Blackjack Switch House Edge
Just a question about the house edge in blackjack switch. There are some switch games in CBJN that i see have a house edge of 0.16%. Lets say you put down 5 dollars on each spot. Is your EV on the hand -3.2 cents or -1.6 cents, assuming you play perfect strategy somehow? Blackjack Switch is one of these games. The added elements of Blackjack Switch are designed to appeal to those who like to gamble. While this may provide a nice diversion for gamblers, the house edge in Blackjack Switch is considerably greater than it is in regular blackjack. 😍 Click to Visit My Favorite Casino 😍.
Las Vegas is home to some of the best and worst blackjack in the country. This article covers the worst games. You can find the best blackjack games in Las Vegas here. All of the games below have a house edge that is worse than an eight-deck 6:5 game with standard rules.
One game disappeared from the list from last year. Caesars Palace dropped its terrible 6:5 blackjack rules that only permitted double down on 10 and 11 with no double down after splitting. A $1 blackjack game joined the list to take its place.
Most of the games below are carnival games that are available at the lowest limits in the pits. The house edge is generally around 0.6% for a standard 3:2 shoe game. The ones on this list range from 2.28% to 4.4%.
It is easy to avoid these games with the information below. All casinos with these terrible games offer better ones in the same pit.
Related: 2021 Las Vegas Blackjack Survey
Bonus Spin Blackjack – Golden Nugget and Fremont
Two downtown Las Vegas casinos share the honor of winning our worst Las Vegas blackjack award. This is Golden Nugget’s fourth year in the top spot with its Bonus Spin Blackjack. Fremont joined it by adding the game in 2020.
Bonus Spin Blackjack looks like a normal blackjack game. In many casinos, it is an optional side bet. At Golden Nugget and Fremont, players are required to bet $1 on the Bonus Spin side bet in addition to the base bet. Blackjack pays 6:5. The minimum bet is $10 before the side bet at both casinos.
When I first saw this game, I attempted to determine the house edge on the side bet. I was never able to find the exact amount. My research determined 23% to be the best estimate, which was in the range I predicted.
With that information, I estimate that a player theoretically loses $0.23 every hand on the side bet plus the house edge on the main wager. A $10 blackjack bet would have a $0.20 house edge at these 6:5 tables. The minimum bet of $11 holds $0.43 with this calculation. This gives the game a house edge of 3.91%.
What to play instead: Golden Nugget has a $25 3:2 table or play $10 Super Fun 21, which has about one-third the house edge of its Bonus Spin Poker. At Fremont, there is a $10 double deck blackjack game that pays 3:2.
Bonus Spin Blackjack – Binion’s and Four Queens
Double Deck Blackjack House Edge
Binion’s and Four Queens have a $5 version of Bonus Spin Blackjack with a mandatory $1 side bet. The signs at the tables proudly note its 3:2 payout. The flat bet has a $.03 house edge on a $5 bet. The side bet adds another $0.23. I estimate the house edge for this game to be 4.4%. That is higher than the Golden Nugget/Fremont one. That is because of the lower minimum bet. This game has a lower theoretical loss per hand with its $5 limit, so I rank it second, even with its higher house edge on a percentage basis.
What to play instead: Binion’s and Four Queens deal $5 Double Up Blackjack and Blackjack Switch. Other table games with a lower house edge also have a $5 minimum. You are better off playing a regular 6:5 blackjack table than this game unless you plan on betting $20 or more.
Downtown Grand and Oyo $1 blackjack
Downtown Grand and Oyo offer $1 blackjack tables that use continuous shuffling machines. Any bet under $5 pays even money on a blackjack. Players can double down before and after splitting. The dealer hits soft 17. The house edge on this game for bets under $5 is about 2.92%.
What to play instead: Downtown Grand has $5 3:2 blackjack. It is $10 at Oyo.
Poker Palace $1 blackjack
Poker Palace offers a slightly better $1 blackjack game. It is a double deck that pays even money. Players may not double down after splitting. The house edge is around 2.89%.
What to play instead: There is a $3 3:2 blackjack game at Poker Palace that allows players to double down on two or three cards. It made our best Las Vegas blackjack list.
6:5 Free Bet Blackjack
There are 18 Las Vegas casinos that pay 6:5 at Free Bet Blackjack tables. Every Las Vegas Strip installation is this way, as well as some in the locals market. This game has a house edge of 2.4%.
What to play instead: There are seven Las Vegas casinos that pay 3:2 at Free Bet Blackjack. Those locations are Circa, Golden Gate, M Resort, Plaza, Silverton, Sunset Station and The D.
Blackjack Switch Locations
Alamo Truck Stop
The Alamo Truck Stop at Blue Diamond and I-15 deals an especially bad 6:5 blackjack game. It uses four decks. Players may only double down on 10 and 11. There is no double down after splitting. This game has a house edge of about 2.28%.
Every game at the casino is tipped in the casino’s favor – that is how they make their money.
For sure, as a player you have a chance of winning and finishing a session ahead – there would be no reason to go to a casino otherwise – but overall every game will make the casino money in the long run.
By playing to a certain strategy, the player can reduce the House Edge by some percentage points giving them a better chance of walking away up. There are strategies for many of the most popular casino games on this website.
