Casino Classics: Blackjack vs Roulette

Casinos present an ample selection of games intended to cater to every player. Whether you are a seasoned gambler or an amateur, you can entertain yourself, test your luck, and earn some winnings enjoying the grand variety of casino games: poker, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, etc.

When it comes to earn big, players tend to favor the games that offer the best odds of winning. Those games give the house the smaller advantage or house edge, and the customers can safely increase their chances of success. Among the players’ favorites we can find two of the most popular casino games: blackjack and roulette.

With bets that are close to a 50/50 shot, beating the dealer in blackjack could get you back the same amount you invested, just as in even-money bets when playing roulette. Next, we are going to analyze the odds of each of these two games in order to find the best choice for every player’s style.

Although most casinos now hold a great diversity of blackjack games with distinct rules and house edges, we are going to talk about the standard blackjack and compare it to the standard types of roulettes: the American, the European, and the French.

This classic bet-based game consists of anticipating where the small ball will land once the wheel spins in order to win, with the choices being an odd or even number, a red or black pocket, or a certain lucky number.

As a game of chance, every result is prone to happen, which makes it a highly engaging activity with lots of expectations involved.

Roulette Odds

The odds in roulette are always invariable. The croupier helps the ball travel around the wheel and when it lands on a number, the chances are always the same. The ball can land multiple rounds on the same number or color, and every spin becomes an independent event that is never modified by previous happenings. The odds of the ball landing on black or red are always 18/37 (or 38 when it comes to the American roulette), and 1/37 for landing a straight.

Although this is clearly a game of chance, some players don’t believe in the arbitrariness of it and rely on methods like the Martingale system, increasing their bet after every consecutive loss.

If we were to imagine a new roulette wheel where a number would be removed once stricken, then we would indeed have a game with changing odds on every spin. This approach would not be very beneficial for roulette players, but it definitely is for those who play blackjack.

When playing blackjack, strategic thinking is the key to reinforce your gambler’s luck. This classic card game requires a certain decision-making in order to play well with the limited information that has been disclosed during the round. The highest achievable value for a hand is 21; aces are counted either as 1 or 11, face cards are counted as 10, and the rest of them according to their numerical value. In order to win the game, the player has to have a hand that is better than that of the dealer.

During a round, the dealer provides each player with two cards and serves himself another two, one of them facing up. Then, players have the choice to stand (keep their current hand in place because they are pleased with its value) or hit (ask the dealer to draw a new card in order to hopefully add value to their existing hand). The idea is to never surpass 21, or the player will bust and lose the round.

Once the dealer reveals his covert card, he has to hit until the cards total 17 points or higher, and the final value of each hand decides who becomes the winner. Normally, a bet will pay 1:1, or 3:2 if a player gets blackjack or a perfect 21.

Blackjack Odds

In blackjack, the cards get re-shuffled about once every 25 hands. That said, once a card has been dealt it won’t appear again and, therefore, the chances of getting other cards increase. Card counters take advantage of this by using a heuristic system that allows them to place their bets depending on how many high and low cards remain in the deck.

To hit natural blackjack is the best way of earning the biggest prizes, and that is why having aces and tens in the deck is an asset when trying to win big. If the deck is devoid of aces, the odds of getting a natural blackjack are zero, extensively increasing the house edge. In the case of tens, since the amount of them in the deck is higher, they are a great choice to raise your chances of landing a blackjack by finding a happy medium between tens and aces.

The main thing that differentiates these two classic games is that the house edge can somehow be tampered with when playing blackjack. In roulette, this edge is always fixed at 5.26% in American roulette and at 2.70% in European roulette, and these percentages are unalterable. On the other hand, when it comes to blackjack, the house edge can differ due to several factors.

“Basic play” or “basic strategy” can be used to mathematically achieve a successful way of dealing with a specific game situation. Reading our strategy guide will provide you with tips that will allow you to play with a house edge between 0.5 and 1%. These tactics are wonderful options when playing blackjack, but if you are not one to favor game plans, roulette is the ideal game for you to enjoy hassle-free.

Most times, blackjack players tend to be more at ease when playing than the overly enthusiastic gamblers at roulette tables. The nature of both games favors these differences, since blackjack requires a bit more concentration and scheming. If a first-time player arrives at any of these games, blackjack easily offers itself to have its rules, odds, and probabilities explained with patience. When it comes to roulette tables, the noise tends to increase with a player’s excitement every time the ball reaches their chosen pocket, making blackjack tables a more intimate setting.

As previously mentioned, the main difference between the probabilities of winning at blackjack and roulette are the systems on which each game is based. Blackjack odds can be influenced by player strategy and the amount of decks being used at a table. Properly estimating the chances of getting the card you need will increase the value of your winnings.

Roulettes, on the other hand, function on fixed odds, multiple bet options, and luck, therefore being easier to master than blackjack or poker.

The odds in roulette games are fixed, with a straight-up bet on a number having a 2.63% chance of success on an American wheel, the house edge being 5.26%. The lowest one appears at French roulette tables, where the house edge is 1.35%. Meanwhile, in blackjack the house edge is always lower and it varies depending on the number of decks being used (from four and up to eight decks) with it staying around 0.5%.

When it comes to earning good money, blackjack becomes the best choice, since you can have certain control over your odds and give yourself an advantage. However, if you enjoy the thrill of the unexpected, you should consider playing roulette but know that you might lose more, with the house edge always being higher than that of blackjack.

Blackjack is the game with the best probabilities and payout, always depending on luck and evening out the chances for both the dealer and the players.