Originating from home blackjack games, this is not a blackjack rule you’ll find in just any casino. In fact, most people don’t truly believe the rule applies in casinos, online or otherwise. There’s some truth to that – most casino blackjack games don’t allow for 5-Card Charlie. When they do, though, the table rules will usually state so clearly. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though.
5-Card Charlie is a special blackjack rule according to which a player automatically wins if they draw 5 cards without reaching 21. There are some variations, mind you, but that’s the gist.
What is 5-Card Charlie?
5-card Charlie Blackjack Rule 5-card Charlie is a special blackjack rule that states the player wins if he has 5 card hand without busting, providing 1.46% house edge. As this option favors the player, it is not so often met at land and online casinos. Note, there is also a 6, 7, 8 and 9 card Charlie. Remember, you don't win because you are closer to the value of 21 - you win because your combined value of the cards is greater than that of dealer. Blackjack Strategy. When the value of dealer's revealed card is 4,5 or 6, it may be fruitful to double your bet with an Ace and 4 in hand. The first step towards learning to play blackjack and winning is to learn basic blackjack strategy. Basic strategy helps in another big way: it could help bring the house edge down to 0.5% or even lower! Of course this happens with dependencies – the number of card decks, the table rules for the game, and so on.
According to this rule, drawing 5 cards results in a win regardless of what the rest of the hand shows. There are many ways in which people refer to this rule – the 5-card rule being another big one.
When it comes to blackjack in casinos, most serious players believe the rule is a myth. There’s some truth to that – especially if we only look at land-based casinos. After all, this is generally a homebrewed rule used when people play blackjack at home. If you asked us what 5-Card Charlie is 5 years ago, we probably would have said the same.
As we all know, though, the development of online blackjack brought a lot of innovation to the table. One of these is that 5-Card Charlie started appearing in some online blackjack games. It’s an overall player-friendly rule, so this is largely a good thing. Online Blackjack with 5-card Charlie has a slightly smaller house edge, which translates to better RTP.
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6-card Charlie in Blackjack
That said, most instances we’ve seen so far actually use 6-Card Charlie. What is 6-Card Charlie, you ask? It’s exactly what it sounds like – drawing 6 cards without reaching 21 results in a player win. Conversely, a 7-Card Charlie ruleset would do the same at 7 cards.
However, the difference between the three is substantial. The chances of drawing 5, 6, or 7 cards without reaching 21 are 50:1, 400:1, and 4,600:1 respectively. However, most times the payout is even money, sometimes reaching 2:1.
Even money at odds of 50:1 sounds horrible on paper, obviously. However, you need to remember that this rule doesn’t affect the rest of the game in any way. That’s why the rule is so player-friendly. There are no downsides at all to 5 or 6-Card Charlie, which is also why most casinos don’t use them.
If you’re looking for online blackjack with 6-card Charlie, Infinite Blackjack by Evolution is a great example. It’s a variant of common draw blackjack which uses the 6-Card Charlie at odds of 1:1. Pala casino mobile app.
Importantly, all blackjack games with 5-Card Charlie or similar rules explicitly state that the rule applies. In other words, if you don’t see the rule mentioned on the table or the info panel, it probably isn’t used.
Does 5-Card Charlie apply to the dealer?
Strangely enough, it does, though this again depends on the table rules. First of all, this is only possible for vegas-style blackjack. Secondly, it’s even more unlikely to happen because most dealers stand on 17. We’ve never seen it happen, in fact, but it’s entirely possible.
Does 5-Card charlie beat dealer 21?
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It depends. By and large, no – a 5-Card Charlie win does not outrank a dealer 21. The one exception is when the player’s hand also totals 21, in which case the hand pushes.
This also means 5-Card Charlie does not beat a dealer blackjack either. Of course, the dealer checks for blackjack at the start, so this can’t happen in most games anyway. Exceptions, however, include Vegas-style rules or something like the Common Draw Blackjack mentioned above.
By Henry Tamburin
Blackjack 5 Cards Win
In this video, blackjack expert, Henry Tamburin, gives details on why you should never play blackjack games that pay you 6-to-5 for a blackjack, rather than the standard payoff of 3-to-2.
