1. Is Poker And Blackjack More Profitable Slots
2. Is Poker And Blackjack More Profitable Games

The online casino route typically features more favorable rules and lower house edges. Online blackjack also gives you a chance to play for low stakes. You only need to wager $1 per hand in many cases. Land-based blackjack can be more profitable than online games in rare cases. When you add the need to avoid heat, it’s clear that playing long term profitable blackjack is difficult. While the rake is a constant cost for poker players, if a poker player is skilled and picks the right games it’s easy to win enough to beat the rake and turn a profit. 3 – You Pick Your Opponents.

Blackjack is one of the world’s most popular casino games. Therefore, it’s no surprise that this game is widely available at online and land-based casinos.

Each setting can offer quality blackjack rules. However, online blackjack has a reputation for being slightly more favorable.

Is this reputation truly accurate, though? I’ll answer this question by discussing what makes a quality game along with whether blackjack at a real money online casino ultimately offers superior odds to it’s land-based counterpart.

What Makes a Good Blackjack Game?

The best blackjack games feature a mixture of qualities that make them stand out. Here are the main factors to consider when searching for favorable blackjack online or in brick and mortar casinos.

Quality Rules

Back in the 1960s, blackjack games everywhere offered excellent rules. You’d regularly find single-deck tables with 3:2 natural blackjack tables when walking through Las Vegas.

Times have changed greatly, though, with regard to blackjack rules. Many land-based casinos and even some gaming sites have added more rules that benefit themselves.

This rule is printed directly on the table felt. You definitely want 3:2 payouts, because they lower the house edge by 1.39%. Meanwhile, tables with 6:5 payouts should be avoided at all costs.

The number of decks is also crucial to the odds. The house edge falls by 0.59% when moving from eight-deck to single-deck blackjack.

Here are some other rules that you should pay special attention to:

• Doubling down – The house edge decreases by 0.25% when you can double down on any total (vs. just 10 and 11).
• Dealer’s action on soft 17 – The house advantage decreases by 0.2% when the dealer stands on a soft 17 (vs. hitting).
• Double down after splitting (DAS) – The house edge falls by 0.17% when you can still spit after doubling down.
• Re-splitting aces – The house advantage drops by another 0.08% when you can re-split aces.
• Late surrender – The house edge decreases by 0.07% if you can surrender hands after the dealer peeks for a blackjack.

Is Poker And Blackjack More Profitable Slots

Low House Edge

Rules are so important because they have a direct impact on the house edge. You can use perfect strategy but still face a 2% house edge if the rules are bad enough.

Therefore, you must consider how the collective rules impact the house advantage. Most blackjack games today feature somewhere between a 1% and 2% house edge.

But you can find even better games if the rules are just right. In some cases, you’ll only be facing a 0.5% house advantage (or less).

Reasonable Stakes

You stand to win more money when risking more on each hand. However, you also need to consider that blackjack is a negative-expectation game.

Unless you’re a card counter, you’ll be facing a house advantage. That said, you should make appropriate bets relative to your bankroll.

You should check the minimum bet at any perspective table. When dealing with a small bankroll, you don’t want be forced to wager any more than $5 or $10 per hand.

Online Blackjack Typically Offers More Favorable Rules

Land-based and real money online blackjack both have their strengths and weaknesses. The brick and mortar version offers a social environment and, in some cases, more excitement.

You’re better off playing at internet casinos if you want favorable rules on a consistent basis.

• First off, you rarely need to deal with 6:5 natural payouts online. Gaming sites almost usually offer 3:2 payouts.
• Secondly, you can find plenty of games with a single deck, two decks, or four decks. All of these options are better than six-deck or eight-deck blackjack.

Most online blackjack games also throw a few more player-friendly rules into the mix. They may allow you to double down on any total, split up to four hands, and/or use a surrender option.

Some internet blackjack variations even feature less than a 0.5% house advantage.

Here are some of the best online blackjack games available:

1. Microgaming single-deck blackjack – 0.31% house edge
2. Betsoft single-deck blackjack – 0.35% house edge
3. Playtech single-deck blackjack – 0.35% house edge

Play for Lower Stakes Online

You don’t need to bet much to play online blackjack. In fact, most gaming sites only require that you place a $1 minimum wager.

If you’re somebody who’s dealing with a small bankroll, you’ll appreciate the low minimum wagers. Your gambling funds will last much longer if you stick around the dollar minimum.

Here’s an example on how long your bankroll could last:

• You have a $100 bankroll.
• You average 500 hands per hour.
• You play an online blackjack game with a 0.5% house advantage.
• You bet $1 per hand.
• 500 x 1 x 0.005 = $2.50 in hourly losses
• 100 / 2.5 = 40
• Your bankroll will theoretically last for 40 hours.

You Can Find Great Blackjack Games in Land-Based Casinos

My point with this post isn’t to make land-based blackjack sound absolutely terrible. In fact, you can still find good games in some brick and mortar casinos. Everything depends on exactly where you’re playing. You can spot plenty of worthwhile games in Downtown Las Vegas, for example.

Some downtown casinos, like El Cortez, feature single-deck blackjack with 3:2 natural payouts. You also don’t have to bet much to play these games either.

This special administrative area of China features several casinos that offer some of the world’s best blackjack games. You can benefit from house edges as low as 0.16% in Macau. I’ve yet to find any better games than this in online casinos!

The drawback is that you need to bet a $25 minimum in many of these cases. But if you like playing for larger stakes anyways, though, you’ll truly appreciate the 0.16% house advantage.

Is Poker And Blackjack More Profitable Games

Card Counting Is Possible in Brick and Mortar Casinos

As mentioned before, you can actually gain the upper hand in blackjack through card counting.

This advantage play method sees your track cards in an effort to determine when the shoe is rich in aces and 10s.

At this point, you have a stronger chance of getting natural blackjacks.

You want to raise your bets during positive counts to take advantage of the situation. Meanwhile, you should bet the table minimum during negative counts so that you don’t lose too much money.

The best thing is that you don’t even need to spend much time learning card counting. In fact, you can learn the Hi-Lo system in just minutes.

Online casinos don’t give you an opportunity to count cards.

You can only count in brick and mortar casinos. Therefore, you’ll need to play at a land-based establishment when hoping to gain an advantage.

You’re Probably Going to Fare Better Online

Again, card counting doesn’t require much time to learn. You can master the basics in less than 15 minutes.

However, you also have to practice so that you can keep an accurate count. You should deal cards to yourself, use online training programs, and/or count off to the side of live games.

If you’re like most gamblers, you won’t go through these efforts to become a master counter. Even if you do, you’ll need to have a large bankroll to survive the volatility.

Assuming you fall into the large class of average blackjack players, you’ll have better luck at safe online casinos than land-based establishments. The online casino route typically features more favorable rules and lower house edges.

Online blackjack also gives you a chance to play for low stakes. You only need to wager $1 per hand in many cases.

Conclusion

Land-based blackjack can be more profitable than online games in rare cases. Certain Downtown Vegas and Macau casinos offer incredible rules and odds.

Chances are, though, you don’t live in one of these destinations or visit them very often.

Some variations even offer between a 0.3% and 0.5% house edge.

Even if you don’t play one of these games, you’ll still find many online variations with house advantages ranging from 0.5% to 1%. By comparison, most land-based tables offer a house edge running from 1% to 2%.