The payout you receive for being dealt a natural blackjack is the biggest payout you can get in the game. It is what every blackjack player is hoping to be dealt at the onset of each hand. The payout is a 3-2 payout and it is the only payout you should be getting for a natural blackjack.
However there is a fad in both online blackjack and casino blackjack for blackjack variations. These variations, while having the potential to be entertaining, they have one major flaw—aside from the side bets, but that is a whole other topic. The major flaw is in the payout for a natural blackjack.
There are two main categories that blackjack variations can fall into: single deck games and side bet variations. Both of those should be self-explanatory, but in both categories players do not receive a 3-2 payout for a natural and that variation in payout hurts a player’s edge.
In single deck blackjack games, where the play is the same and there are no side bets, players receive a 6-5 payout instead of the 3-2. This causes a 1.39% loss to a player’s edge. This is because the house does not pay players as much. If you were wagering $10 a hand, a 3-2 payout would yield $15 while a 6-5 payout would only yield $12. Get into larger wagers and the difference becomes harder and harder to put up with. Safe to say you are paying to play in a single deck game and the increase in edge gained from only having one deck is overshadowed by the decrease from the payout variation.
When it comes to side bet blackjack variations, the payout variation is worse for natural blackjacks—which is one more reason why side bet blackjack variations should be avoided. When a player is dealt a natural blackjack—the highest hand in the entire game—they are only given a 1-1 even money payout. So if you wager $10 you would only receive $10. The blackjack player’s odds are hit for a loss of 2.27%.
Neither hit to a player’s odds is desirable and so such payout variations should be avoided, and by extension, such blackjack variations.