What a payout ratio means
A payout ratio says how much you win for each unit you bet. At 3 to 2, you win 3 units for every 2 you wager. At 6 to 5, you win 6 for every 5. Both ratios apply only to a natural, the two-card 21 made of an ace and a ten-value card. Ordinary winning hands are paid at even money, which is 1 to 1, whichever table you sit at.
The same natural, two different payments
The easiest way to see the gap is to apply both ratios to the same bet. These are illustrations with round numbers.
| Bet | Win at 3 to 2 | Win at 6 to 5 |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 15 | 12 |
| 20 | 30 | 24 |
| 100 | 150 | 120 |
On a 10-unit bet the 6 to 5 table pays 3 units less. In ratio terms, 3 to 2 equals 1.5 times the bet, and 6 to 5 equals 1.2 times the bet, so a natural at 6 to 5 pays 20 percent less than at 3 to 2 (1.2 divided by 1.5 is 0.8).
Some tables also express this as “pays 1.2 to 1” or “pays 6 to 5” in different wording. A felt that reads “Blackjack pays 6 to 5” is describing the lower figure.
Why this changes the edge on every hand
You may only hold a natural on a small share of hands, roughly one in twenty, so it seems like a minor change. But the house edge is an average across all hands, and that average includes those occasional naturals. Paying less on them reduces the average return on every hand you play, including the ones where nothing special happens.
A commonly cited figure is that moving from 3 to 2 to 6 to 5 raises the house edge by about 1.4 percentage points, all else being equal. That may sound small, but compare it with the edge under standard rules with sensible play, which is often described as under one percent. A rise of roughly 1.4 points is therefore larger than the baseline edge itself. Exact numbers depend on the other rules and the number of decks, so treat these as approximate.
An illustration of the cost over many hands
Suppose a player bets 10 units per hand and plays 100 hands. Betting 1,000 units in total, the extra 1.4 percent edge would be about 14 units in expected extra cost. Real results will not match this: any actual session can finish well above or below the expected figure, because luck dominates short sessions. The expected figure is only a way of comparing two tables, and a large gap in the ratio tends to show up the longer you play. This is also why the expected value of a wager is a useful way to think about payouts.
Where you are likely to see 6 to 5
Lower natural payouts are generally found on certain table types, particularly some single-deck and smaller-stakes games, though practice varies by casino and region. The ratio does not depend on the game being fair or unfair in any other way; it is simply one rule that moves the edge. It also interacts with other rules. A table with 6 to 5 payouts and a dealer who hits soft 17 combines two rules that each favour the casino.
How to check before you play
- Read the felt. The payout is usually printed in an arc across the table.
- Look at the table sign or ask the dealer if the felt does not say.
- Online, read the rules screen for the game, as the payout is normally listed there.
- Compare tables if more than one is open, since a table with a better payout may have a higher minimum bet.
Some variants and side offers describe payouts in ways that sound generous but come with other changes, so it helps to look at the whole rule set and not just the headline number.
What a better payout does and does not do
A 3 to 2 table lowers the house edge relative to 6 to 5, but it does not remove it. The casino still keeps an advantage on average, and no payout ratio makes a loss less likely on a particular hand. The ratio is one input among several, and players who choose it still need to set limits and accept that outcomes are uncertain. If you notice you are betting more than you planned, take a break, and contact a local support service if you need help.