How Casinos Make Blackjack Less Beatable

For decades, casinos have carefully adjusted their blackjack rules to ensure they remain profitable while keeping the game appealing to players. One of the biggest changes has been the introduction of worse payout structures, such as reducing blackjack payouts from the traditional 3:2 to 6:5, significantly increasing the house edge. Many casual players don’t notice this change, but it makes the game much less favourable. Another key factor is game speed—casinos want as many hands played per hour as possible, as the more decisions a player makes, the more money the house can theoretically win. This is why you’ll find rule adjustments that reduce the number of decisions per hand, like limiting doubling and splitting options or requiring dealers to hit on soft 17.

Casinos also need to balance making money and keeping players happy. Too many restrictions can frustrate recreational gamblers, while making the game too favourable attracts advantage players like card counters. Many large casinos take a middle-ground approach: filling low-stakes tables with poor rules and continuous shuffling machines (CSMs), while keeping better rules and traditional shoes in high-limit rooms, where more experienced players expect fairer conditions. A professional card counter weighs in on the subject in this Reddit thread: