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Lesson 5.1 Money and time
How Much Blackjack Costs per Session and per Hour
In this lesson you turn the house edge into money and find what one hundred or one thousand hands of online blackjack cost on average at a $10 bet. You will also see why more hands per hour make each hour cost more.
The house edge is a price per bet
The house edge is the share of every bet the house keeps on average. With perfect basic strategy and standard rules, it is 0.62%.
Each hand ends in a win, a loss or a push (a tie). Here is what a $10 bet pays when you win: a normal win pays 1:1, and a blackjack pays 3:2 at standard tables.
You do not lose 0.62% on every hand. The house edge is the average over many hands.
- Bet size – how much you bet on each hand.
- Hands – how many hands you play.
- House edge – 0.62% with basic strategy and standard rules.
Average cost = bet size × hands × house edge. You can try other numbers in the house edge calculator.
The cost of a hundred and a thousand hands
Here is the average loss at an example bet of $10 a hand, with basic strategy and standard rules.
| Hands played at $10 | Average loss |
|---|---|
| One hundred hands | $6.17 |
| One thousand hands | $61.75 |
Ten times more hands means ten times more average cost. A single session can end above or below this number.
Over many hands, your average result per hand moves toward the house edge. The swings in dollars can still be large.
The cost grows with every hand you play, not with every win or loss. Decide how many hands you will play before you start.
More hands per hour, more cost per hour
The house edge is charged per hand, not per hour. So the speed of the game sets the cost of each hour.
Online games dealt by software can be very fast, especially when you play alone at the table. Every row of cards like this one is another hand, and every hand carries the house edge.
- One hundred hands in one hour at $10: the average cost of that hour is $6.17.
- Twice as many hands in the same hour: the average cost of the hour doubles.
- Playing 2 hands at once: twice the hands, so twice the average cost.
Count your time in hands, not in minutes. A slower pace keeps the cost of each hour lower.
Setting a limit on hands or time is part of responsible gambling.
These numbers assume perfect play
The table above assumes you follow basic strategy on every hand. Here is a hand many new players get wrong.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
You have hard 16 and the dealer shows a 10. The chart says stand against 2–6 and hit against 7–A, so here you hit.
Every mistake raises the house edge, so your real cost goes up. Worse rules raise it too.
- Blackjack pays 3:2, standard rules: house edge 0.62%.
- Blackjack pays 6:5: house edge 1.98% (see 6:5 blackjack).
Practice the moves with the trainer below or check the full strategy chart.
Practise: 25 hands
Only hands from this lesson. Your first answer counts.
The lesson on one card
- The house edge is the share of each bet the house keeps on average.
- Average cost = bet size × hands played × house edge.
- At $10 a hand: about $6.17 per hundred hands and $61.75 per thousand hands.
- The cost is charged per hand, so faster play costs more per hour.
- Mistakes and worse rules, like 6:5 payouts, raise the cost.
Check yourself
1. You bet $10 a hand with basic strategy and standard rules. What is the average loss over one thousand hands?
$61.75
Right. This is the average loss for one thousand hands at $10 with standard rules and perfect basic strategy.
$6.17
Not quite. This is the average loss for one hundred hands. For one thousand hands, the cost is ten times larger.
Nothing, because basic strategy removes the house edge
Not quite. Basic strategy lowers the house edge to 0.62%. It does not remove it, so there is still an average cost.
2. You keep the same $10 bet but play twice as many hands per hour. What happens to the average cost per hour?
It doubles
Right. The house edge is charged on every hand. Twice the hands in one hour means twice the average cost of that hour.
It stays the same
Not quite. The cost depends on the number of hands, not on the clock. More hands in the same hour cost more.
It goes down
Not quite. Playing faster does not lower the house edge. It only adds more hands, and each hand adds to the cost.
3. You plan one hundred hands at $10 at a table where blackjack pays 6:5, and you always stand on hard 16 against a dealer 10. How does your average cost compare with $6.17?
It is higher
Right. 6:5 payouts raise the house edge to 1.98%, and standing on hard 16 against a 10 is a mistake. Both make the cost larger.
It is the same
Not quite. $6.17 assumes 3:2 payouts and perfect basic strategy. This table and this play both change the cost.
It is lower
Not quite. Worse rules and strategy mistakes never lower the cost. They only raise the house edge.