However, the amount of House Edge does vary from game to game and in some cases from the different types of bet from within the same game. Here, we look at the most popular games and their House Edge so you can make an informed decision of which to play.
| Game | Betting Rules | House Edge |
| Blackjack | Vegas Rules | 0.28% |
| Pontoon | Standard Bet | 0.32% – 0.65% |
| Spanish 21 | Dealer Stands on Soft 17 | 0.40% |
| Spanish 21 | Dealer Hits on Soft 17 | 0.76% |
| Blackjack Switch | Standard Bet | 0.58% |
| Atlantic City Blackjack | Standard Bet | 0.35% |
| Vegas Strip Blackjack | Standard Bet | 0.35% |
| Progressive Blackjack | Standard Bet | 0.28% – 0.76% |
| Super Fun 21 | Standard Bet | 0.94% |
| European Roulette | Single Zero | 1.35% – 2.70% |
| American Roulette | Double Zero | 5.26% |
| French Roulette | Single Zero | 1.35% – 2.70% |
| Baccarat | Player | 1.24% |
| Baccarat | Banker | 1.06% |
| Baccarat | Tie | 14.36% |
| Punto Banco | Player | 1.24% |
| Punto Banco | Banker | 1.06% |
| Punto Banco | Tie | 14.40% |
| EZ Baccarat | 1.01% | |
| 3 Card Baccarat | 17% – 20.8% | |
| European Baccarat | Player | 1.24% |
| European Baccarat | Banker | 1.06% |
| European Baccarat | Tie | 14.40% |
| Banque Baccarat | Player | 1.24% |
| Banque Baccarat | Banker | 1.06% |
| Banque Baccarat | Tie | 14.40% |
| Chemin De Fer | N/A | |
| Craps | Pass Line/Come Bet | 1.41% |
| Craps | Don’t Pass/Don’t Come Bet | 1.40% |
| Craps | Pass Line Odds/Comes Bet Odds/Buy Bets – 4 or 10 | 4.76% |
| Craps | Pass Line Odds/Comes Bet Odds/Buy Bets – 5 or 9 | 4.76% |
| Craps | Pass Line Odds/Comes Bet Odds/Buy Bets – 6 or 8 | 4.76% |
| Craps | Don’t Pass Odds/Don’t Come Bet Odds/Lay Bets – 4 or 10 | 2.44% |
| Craps | Don’t Pass Odds/Don’t Come Bet Odds/Lay Bets – 5 or 9 | 3.23% |
| Craps | Don’t Pass Odds/Don’t Come Bet Odds/Lay Bets – 6 or 8 | 4.00% |
| Craps | Field Bets – 3, 4, 9, 10 or 11 | 5.50% |
| Craps | Field Bets – 2 or 12 | 5.50% |
| Craps | Place Bets – 4 or 10 | 6.70% |
| Craps | Place Bets – 5 or 9 | 4.00% |
| Craps | Place Bets – 6 or 8 | 1.52% |
| Craps | Hardways – 6 or 8 | 9.09% |
| Craps | Hardways – 4 or 10 | 11.10% |
| Craps | One Roll Bets – Any 7 | 16.90% |
| Craps | One Roll Bets – Any Craps | 11.10% |
| Craps | One Roll Bets – 2 Craps or 12 Craps | 13.90% |
| Craps | One Roll Bets – 3 Craps or 11 Craps | 11.10% |
| Craps | One Roll Bets – Big 6 or 8 | 9.09% |
| 3 Card Poker | Ante Bet | 3.37% |
| 3 Card Poker | Pair Plus | 7.28% |
| Pai Gow Poker | 1.50% | |
| Let It Ride | 3.51% | |
| Caribbean Stud | 5.22% | |
| Video Poker | Jacks or Better | 0.46% |
| Video Poker | Bonus Poker | 0.83% |
| Video Poker | Joker Poker | 1.91% |
| Video Poker | Deuces Wild | 1.09% – 5.03% |
| Video Poker | Aces & Faces | 0.74% |
| Video Poker | Pick’em Poker | 0.5% – 10% |
| Video Poker | Aces & Eights | 0.22% – 2.51% |
| Video Poker | Tens or Better | 0.86% – 2.04% |
| Casino War | Go to War on Ties | 2.88% |
| Casino War | Surrender on Ties | 3.70% |
| Casino War | Bet on Ties | 18.65% |
| Keno | 25% – 29% | |
| Sic Bo | 2.78% – 33.33% | |
| Red Dog | 2.80% |
What is the House Edge?
It is important to clarify exactly what the House Edge is and how it is calculated.
The definition of House Edge is ‘the ratio of the average loss when compared to the initial bet’. Some games allow you to place an extra bet during the hand such as Splitting or Doubling in Blackjack. When working out the House Edge for a game, this extra bet is not taken into consideration as it is not a forced bet and the player doesn’t have to pay the extra if they don’t want to.
In games where an extra bet is mandatory, the total bet necessary is taken into account when working out the House Edge.
We work out the House Edge on the original bet and not the average bet to make it easier to see how much you can expect to lose over a period of time. Although this may sound negative, it is worth mentioning again that every bet in a casino is in the casino’s favor – if there was a bet where the player is expected to win over a long period of time, players would be sitting making this bet the whole day and the casino would lose money. They are clearly not going to let this happen.
Another point to note when looking at House Edge is that for bets which feature a Tie – such as Baccarat or the Don’t Pass bet in Craps – some places don’t count these on the basis that if a bet hasn’t been settled then it should be ignored.
There are other variables that could affect the bottom-line House Edge such as mindset of the player at the time the player, how much they are concentrating on their game or how much they can afford to lose the chips they have in front of them.
Conclusion
It is worth remembering that the above table gives a rough idea of House Edge but one or two less than optimal decisions can have an adverse effect and therefore there will inevitably be some small discrepancies based on the way the game/s are played.
The lower the House Edge, the more chance there is for the player to win so take that into consideration when deciding which game to play.
