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.

Now these are good students of blackjack. They know that the more decks there are in play at a table the more the blackjack odds tip towards the dealer. Naturally these students of blackjack will seek out the single deck games that have made a comeback in brick and mortar casinos.

But they are back with a twist.

The twist is the payout. In many—not all but many—of the single deck blackjack games to be found in casinos do not offer the usual 3-2 payout. Instead many single deck blackjack games offer a 6-5 payout.

Unfortunately many novice blackjack players do not quite understand what a 6-5 payout does to their odds.

Not only does a 6-5 payout meant that the player is receiving less for his blackjack in terms of the payout, a 6-5 payout also has a negative impact on a player’s blackjack odds.

Blackjack odds are based on your opportunity to make a profit from the game. When a house rule makes it harder for the dealer to win, it increases the player’s blackjack odds because that rule decreases the dealer’s chances of winning, which conversely increases the player’s.

In the case of the 6-5 payout, players lose some of their blackjack odds simply because they are receiving less money for a natural blackjack. Less money received in a payout means that the opportunity to profit is less, hence lowering the blackjack odds of the player.

When pulling up a chair to a 6-5 blackjack game a player is lowering their blackjack odds by 1.39%. Even playing with basic strategy cannot overcome this reduction in odds because of the payout, not because of house rules or player choices in plays.

Because of the reduction of odds—not to mention the lost money—it is best to avoid playing at 6-5 payout tables. If all of the single deck games are 6-5 payouts then play at the blackjack table with the least amount of decks.

If a player has done some research on blackjack payouts they know not to play in a game that offers a 6-5 payout. But they see it explained that they are receiving less money and that is the reason not to play in 6-5 payout games.

But there is another reason for avoiding blackjack games that do not offer players a 3-2 payout for their blackjacks: different payouts can actually reduce your blackjack odds.

Not only do you receive less money in a 6-5 payout game, it also reduces your odds by 1.89%. Just because of the change in payout alone.

For players who are fans of blackjack variations, such as games like Super 21, those games also have different blackjack payouts. Most of them, because of the potential—although it is not a great potential—to win a side bet, the payout for a natural blackjack is reduced. In most blackjack variations the payout is only 1-1, or even money, for a blackjack. A 1-1 payout reduces your odds by 2.27%.

A 1-1 payout actually has the worst impact on your blackjack odds of all of the different type of variations.

The reason a lower payout hurts your blackjack odds is because it reduces your opportunity to make money off of the game. Even though you are receiving something for your natural blackjack, it is not what you would traditionally make—that is why it reduces your odds.

It is not the infamous 6-5 payout that everyone has heard of, which might surprise you. No, the worst blackjack payout is actual a lot more common than the 6-5 payout. It is also more abundant than the 6-5 payout because it is found in blackjack variations, which are found in brick and mortar casinos as well as in online blackjack games.

So what is the worst blackjack payout? It is an even money payout, also known as a 1-1 payout.

The reason for this goes hand in hand with you receiving less money and your blackjack odds. On the surface just being paid less money for a natural blackjack is bad enough. After all it is the highest hand in the game and an instant win. It just feels like such a letdown to be dealt a natural blackjack and then only get a tiny payout.

But the amount of your payout is only part of why an even money payout is so bad for you. The other reason is that it hurts your blackjack odds. And more than a little.

Just playing in a game of blackjack with an even money payout will reduce your blackjack odds by 2.27%.

The reason for such a big hit to your odds is because of how much drastically smaller your winning payout is. Your blackjack odds are based on your opportunity for making money off of the game. When the opportunities, such as rules and payouts, are in your favor to make more money, your blackjack odds go up.

But when the opportunities favor the dealer then your blackjack odds go down because you have fewer chances to make money. And this is the case with an even money payout. It hurts your blackjack odds so much because it reduces the amount of money you are have a chance to make.

With your blackjack odds and your bankroll being hit so hard it makes an even money payout the worst payout in blackjack.