Blackjack is the only casino game where your decisions actually matter. Play basic strategy and the house edge drops to ~0.5%. Here's the chart.
With optimal basic strategy, blackjack's house edge is 0.3% – 0.8% depending on the rule set. That's 10× better than pokies (3–5%) and 40× better than keno (~25%). Your A$100 lasts much longer here.
| Rule | House edge change |
|---|---|
| Blackjack pays 3:2 (good) | Baseline |
| Blackjack pays 6:5 (BAD) | +1.4% house edge — avoid |
| Dealer stands on soft 17 (S17) | –0.2% (good) |
| Dealer hits soft 17 (H17) | +0.2% |
| Double after split allowed | –0.14% |
| Surrender allowed | –0.08% |
| Single deck | –0.48% (good) |
| 8 decks | +0.06% |
If a table pays 6:5 on blackjack instead of 3:2, the house edge jumps by 1.4% — more than the edge on most pokies. Worst rule in the casino. Find a 3:2 table.
| Your hand | vs 2 | vs 3 | vs 4 | vs 5 | vs 6 | vs 7 | vs 8 | vs 9 | vs 10 | vs A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5–8 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
| 9 | H | D | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H |
| 10 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | H | H |
| 11 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | H |
| 12 | H | H | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
| 13 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
| 14 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
| 15 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | R/H | R/H |
| 16 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | R/H | R/H | R/H |
| 17+ | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
H = Hit, S = Stand, D = Double (hit if can't), R = Surrender (hit if can't)
All side bets are a transfer from your wallet to the casino's. Stick to the main bet.
Standard recommendation: at least 200 units in your bankroll for your chosen bet size. Playing A$5 a hand? A$1,000 bankroll. This gives you enough cushion to ride out variance without busting out on a bad night.
Short answer: no. Every online RNG blackjack game shuffles after every hand. Live dealer games use 6-8 decks with cut cards, but the online casino software watches betting patterns — dramatic bet-ramping will get your account flagged. If you want to count, go to Crown or Star in person.