Single Deck Blackjack at 6 to 5: Rules and What the Payout Costs

The game is ordinary blackjack dealt from one 52-card deck, with a natural paying 6 to 5. You bet, you receive two cards, the dealer receives one face up and one face down, and you try to beat the dealer's total without going over 21. A natural is an ace with a ten-value card on the first two cards.

The shorter payout is the whole story. A natural paid 3 to 2 returns one and a half times the bet. Paid 6 to 5 it returns one and a fifth times the bet, so on a 10 unit bet you collect 12 instead of 15. Every other winning hand still pays even money.

This page models one game, and it is a merged reference rather than a single sheet. No document found describes a complete single deck 6 to 5 rule set. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement regulation supplies the 6 to 5 variation, the Hard Rock Atlantic City guide supplies the player options, and the BCLC rules of play say that in their 6 to 5 game every rule except the natural payout is unchanged. The rules below state which part comes from where.

The steps follow the documents named at the end of the page.

1. You place one bet before any card is dealt.
2. You receive two cards and the dealer receives two, one face up and one face down.
3. If the dealer shows an ace, insurance is offered, paying 2 to 1, and a player with a natural may take even money.
4. The dealer checks for a natural under an ace or a ten-value card. If there is one, the round ends there.
5. You hit, stand, double or split. There is no surrender.
6. The dealer hits 16 or less and hits soft 17, then stands on any other 17 or more. Bets are settled.

What you can do with your hand#

You may double on any first two cards and receive one card only, and double after a split. Pairs may be split to four hands, and aces may be split once with one card on each. If the dealer has a natural after you doubled or split, only the original wager is lost. A natural against a natural is a push, and an ace with a ten-value card after splitting aces is an ordinary 21.

Documented and assumed#

Regular blackjack here means the comparison game used across this site: six decks, the dealer hitting soft 17, doubling after a split and a 3 to 2 natural. Two rules differ, and they pull in opposite directions.

The house edge is the average share of your starting bet that the house keeps over a very long run. It says nothing about one session.

The figure for these rules is 1.44% (Single deck blackjack paying 6 to 5. House edge per starting bet: the average loss per round as a share of the bet placed before the cards are dealt, doubles and splits included in the result. Rules: 1 deck, dealer hits soft 17, dealer checks for blackjack with a hole card, blackjack pays 6:5, double on any first two cards, double after split, split up to 4 hands, aces are not resplit, one card to each split ace, no surrender. The player follows the printed strategy chart for these rules from a full shoe, and never takes insurance or even money.). The same single deck with a 3 to 2 natural gives 0.05%, so the 6 to 5 payout is what moves the edge from 0.05% to 1.44% (Single deck blackjack paying 6 to 5. House edge per starting bet: the average loss per round as a share of the bet placed before the cards are dealt, doubles and splits included in the result. Rules: 1 deck, dealer hits soft 17, dealer checks for blackjack with a hole card, blackjack pays 6:5, double on any first two cards, double after split, split up to 4 hands, aces are not resplit, one card to each split ace, no surrender. The player follows the printed strategy chart for these rules from a full shoe, and never takes insurance or even money.). A single deck on the comparison rules takes 0.57 percentage points off the six-deck edge, and a 6 to 5 natural adds 1.36 back on the six-deck rules. The second number is more than twice the first, which is why the game ends up above the comparison.

Six decks paying 6 to 5 give 1.98%, so one deck at 6 to 5 is cheaper than six decks at 6 to 5, but still well above the six-deck game at 3 to 2. The figure is for this rule set only. Differences in the dealer rule, doubling or splitting would move it.

The house edge calculator lets you change the payout and the deck count and read the result. The methodology page explains how the figures are calculated.

A natural comes one hand in 1 in 20.7 (The chance of a natural as one hand in so many. Rules: a single deck. Worked out exactly from a full shoe.) with a single deck, a probability of 4.83% (Chance that the first two cards dealt to a player are an ace and a ten-valued card. Rules: a single deck. Worked out exactly from a full shoe.). The short payout is paid on every one of them. The loss does not feel like a loss: the round still wins, only by less than it should.

Three points make it worse than it looks. First, the payout affects the hand you most want. A natural is the only hand that pays more than even money, so cutting it removes the main upside of the game. Second, a one-deck game looks friendly, and the payout decides the game. Third, the New Jersey regulation shows what comes with a 6 to 5 table: the dealer must hit soft 17, surrender is not available, a casino may prohibit doubling after a split, and minimum bets must be in multiples of five. In New Jersey, then, a 6 to 5 table is a package of rules that favour the house.

Always read the payout on the felt before anything else. The house edge page shows how much each rule costs, and the 6 to 5 natural is the largest single change in its table. The same short payout appears on double deck tables.

A 6 to 5 payout does not change how you play a hand. The strategy changes come from the single deck, and the chart assumes doubling after a split is allowed. Against the six-deck comparison chart, eleven cells of the first-two-card charts change, and the chart below marks them.

The cells that change#

• Hard 8 against a dealer 5 or 6 doubles, where the comparison hits.
• Hard 9 against a dealer 2 doubles, where the comparison hits.
• Ace and 2 against a dealer 4, ace and 3 against a dealer 4, and ace and 6 against a dealer 2 double, where the comparison hits.
• Ace and 7 against a dealer 2 stands, a close call, where the comparison doubles.
• A pair of threes against a dealer 8, a pair of fours against a dealer 4, a pair of sixes against a dealer 7 and a pair of sevens against a dealer 8 split, where the comparison hits.

The table below deals one deck, with a hole card and a peek, and pays 6 to 5 on a natural. Nothing is wagered and nothing can be won.

Real-money blackjack is licensed, and where it is offered is decided place by place. If you want to know what is available near you, ask your local gaming regulator. No venues or operators are named here. A game of chance stays a game of chance, and the house edge above is a long-run average. If gambling stops being fun, the responsible play page lists where to get help.

The documents show these differences.

• Natural payout. 6 to 5 in New Jersey's variation and at Hard Rock Atlantic City. The Venetian and Red Rock guides say 6 to 5 or 3 to 2 depending on the game.
• Double after a split. Allowed at Hard Rock Atlantic City. A New Jersey casino may prohibit it on 6 to 5 tables.
• Soft 17. Mandatory hit in New Jersey's 6 to 5 variation. Other 6 to 5 games are not documented.
• Surrender. Not available in the New Jersey 6 to 5 variation or on Red Rock's single deck game.
• Resplitting non-ace pairs. Hard Rock Atlantic City allows four hands in all. A single deck 6 to 5 sheet is not documented separately.

Side bets sit on top of the main game and are judged on their own. The side bets page covers them.

The 6 to 5 variation, the soft 17 and surrender rules and the original-wager treatment come from New Jersey Administrative Code 13:69F. The Hard Rock Atlantic City guide and the Red Rock guide are casino sheets, used for player options and the variations. The BCLC rules of play are a rule document from a provincial lottery corporation, not a gaming regulator, and are named here only for the 6 to 5 statement. About this site explains how sources are handled.