Live tables: what the rules decide
Checked on 14 October 2026 • Reading time: 2 minutes
At a live table there is a person, and that is exactly what tempts you to think it depends on them. It depends on the rules fixed before the first card — and those differ from table to table by whole percentage points.
Roulette: one zero or two
European wheel with a single zero: 2.7% house edge. American with a double zero: 5.26%. Same hand, same ball, almost twice the expected loss. Choosing the American wheel when both are available is not bad luck; it is a choice.
Blackjack: 3:2 or 6:5
If a table pays blackjack at 3:2, the house edge with correct basic play is small; at 6:5 it rises by roughly 1.4 percentage points. Other rules push the same way: whether the dealer hits soft 17, whether doubling after a split is allowed, how many decks are in the shoe. All of it is posted before you sit down.
Game shows cost more than they look
Wheel and show formats usually carry a markedly higher house edge than blackjack or roulette, often several per cent, spread across many segments with different odds. That does not make them worse — it makes them more expensive per round, and that is a number you can look up beforehand.
What a dealer cannot do, and what used to stand here
They cannot influence the outcome and do not see the cards any differently than the camera. "Dealer patterns" and "hot tables" are stories that generate volume. The "8 strategies that really work" promised here before have been removed; what remains is choosing the table and setting the limit beforehand — see planning a session, the effects in four documented effects, verification of single rounds in provably fair and the tier arithmetic in VIP tiers. Help with loss of control: GamCare.
Frequently asked questions
Which roulette is better?
The European single-zero wheel: 2.7% against 5.26% on the American one. The difference is a choice, not luck.
How do you spot a bad blackjack table?
By a 6:5 payout instead of 3:2 — that costs about 1.4 percentage points and is posted at the table.
Can a dealer influence the outcome?
No. They run the round; the wheel, the cards and the rules decide.
