Blackjack vs Roulette: Which Casino Game Gives You the Best Odds?

The short answer

Blackjack has better odds than any version of roulette, as long as you play basic strategy. At good rules, like BlackJack Streak's defaults, perfect basic strategy leaves the house an edge of about 0.4%. The best common roulette wheel, single-zero, has an edge of 2.70%, almost seven times higher.

The condition matters, though. Blackjack played badly is worse than single-zero roulette, and blackjack played at random is far worse than any wheel. Roulette treats everyone the same. Blackjack rewards the player who learns it.

Roulette's house edge, wheel by wheel

A roulette wheel has the numbers 1 to 36 plus one or more green zero pockets. The payouts are set as if the zeros weren't there, and that gap is the house edge.

La partage and en prison

Some single-zero tables soften the blow on even-money bets like red or black. Under la partage, if the ball lands on zero you get half your even-money bet back. Under en prison, the bet is "imprisoned" for the next spin instead, and released if it wins. Either way, the edge on those bets drops to roughly 1.35%. That's the best roulette gets, and it's still more than three times blackjack's edge with good play.

Blackjack's house edge depends on you

Roulette's edge is fixed by the wheel. Blackjack's edge is set by your decisions. We measured it by running millions of rounds through BlackJack Streak's own rules engine at our default rules (six decks, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split, late surrender, blackjack pays 3 to 2):

Put those next to the wheels and you get the real ranking:

A blackjack player who copies the dealer (hits to 17, never doubles or splits) does a little worse than an American double-zero wheel. A player who learns the basic strategy chart beats every wheel in the building. Rules matter too: a table that pays blackjack at 6 to 5 instead of 3 to 2 adds about 1.4%, which is why we always tell people to check the felt. The full breakdown is in our blackjack odds guide.

Does any roulette strategy change the odds?

No. Every bet on a given wheel carries the same edge (apart from the double-zero five-number bet, which is worse), and no sequence of bets changes it. Betting systems that raise your stake after a loss, or follow "hot" numbers, can rearrange when you win and lose, but not how much the wheel takes on average. Wizard of Odds, the long-running casino math site, is blunt about this: betting systems can't overcome the house edge.

That's the fundamental difference. In roulette, the only decision that affects your odds is which table you sit at. In blackjack, almost every hand asks you a question, and the right answers are known.

Why blackjack wins fewer rounds but still has better odds

Here's a fact that surprises people. A bet on red at a single-zero wheel wins 18 times out of 37, about 48.6% of the time. In blackjack, even with perfect play, you win only about 42.4% of rounds and lose about 49.1% (the other 8.5% are pushes, where your bet comes back).

So how can blackjack have the lower edge? Because blackjack wins aren't all the same size. A blackjack pays 3 to 2. Doubling down puts twice the money out exactly when you're most likely to win, and in our simulation doubled hands won about 55% of the time. Splitting turns bad hands into two decent ones. Surrender lets you cut your losses on the worst hands. Roulette's even-money bet has none of those tools: it wins or loses one unit, every time.

Pace: how much you play in an hour

Speed changes how much the edge costs you. Casinos estimate hands per hour to rate players, and figures published by Wizard of Odds from a major Las Vegas Strip casino put blackjack at about 70 hands an hour, double-zero roulette at about 38 spins and single-zero roulette at about 35.

Roulette is slower, but its edge is so much higher that it still costs more. Betting one unit per hand or spin for an hour:

These are averages over a very long time. Any single hour can go much better or much worse, in either game.

Streaks and swings

Both games have streaks, and both feel personal when they happen. In blackjack with perfect play, a run of five or more losses happens at least once in about 78% of 100-round sessions, and seven or more in about 29%. Those are normal, not signs of a broken game. Roulette has the same kind of runs: red can come up eight times in a row, and the next spin is still close to a coin flip.

The difference is the size of individual swings. A roulette player who bets single numbers wins rarely (1 spin in 37 on a single-zero wheel) but big, at 35 to 1. Blackjack's swings are gentler: most hands win or lose one bet, with occasional doubles and splits. If you're curious why streaks fool so many people, read is online blackjack rigged?

Which should you play?

• Roulette suits you if you want pure chance, no decisions, and a game you can enjoy without learning anything. Choose single-zero over double-zero, and la partage if it's offered.
• Blackjack suits you if you're happy to learn a strategy chart in exchange for the lowest house edge in the casino, and a game where every hand gives you something to think about.

The best way to find out is to play blackjack where nothing is at stake. BlackJack Streak is free in your browser, with 500,000 play chips, no download and nothing to buy. Comparing other games too? Read blackjack vs baccarat, blackjack vs poker and blackjack vs teen patti.

Sources

• Roulette basics: house edge, la partage and en prison, Wizard of Odds
• House edge of casino games compared (including hands per hour), Wizard of Odds
• Blackjack figures and streak odds at BlackJack Streak's rules: our own simulations through the game's rules engine