What is the difference between 3 to 2 and 6 to 5?
The numbers in each refer to payout ratios when getting a blackjack. Basically, when you win a game of 3:2 blackjack with a 2-card 21, you get $3 for every 2 that you bet. This reduces to a ratio of 1.5:1, meaning that you multiply your bet by 1.5 when you get a blackjack. When you play 6:5 blackjack and hit it, you get paid out at a 6:5 ratio, so you win $6 for every 5 that you bet.
This reduces the payout ratio to 1.2:1 - you only get $1.2 for every dollar that you bet when you win. We know this doesn’t sound like a big difference, but stuff like this matters a lot over time. The less you win, the worse the game is for you - and that’s a big big deal. There really isn’t much of a benefit to the consumer at all when it comes to 6:5 vs 3:2 blackjack - you just get paid out a little less.
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Why should I look for a 3:2 Blackjack Table?
Because you get paid more when you do. It’s actually really simple math. Let’s say you bet $100 at a 3:2 table, and you win a blackjack with that bet. You will get back $150. If you make the same bet at a 6:5 table, you will only get back $120. You can see how this kind of thing will add up over time. Basically, since blackjack is such a fair game, casinos have to juice the odds somehow, and this is the thing they came up with to do it - reducing payouts and flattening the odds in their favor. Note that, of course, there is no guarantee of winning at either table, just that when you do win, it’s better that you get paid more and not less.
Why do 6 to 5 tables suck at Blackjack?
Because, as a corollary to the above, you get paid less when you win at a 6:5 table than when you win at a 3:2 table. It’s very simple math. This is why it’s important to find 3:2 tables if you can - it helps keep you in the black, and keep you playing more. Apparently this change has not been enough to change player behavior - people still sign up to play 6:5 blackjack, but we want our readers to know better.
Payout comparisons for a 3 to 2 table vs a 6 to 5 table
Below, we’ve put together some information that should help to illustrate the difference between a 3:2 table and a 6:5 table. For the purposes of this illustration, we’ll assume that you started out with $100, and won five blackjacks in a row, betting your full bankroll and winnings each time. Though this is not advised when betting on legal blackjack, nor likely to happen, this should help demonstrate how quickly the change in odds starts to matter.
3:2 Table | 6:5 Table | |
Starting Money | $100 | $100 |
Bankroll After Win 1 | $250 | $220 |
Bankroll After Win 2 | $625 | $484 |
Bankroll After Win 3 | $1,562.5 | $1,064.80 |
Bankroll After Win 4 | $3,906.25 | $2,342.56 |
Bankroll After Win 5 | $9,765.63 | $5,153.63 |
As you can see the difference in payouts is absolutely massive, both individually and cumulatively speaking. This is to say nothing of what a run like that could do for you when you’re down money. Basically, playing on 3:2 tables is strictly better than playing on 6:5 tables, and we highly recommend it.