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.

In the most basic and most common form of blackjack, the dealer must stand on all 17s regardless of whether or not an Ace is a part of the dealer’s hand. But here and there players will find blackjack games or blackjack variations that allow the dealer to hit a soft 17, meaning a 17 with an Ace in it.

Allowing the dealer to hit a soft 17 is a problem despite that it does not sound like one. Many players do not think it will hurt them, or that the dealer is likely to bust. This is because they are hung up on the notion of the 17. But if a dealer is allowed to hit a soft 17, the Ace that starts as an 11 is reduced to a 1 and the dealer’s new hand total is 7. This leaves them in a prime position to rebuild a strong hand—much like how a player would.

Because the dealer has a second shot at rebuilding his hand he has an increased shot at beating your hand, especially if you are standing on a hard 17 or on a stiff hand. Naturally it follows that if the dealer’s odd increase, the player’s decreases. How much is that decrease? A player’s blackjack odds will decrease by 0.22% just on that one rule alone.

Because of the 0.22% hit to a player’s odds, blackjack games and blackjack variations that allow the dealer to hit a soft 17 should be avoided since there really is not any way for the player to combat that rule.

And just when a company has a product that becomes popular and hit, they create variations to try to make even more of a profit from the product concept, the casino world has done the same with the game of blackjack, creating variations of it that, on the surface are packaged to look like something new and refreshing, are in all reality are designed as money-takers.

Usually blackjack variations are played in the same way that a normal game of blackjack is played. Usually there are some changes to the double down rules or to the splitting of pairs. But the biggest changes are in the addition of side bets.

Side bets are wagers that players make whose results are independent of the outcome of the game, and their odds are not with the player. And then there is the fact that there is no strategy available to help improve a player’s odds when it comes to those side bets.

For example, one such side bet is in the blackjack variation called Perfect Pairs. The side bet is on whether or not the player’s first two cards dealt to them will be a pair or not. In this situation there is no strategy that could help the player to anticipate when they are more likely to be dealt a pair—not even card counting.

There is one strategy that does work in the player’s favor in regard to all side bet based blackjack variations—just avoid them! No matter how tempting they are and how hard those cutesy blackjack variations might appear, remember that side bet based blackjack variations are the Venus Fly Traps of the casino world.

One of the biggest hits to a player’s blackjack odds comes from the payouts offered by these blackjack variations. Whereas in regular online blackjack games, a natural blackjack receives a 3-2 payout, in the majority of variations the blackjack payout is an even money payout.

And an even money blackjack game will take 2.27% off of a player’s blackjack odds. If you are playing according to basic strategy, the house’s edge will go from 0.5% back up to 2.77%. Playing in a game with an even money payout like that is only handing your edge right back to the house.

Another common rule found in blackjack variations pertains to doubling down. Many variations only allow players to double down on 9s, 10s or 11s. This impacts the player’s blackjack odds in a negative way again, taking 0.18% away from the player’s odds.

Typically doubling down can take 1.6% from the house’s edge. That is a big hit to their edge. And that is why many blackjack variations will only allow doubling down on 9s, 10s and 11s only.

The key thing to understand about blackjack variations is that they were created to take players’ money faster. And while they can be fun to play from time to time, they should only be played for fun in practice modes so as not to risk losing any money; or to play blackjack variations at low stakes. That is how you handle your blackjack strategy in regards to 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.

However, they will lose money and take a hit to their blackjack odds in the long run. And it is all in the math.

Part of what helps a player’s basic blackjack odds is that they receive a 3-2 payout when they are dealt a natural blackjack, while the dealer does not receive a payout when he is dealt a natural blackjack. Blackjack odds are based on a player’s opportunities to make money. The better the opportunity the more it improves your blackjack odds.

This is why receiving a 3-2 payout is so important. It is always why players should avoid blackjack games and variations that do not offer a 3-2 payout.

When you take insurance on your blackjack against a dealer’s Ace you are giving up your chance of receiving that 3-2 payout for the guaranteed even money. Players who believe in taking that even money just to make sure they are getting money feel that if they are receiving some money so they must be doing good. After all, receiving money is good right?

Actually in this case it is wrong. Taking even money, a 1-1 payout, for a natural blackjack can have a big negative impact on your blackjack odds. How big? A 1-1 payout for a blackjack hits your odds for 2.27%.

So you have a choice. You can take the even money and the 2.27% hit to your blackjack odds, or you can decline insurance and take the chance at the 3-2 payout and keep a hold of your odds.

On the surface, a dealer hitting on a soft 17 does not sound like too bad of a house rule. In theory a dealer who has to hit on a soft 17 because the house rule makes me would be more likely to bust. But that is why it is a theory.

In reality the dealer is actually less likely to bust overall. The reason for this is that Ace. The Ace that is a friend to a blackjack player can also hurt when the dealer can hit on a soft 17. The dealer can reduce an Ace from 11 to 1 just as a blackjack player can. And because of that, the dealer has the chance to rebuild his hand to a stronger one.

For example, if the dealer has an Ace/6 he would have to hit. Let’s say that he hits and gets an 8. The Ace has to be reduced to 1, and he now has a hard 15, which he hits. If he receives anything less than a 7 he is still in the game. And there are more cards less than 7 than there are greater than.

It is because of the dealer’s increased chances of rebuilding his hand to be a stronger one that the house’s rule of a dealer hitting a soft 17 increases the house’s edge by 0.2%. That is a decent sized increase to the house’s edge. Which is why you should avoid any online blackjack games that allow the dealer to hit on a soft 17.

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.

While blackjack variations that have full-on changes are not too bad—they are usually culturally different in slight ways, the variations with additions are problems in disguise.

Additions will usually come in the form of side bets. Side bets add an extra thrill to the game because it is not only about winning the round of blackjack, it is now also about winning the extra bet.

Unfortunately, these side bets are bad for your bankroll.

Side bets in blackjack variations are another way for online casinos and brick and mortar casinos to squeeze some more money out of players.

Streak, for example, is a side bet in which players make a separate wager on how many rounds of blackjack they will win in a row. If they do win that many rounds in a row, they will collect on the side bet. If they lose a round before reaching the number they wagered on they will lose their wager. The streak side bet carries an edge of 9.7% up to 14.3% depending on how many rounds in a row you are wagering.

Another variation found mixed in with online blackjack and casino blackjack is Perfect Pairs. In this variation of blackjack, the game itself is played the same as a regular game but offers players a side bet. The side bet is based on whether the player will be dealt a pair in their first two cards.

This side bet is independent of the game itself, meaning that it does not matter if the dealer won or not. The side bet, the point of this variation, is on whether or not those first two cards will be a pair. If they are the player collects on the side wager, otherwise the casino merely collects it.

Because additive variations are meant to take more money from players it is best to avoid variations of blackjack when you encounter them online or in a casino.