Blackjack 5 Cards 21
Topics covered include:
Blackjack 5 Cards Under 21
- how much it costs you per hour in lost winnings
- how you get shorted if you don't bet in increments of $5
- and how the even-money insurance bet is affected
There's an awful blackjack game that is spreading like wildfire in casinos throughout the US. The game is played with a singledeck of cards (that’s the come-on) and when a player gets a blackjack, he is paid at 6-to-5 instead of the traditional 3-to-2. That change in blackjack payoff increases the house edge by about700% (Yikes!). Let me show you in dollars and cents what a 6-to-5 blackjack payoff costs you.
If you bet $10 and get a blackjack in a traditional game (3-to-2 payoff on blackjack) you will win $15. In a 6-to-5 game that same $10 bet will net you only $12. So you're out $3 for everyblackjack hand that you get. On average you'll get four blackjacks per hour so for every hour you play a 6-to-5 single deck game, it costs you $12. Do you want to hand over to the casino $12per hour for the privilege of playing blackjack? Of course you wouldn't but that is exactly what you do when you play the 6-to-5 single deck game at a $10 minimum bet.
When this game was first introduced at the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas several years ago I thought it didn't have a chance because I mistakenly believed that players weren't going to stand forthe reduced payoff. But unfortunately I was dead wrong as uneducated players are flocking to play these 6-to-5 single deck games to the delight of casino operators. The game has since spread tocasinos in the south, mid-west, and east coast so be wary.
Why is the public enamored with this terrible game? I believe it's because the majority of players have heard for years that 'single deck blackjack games offer better odds.' That's a factand the smart basic strategy player can virtually eliminate the house edge in a traditional single deck game where blackjacks pay 3-to-2. The problem is that the traditional single deckblackjack game is hard to find these days so marketing the 'new' 6-to-5 single deck games to the gullible public has been very easy.
The 6-to-5 game has these additional pitfalls:
1. The 6-to-5 payout rule hurts all players. That means the tourists will be adversely affected by this rule as well as the more skilled basic strategy players and card counters.
2. If you wager an amount that is not divisible by 5, your payoff for a blackjack gets worse. Suppose you wagered $8 and get a blackjack. In a 6-to-5 game you'll get paid $6 for the first $5 ofyour wager and even money for the remaining $3. In other words you get paid a net of $9 which is $3 less than what you would have gotten paid in a traditional 3-to-2 game. The reason for thisis that a 6-to-5 payoff can only be paid out at the correct odds if the player wagers in multiples of $5.
3. Dealers are also impacted by the 6-to-5 payout. If you make a $1 tip bet for the dealer in a traditional 3-2 payout game and get blackjack, the $1 tip bet would earn the dealer $1.50. But ina 6-to-5 game, they only get even money because of the difficulty in paying off in small change (a $1 bet in a 6-to-5 game would pay $1.20).
4. Because the math doesn't work out with the 6-to-5 payoff, the even-money option when a player is dealt a blackjack and the dealer shows an ace is prohibited. Most novice players and lowrollers like to take the sure even money when they get a blackjack and in a 6-to-5 game, they can't.
5. For the most part card counting is not profitable on a 6-to-5 game unless you can get away with a very big bet spread.
6. You'll not find a 6-to-5 single deck game on high limit tables. The reason is that high rollers wouldn't stand for a 6-to-5 payout (the per hourly added cost for a black chip player playingheads up against the dealer in a 6-to-5 game is about $180).
It's painfully obvious that this game is being marketed to tourists and amateur players that know very little about blackjack. So be forewarned and do not play any blackjack game where playerblackjacks pay 6-to-5 (or worse: even money).
Blackjack 5 Cards No Bust
Henry Tamburin has been a respected casino gambling writer for the past 50 years. He is the author of the Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Guide and was editor of the BlackjackInsider newsletter. You can read his latest articles on blackjack, video poker, and his personal playing experiences at https://www.888casino.com/blog/writers/henry-tamburin