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6:5 vs 3:2: the easiest way to lose your money fast at blackjack
Players learn basic strategy and card counting, yet they're often undone by not understanding the difference in payouts on a natural blackjack. That line is usually spelt out plainly in the table rules — and ignoring it isn't an option.
In search of success at blackjack, players will happily learn basic strategy, get the hang of card counting and try out various bankroll-management systems for themselves. But more often than not, what trips them up is failing to grasp the practical difference in payouts on a natural blackjack. That information is usually spelt out plainly in the table description, and ignoring it isn't an option.
How the natural-blackjack payout works
A natural blackjack is 21 on two cards; in most variants it's the most valuable hand there is and means an all-but-guaranteed win. The standard payout is 3:2, but many online casinos offer 6:5. Without doing the maths it might look like roughly the same thing, yet on a S$100 bet the first pays out S$150 and the second just S$120 — S$30 is effectively gone.
What a natural blackjack pays: 3:2 vs 6:5
How much a winning natural pays at different bet sizes.
| Your bet | Pays at 3:2 | Pays at 6:5 | You lose |
|---|---|---|---|
| S$50 | S$75 | S$60 | S$15 |
| S$100 | S$150 | S$120 | S$30 |
| S$200 | S$300 | S$240 | S$60 |
| S$500 | S$750 | S$600 | S$150 |
6:5 vs 3:2 over a single session
Statistically, a natural blackjack lands on average about once every 20–21 hands. Over a 200-hand session, you could pick up roughly 9–10 naturals — and if you're betting that same S$100, you'd come up S$30 short on each one, or S$300 in total. Not even basic strategy, which is designed to minimise losses, can head those losses off.
By every other measure the game may look identical to the one you play every day, but ignoring one line in the rules means your bankroll drains surprisingly easily. It's one of the most painful rule quirks for a player: you'd lose less even sitting down at a supposedly worse version of blackjack — as long as it pays 3:2 on a natural.
The price of one line in the rules
How to check the table in advance
Payout information isn't hidden from players, so checking it takes a few seconds.
- 1
Open the table rules
Before your first bet, read the game's full description.
- 2
Find the natural-blackjack payout line
Pay close attention to the value — 3:2 or 6:5. This line usually just says blackjack, for example 'blackjack pays 3:2'.
- 3
Re-check even a familiar table
Don't skip a second look at the rules even if you've played this table at this casino before: you may have picked the wrong table, or the rules may have changed.
There are plenty of criteria for choosing a blackjack table, but for your own sake always treat the natural-blackjack payout as the deciding factor and pick 3:2. Otherwise you'll steadily bleed up to 1.5% of RTP.