Bits & Odds

Blackjack House Edge Calculator

Set your table’s rules. Get the exact house edge, and the chart to play it.

House edge, basic strategy 0.41%
Perfect play
0.40%
Return to player
99.59%
Cost an hour at $25 a hand, 80 hands
$8.11

Rules that would cut it

  • Hitting split aces: −0.19 points
  • Late surrender: −0.07 points
  • Resplitting aces: −0.07 points

The chart for these rules

6 decks, dealer stands on soft 17, double any two cards, double after split, split to 4 hands, no surrender

Hard2345678910A
5–7 HHHHHHHHHH
8 HHHHHHHHHH
9 HDDDDHHHHH
10 DDDDDDDDHH
11 DDDDDDDDDH
12 HHSSSHHHHH
13 SSSSSHHHHH
14 SSSSSHHHHH
15 SSSSSHHHHH
16 SSSSSHHHHH
17 SSSSSSSSSS
18+ SSSSSSSSSS
Soft2345678910A
A,2 HHHDDHHHHH
A,3 HHHDDHHHHH
A,4 HHDDDHHHHH
A,5 HHDDDHHHHH
A,6 HDDDDHHHHH
A,7 SDsDsDsDsSSHHH
A,8 SSSSSSSSSS
A,9 SSSSSSSSSS
Pairs2345678910A
2,2 PPPPPPHHHH
3,3 PPPPPPHHHH
4,4 HHHPPHHHHH
5,5 DDDDDDDDHH
6,6 PPPPPHHHHH
7,7 PPPPPPHHHH
8,8 PPPPPPPPPP
9,9 PPPPPSPPSS
10,10 SSSSSSSSSS
A,A PPPPPPPPPP
  • H Hit
  • S Stand
  • D Double, or hit if you can’t
  • Ds Double, or stand if you can’t
  • P Split

This shoe’s chart on its own page, printable, with the double-after-split and surrender toggles.

What moves the house edge

One rule at a time, from 6 decks, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split, blackjack pays 3:2 (0.41%):

RuleChange
Blackjack pays 6:5, not 3:2+1.36
Dealer hits soft 17+0.21
Double on 10 and 11 only+0.19
No double after split+0.14
Split once, no resplits+0.05
8 decks, not 6+0.03
Resplit aces−0.07
Late surrender−0.07
2 decks, not 6−0.21
1 deck, not 6−0.55

Effects roughly add, so two bad rules cost about the sum of both. The calculator does the exact sum.

Frequently asked questions

How is the house edge worked out?
From the cards, not a lookup table. For every hand you can be dealt against every dealer card, the calculator works out the dealer’s chance of finishing on 17 to 21 or busting with the cards that are left, then plays your hand the best way for those rules and adds it all up. A fresh shoe every hand, as on a continuous shuffler.
How do I know the numbers are right?
They are checked against the most widely cited published figures. Wherever both count split hands the same way, our house edges match the Wizard of Odds calculator to every one of the six decimals it prints. Our strategy charts match its tables in 14,398 of 14,400 cells. The two that differ are one hand, 8,8 against an ace in a double-deck game, and with double after split Peter Griffin’s The Theory of Blackjack agrees with us.
What is the difference between basic strategy and perfect play?
Basic strategy is one play per total, the chart. Perfect play changes the play for the exact cards in the hand (a 16 made of 10-6 plays differently from 4-4-8 in some spots). It is worth very little: 0.003 points in a standard shoe, more with fewer decks.
Which rule matters most?
The blackjack payout. 6:5 adds 1.36 points to a standard shoe, more than every other common rule put together. After that: the dealer hitting soft 17, doubling restrictions, and the number of decks. A single deck takes 0.55 off, which is why single-deck games usually pay 6:5.
Does this work for online blackjack?
Yes, for games dealt from a shoe that is shuffled every hand, which is how most online blackjack and live-dealer games with a continuous shuffler work. Check the game’s rules page for decks, soft 17 and the payout, set them here, and you have its house edge.

Keep going

Practise it in the trainer Blackjack hub 6–8 deck chart Double deck chart Single deck chart