Live dealer blackjack: real cards, a slower game.
A real dealer deals real cards on camera, and you play from your screen. The rules are close to a casino table’s, with one line in the help screen worth reading first. The big difference from an RNG game is the pace: far fewer hands an hour, which makes an hour cheaper at the same stake.
Per hand, a live table costs about what a casino table does. Per hour, it costs less than an RNG table at the same stake. At $10 a hand, about 60 hands an hour at 0.71% cost $4.26; the same rules at an RNG table you play at 200 hands an hour cost $14.20.
Close to a casino table, with one line to check.
Most live tables deal from eight decks, stand on soft 17, pay 3:2 for blackjack and let you double on any two cards and split once. Starting from our typical six-deck table, here is what each difference is worth, priced by our engine one line at a time.
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Our typical six-deck tableThe dealer hits soft 17, blackjack pays 3:2, double any two cards and after splitting0.67%house edge
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Eight decks instead of sixA bigger shoe, slightly fewer blackjacksCosts you +0.03% 0.70%house edge
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The dealer stands on soft 17Printed on the felt as “dealer stands on all 17s”Gives you −0.21% 0.49%house edge
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No double after a splitSplit hands can hit or stand onlyCosts you +0.12% 0.61%house edge
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No blackjack check under a tenA dealer blackjack, turned over after you act, takes doubles and splits tooCosts you +0.10% 0.71%house edge
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Six Card CharlieCommon-draw tables only: six cards without busting win at onceGives you −0.16% 0.55%house edge
Each line is priced on top of the lines above it. The last two depend on the table: whether a dealer blackjack under a ten takes doubled and split money, and whether the table pays Six Card Charlie.
| Live table | Blackjack under a ten takes your bet | Takes doubles and splits too |
|---|---|---|
| Seven seats | 0.61% | 0.71% |
| Common draw, Six Card Charlie | 0.45% | 0.55% |
Fewer hands, a cheaper hour.
Every hand pays the edge, so what an hour costs is the stake, times the hands, times the edge. A live table waits for every seat; an RNG table deals as fast as you click. Set both to the way you play.
The RNG table costs more an hour: $7.10 against $4.26 at the live table.
It takes a smaller bet, but deals 3.3 times as many hands. Both keep 0.71% of every bet, so the hour comes down to the stake and the number of hands.
The edges are our engine’s, for each table’s rules played perfectly. Common-draw tables are priced with Six Card Charlie. The two other RNG choices are six-deck tables that let you double after a split: our typical one, where the dealer hits soft 17, and one where the dealer stands. Hands an hour are yours to set: a full live table deals far fewer than a seat with no one else at it.
Your money, their decisions.
When the seven seats are full, many live tables let you bet behind a seated player: your bet rides on their hand, and every hit and stand is theirs to make. It is a way into a full table, and it hands the price of your bet to a stranger.
Behind a player who follows basic strategy, you pay the table’s own edge, 0.61%. Behind one who never doubles or splits, 2.36%. Behind one who plays the way people think is safe, never risking a bust, 6.05%: ten times the table’s edge.
Watch a seat for a few hands before you bet behind it. A player who stands on 12 against a 2 or never splits 8s costs you money every time those hands come up.
A seven-seat live table where a dealer blackjack under a ten takes only the original bet. The seat’s other decisions follow basic strategy unless the line says otherwise.
What the camera doesn’t change.
Counting a live shoe
True count +2 or more: 7.0% of rounds · 15.6% at a six-deck shoe dealt to three-quartersLive tables deal real cards from a shoe, so a count works in principle. In practice most cut an eight-deck shoe at about half, and the counts that pay rarely arrive. Card counting needs a deep shoe, and a live table rarely gives you one.
Side bets beside your hand
Perfect Pairs 4.10% · 21+3 3.70%, both at eight decksLive tables carry the same side bets as a casino, and eight decks make some cheaper: identical cards turn up more often. They still keep several times what the main bet does; our side bets guide prices every pay table.
Insurance when the dealer shows an ace
The house keeps 7.47% of every insurance betThe dealer offers it on camera exactly as at a casino table, and it is the same bet: 2 to 1 that the hole card is a ten. The insurance guide covers the rare times it pays.
If you run out of time or lose the connection
The table’s rules finish the handEach decision has a time limit, and a hand you do not play in time may simply stand. If your connection drops mid-round, some tables play your hand on by hit-and-stand basic strategy, without doubling or splitting. The help screen says which; read it before you play for real money.
Questions about live dealer blackjack.
Is live dealer blackjack fair?
The cards are real and dealt from a shoe on camera, so the odds are those of any table with the same rules: 0.61% to 0.71% at a common seven-seat table, by our engine. Fairness beyond the cards is the casino’s licence and the game provider’s testing, so play only at licensed casinos.
Is live dealer blackjack better than RNG blackjack?
Per hand, it depends on the rules, which vary on both. Per hour, live usually costs less at the same stake, because a live table deals far fewer hands: at $10 a hand, 60 hands at 0.71% cost $4.26, against $14.20 for 200 hands at an RNG table with the same rules.
Can you count cards at a live dealer table?
In principle, since the cards come from a real shoe. In practice most live tables cut an eight-deck shoe at about half, and a true count of +2 or more turns up on only 7.0% of rounds, against 15.6% at a six-deck shoe dealt to three-quarters.
What is bet behind?
A bet that rides on another player’s hand, usually when every seat is taken. You win or lose with their hand and live with their decisions: behind a basic-strategy player you pay 0.61%, behind one who never doubles or splits 2.36%.
What is common-draw blackjack?
A live table where every player gets the same first two cards and decides how to play them alone, so there is always a seat. Tables of this kind are sold under names like Infinite Blackjack. Six Card Charlie, often paid there, takes 0.16% off the edge: 0.45% to 0.55%, depending on what a dealer blackjack under a ten takes.
Why does the dealer only check for blackjack under an ace?
Most live tables deal the dealer’s second card face down and check it only when an ace is showing, to offer insurance. With a ten showing, a dealer blackjack is turned over after you act. Where it then takes your doubled and split bets as well, the house edge rises from 0.61% to 0.71%.
Same cards, slower clock.
Three things that decide what a live table costs you.
The edge is a casino table’s
A common seven-seat live table keeps 0.61% to 0.71% of every bet, against 0.67% at our typical six-deck table.
One rule is worth reading
Whether a dealer blackjack under a ten takes your doubles and splits is worth 0.10% to the house. The help screen says which.
The hour is cheaper
At $10 a hand, 60 live hands an hour cost $4.26; 200 RNG hands at the same rules cost $14.20. Betting behind a poor player can cost ten times the edge.