What is the best blackjack variant?

What is the best blackjack variant? The short answer

There isn't one winner for everyone, but there is a clear way to judge. The house edge tells you what a variant costs per pound staked, assuming correct play. The lower it is, the longer your budget lasts and the less each hand costs on average. No variant has a negative edge for a player using basic strategy, so "best" means least expensive, not profitable.

Two things matter as much as the variant's name. First, the exact rules: deck count, whether the dealer stands or hits on soft 17, the blackjack payout and doubling limits all move the edge. Second, the strategy: Spanish 21, Blackjack Switch and Free Bet Blackjack each need their own strategy, and using standard basic strategy on them costs more than the published figure.

If you want a single recommendation, look for a 3:2 game where the dealer stands on soft 17 and you can double after splitting, and learn its strategy chart. Among named live games, Infinite Blackjack's 0.45% is one of the lowest published edges. The rest of this page compares the main options so you can choose for yourself.

Blackjack variants ranked by house edge

Every figure below is a Wizard of Odds calculation for the rules stated, except where we say otherwise. A casino's version may use different rules, so always check the help screen.

Wizard of Odds' Spanish 21 analysis (opens in a new tab) shows how much the dealer rule matters inside one variant: 0.40% when the dealer stands on soft 17, 0.42% when the dealer hits but you can redouble, and 0.76% when the dealer hits and redoubling isn't allowed. Its online Pontoon figures (opens in a new tab) apply to the Real Time Gaming version; Microgaming's version, with different split-ace and dealer rules, comes out at 0.39%.

What each blackjack variant costs in pounds

Multiply the house edge by your total stakes. At £10 a hand, 100 hands means £1,000 staked, so a 0.45% edge costs £4.50 on average. That's small next to a slot, but it doubles or worse on some popular variants.

Pace multiplies the cost. Evolution describes Speed Blackjack as about 30% to 40% faster than its standard live blackjack, so the same edge costs more per hour simply because you play more hands. Our cost per hour page shows the sum for different speeds.

These are averages over many hands. A single session can end well up or well down. Over time, every variant is expected to cost money, because each has a house edge.

Blackjack rules that matter more than the variant's name

Wizard of Odds' rule variations table (opens in a new tab) measures each rule against a baseline of eight decks with the dealer standing on soft 17. A plain-sounding "Classic" or "Vegas Strip" table can be better or worse than a branded game depending on these lines in its rules:

• Blackjack pays 6:5 instead of 3:2: costs you 1.39%. A £10 blackjack wins £12 instead of £15. See 3:2 against 6:5.
• Dealer hits soft 17: costs 0.22%. See dealer soft 17.
• No doubling after splitting: costs 0.14%.
• Doubling on 10 and 11 only: costs 0.18%; on 9 to 11 only, 0.09%.
• No hole card (European style): costs 0.11% in total.
• Single deck instead of eight: worth +0.48% to you, all else equal. See single deck blackjack.
• Late surrender against a ten: worth +0.07%. See surrender.

The variants and bets that cost the most

Lightning Blackjack adds a 100% Lightning Fee to every opening bet and pays random multipliers of 2x to 25x on winning hands, used on the next hand. Evolution claims a 0.44% house edge against the original bet with optimal strategy, but that strategy isn't published. Wizard of Odds estimates that a player using conventional basic strategy loses 17.63% of the original bet per hand, or 8.82% when the fee is counted in the total wagered. At £10 plus the £10 fee, that's about £1.76 a hand.

Side bets are the other big cost. Free Bet Blackjack's Push 22 bet has an 11.76% edge with six decks, according to Wizard of Odds' Free Bet Blackjack analysis (opens in a new tab), Evolution's 21+3 paytable of 100/40/30/10/5 has 3.70% with eight decks, and Lucky Ladies ranges from 5.87% to 24.71% depending on the paytable. The main game is cheap; the extras usually aren't.

Which blackjack variant suits your style?

Card counting doesn't change this ranking for online play. RNG blackjack reshuffles every hand, and live tables generally use shuffling methods that defeat counting, as our card counting page explains.

How to find the best blackjack variant at a casino

1. Open the game's help screen and find the published RTP; the house edge is 100% minus that figure.
2. Check the blackjack payout is 3:2, not 6:5.
3. Note whether the dealer stands or hits on soft 17, the number of decks, and when you can double and split.
4. Find a strategy chart made for that exact variant and rule set, and keep it open while you play.
5. Skip side bets unless you're happy paying a much higher edge for them.
6. Set a budget and stake size before you sit down, and stop when the budget is used.

Practising in a demo first is a cheap way to learn a new variant's strategy; see are casino games free in demo mode. For more on blackjack odds in general, start at our blackjack hub.

Playing blackjack variants at licensed casinos

None of these offers is a blackjack offer. 10bet's bonus must be wagered on slots, Coral's spins are for slots, and Casumo's bonus has game restrictions; table and live games are often excluded or count for less, so check each casino's blackjack lobby and the offer terms separately. 18+, terms apply.

Casumo: new customers who opt in get a 50% bonus up to £100 on a first deposit of £20 or more; the bonus must be wagered 10x within 7 days, the maximum bet is £5 while it's active, and game, play and payment restrictions apply. 10bet: pick the casino welcome bonus at sign-up and deposit within 7 days for a 100% match up to £25, wagered 10x on slots within 3 days, with maximum bonus winnings of £1,000; Skrill and Neteller deposits are excluded. Coral: deposit and bet £10 or more on slots for 100 free spins worth 10p each on selected games, accepted within 48 hours and valid for 7 days, with no wagering on winnings and some payment methods excluded.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.