Crypto blackjack

The rules that decide the edge

Blackjack RTP is not one number. It is a function of the rule set, and the rules are visible before you play.

Rule	Good version	Bad version	Roughly costs you
Blackjack payout	3 to 2	6 to 5	About 1.4%, which is enormous
Dealer on soft 17	Stands	Hits	About 0.2%
Double after split	Allowed	Not allowed	About 0.15%
Surrender	Late surrender offered	None	About 0.1%
Deck count	Fewer decks	Eight decks	Up to about 0.5% across the range

Standard figures for the effect of each rule under basic strategy play. They combine roughly additively.

Correct play is not optional

The 0.5% figure assumes basic strategy on every hand. A player making intuitive decisions typically gives up somewhere between one and two percent on top, which puts blackjack behind Originals rather than ahead of them.

Basic strategy is a fixed lookup table based on your hand and the dealer upcard. It is not difficult and it is freely available. Playing blackjack without it is choosing to pay several times more for the same game.

Card counting does not apply here

Live dealer blackjack at crypto casinos generally uses continuous shuffle or frequent reshuffling, and RNG blackjack reshuffles every hand by definition. There is no deck penetration to exploit.

Anyone selling you a counting system for online blackjack is selling you something that cannot work in this format.

The side bets

Perfect Pairs, 21+3 and similar side bets carry house edges typically several times the main game. They are offered because they are profitable, and they are the fastest way to convert the cheapest game in the building into one of the more expensive ones.

Where it sits against Originals

Blackjack at 0.5% with correct play beats the 1% Originals rate at Stake and Shuffle, and beats Roobet's 4% Mines by a factor of eight. It does not beat the capped zero edge allowances at Duel and Gamdom, which are genuinely neutral inside their limits.