Las Vegas Tourism Las Vegas Accommodation Las Vegas Bed and Breakfast Las Vegas Holiday Rentals Las Vegas Holiday Packages Las Vegas Flights Las Vegas Restaurants Las Vegas Attractions Las Vegas Shopping Las Vegas Travel Forum Las Vegas Photos Las Vegas Map Las Vegas Guide All Las Vegas Hotels; Las Vegas Hotel Deals; Last Minute Hotels in Las Vegas. El Cortez offers the best blackjack game in downtown Las Vegas. It is a single deck that pays 3:2 on a blackjack. Players can double down on any two cards and the dealer hits soft 17. The minimum bet is usually $10.

The chances of turning a profit while playing blackjack in any gaming establishment on the Las Vegas Strip have deteriorated a great deal as the gaming operators decided to lower the standard blackjack payouts. The regular 3/2 payout on blackjack hands has now been lowered to 6/5 at most tables on the casino floors.

Venetian and Palazzo were the first two casinos to introduce the change and the others where soon to follow. At the time of writing, every single casino on the Strip houses tables with 6 to 5 payouts on blackjack.

The lowest available 3:2 blackjack on the Las Vegas Strip is at Treasure Island. It is on the stadium gaming machine. It is $1 during the week and $3 on weekends. The game permits surrender.

Having seen serious downtrend in the number of tourists actually gambling during their Las Vegas vacations, the casinos appear to have found a way to boost their revenue, although the underhand tactics is unlikely to go down well with more experienced gamblers.

The mere fact that low limit tables were the first to adopt said decreased blackjack payouts is enough to suggest that casinos hope that casual gamblers will not even notice the change, or at least will not protest too much even if they become aware of the new rules.

Nevertheless, with the player expected to hit a blackjack approximately once every 15 minutes, the 6/5 blackjack payout instead of the original 3/2 can make all the difference, moving the money from the player’s pockets to the casino cage at a much faster rate.

What Difference Does it Make?

Many seasonal players underestimate the difference this change makes. “So I’ll get $12 instead of $15 when I get blackjack. What’s the big deal?” – It is a huge deal. A 1.5% deal to be exact. That’s the difference this change makes, lowering your odds from somewhere in 99.5% area to closer to 98%.

Las Vegas Casino Blackjack Payouts

To show it in a different way: let’s say you play $20 per hand for just 3 hours. The chances of getting blackjack with 6 decks is just below 1/20 hands. Let’s say that you play 120 hands each hour which means, 6 blackjacks every hour for which you will get $24 instead of $30. So, due to this change, after these 3 hours you will end up with $108 less than you would have with the regular payout.

So What Should I do?

First, check the rules before you start playing and ask if there are tables with a regular 3/2 payout. You might find tables with slightly higher bet limits that still use the regular rules. You can also consider checking a bit less popular casinos – those are more likely to have some table with regular payouts.

Best Blackjack Payout In Vegas

Last, you might consider playing online, where you can play even Single Deck Blackjack with 3/2 payouts (98.84% return!), something that disappeared from Vegas years ago.