0.29 |
h17, d9 | 0.32 |
h17, d10 | 0.44 |
Where would you guess is the most likely place to find a 3-2 single-deck game? If you said Las Vegas, you’d be dead wrong. According to CBJN, there are only four casinos that offer a 3-2 single-deck game in Las Vegas (and unfortunately, 44 casinos in and around Vegas that offer the dastardly 6-5 single-deck games, making Las Vegas the #1 gambling destination with the most 6-5 games).
Table 1 lists the casinos in Las Vegas that offer 3-2 single-deck games. Table 2 is the list of Las Vegas casinos that offer the 6-5 game. Be smart—on your next trip to Vegas, play the juicy 3-2 single-deck game and avoid the terrible 6-5 game in the casinos listed in Table 2.
The areas of the country where the concentration of 3-2 single-deck games is the greatest are Tunica and Vicksburg, MS, and Reno/Lake Tahoe/Wendover, in Nevada. You’ll be delighted to find many casinos in these cities that offer the fair 3-2 single-deck game. (See Table 3 for the list of these casinos.)
Now that you know where to find 3-2 single-deck games, you need to learn the basic playing strategy for them. Table 4 summarizes the strategy where the dealer hits soft 17 (which is the case in the majority of casinos that offer a single-deck game). You should become familiar with this playing strategy, because it’s slightly different than the basic strategy for multi-deck games. If this is your first time playing a single-deck game, I would also recommend that you bring a strategy card with you to avoid making playing mistakes. It’s perfectly legal to refer to a card before you play your hand.
Table 1
Las Vegas Casinos That Offer
3-2 Single-Deck Games
h17 = dealer hits soft 17
d10 = double down only on two-card ten or eleven
rsa = aces may be resplit
Casino | Rules | House Edge |
Binion’s | h17, d10 | 0.44% |
El Cortez | h17 (dealt from a shoe) | 0.18% |
Four Queens | h17, d10 | 0.44% |
Hooters | h17, d10 | 0.44% |
Silverton | h17, d10 | 0.44% |
Note: I’ve had friends in the past play the single-deck games at Binion’s and Four Queens, and they claimed they had a good time. However, Al Rogers, manager at bj21.com, had this to say about the single-deck games at both casinos: “Anyone showing the slightest degree of brain usage at reasonable stakes will not be allowed to play the 3-2 single-deck games at either casino.”
Table 2
The Hall Of Shame:
Las Vegas Area Casinos That Offer