Always 6 Blackjack Live from Evolution

Who doesn’t lick their lips when the dealer draws a 6 to begin a round of Blackjack? On Evolution’s Always 6 Blackjack tables this happens each and every round.

Always 6 Blackjack tables first made an appearance in Evolution’s live games lobby mid-March 2026. There are already a few of these tables to choose from, including low limit options ($/€5 minimum) as well as a couple of VIP Always 6 Blackjack tables.

It’s a pretty tantalising format, putting players in the box seat to win the hand every round. And make no mistake, if you play sound strategy you will beat the dealer more often than not. The catch however, is a change in the regular win payout that allows the house to maintain an edge, albeit minor.

You can play the tables at Evolution powered live casinos including 888, bet365, Stake and Frumzi.

Always 6 Blackjack rules

Here’s the summary ruleset for the main game on these tables, with the significant departures from regular blackjack in bold. Not highlighted, but worthy of note is the fact that a 6 deck shuffle machine is used on this table, rather that an 8-deck manually shuffled shoe employed on other live blackjack tables.

Optional side bets are also offered (details below).

• Played with 6 decks, dealt from a shuffle-machine
• Dealer first card is Always a 6
• Dealer stands all 17s
• Player can Double on any 2 initial cards
• No Double after Split
• Player can Split initial cards of equal value
• Only one Split per hand
• Can Split Aces (1 card drawn, no further Hits)
• Blackjack pays 3 to 2
• Win pays 0.61:1
• Cash out option (house calculated) is offered during deal

The Deal

A 6-card (unsuited, and not from the shoe) is permanently in front of the dealer so they do not draw a card when the first round of cards come out. After players receive their second card, the dealer draws a second card face down.

Usual Hit/Stand/Double or Split (for pairs) options are offered during decision time, as well as Evolution’s house calculated Cash Out offer.

Given the dealer always starts on 6, wins come often. A 9♠4♥ for 13 would normally be a horror hand to draw, but against a Dealer 6 it’s actually the statistical favourite to win. Indeed, the basic strategy play  here is to Stand (as it is for all hard hands 12 or above against a Dealer 6) and wait for a likely Dealer bust.

In this case the expected outcome played out.

While wins are more frequent, payouts for regular wins are reduced to 0.61 to 1 rather than the usual even money. A higher win frequency and lower payouts make this game less volatile than regular blackjack tables. Evolution are now publishing their games’ Volatility Index, with Always 6 Blackjack coming in at 3.1 which is low.

Blackjack still pays 3:2.

Always 6 Blackjack Side bets

As on all live blackjack tables these days, side bets are offered on the Always 6 Blackjack table. They may be taken once a bet on the main game is placed.

The Pairs side bet pays out when players’ initial 2 cards form a pair, as follows:

• Perfect Pair – 25:1
• Coloured Pair – 12:1
• Mixed Pair – 6:1

The Lucky Ladies side bet pays depending on the players’ initial 2 card combination, a follows:

• Queen of Hearts Pair – 200:1
• Two Queens – 20:1
• Suited 20 – 7:1
• Any 20 – 3:1
• One Queen of Hearts – 2:1
• Any Queen – 1:1

Always 6 Blackjack Return to Player

Played optimally, the theoretical return on main game is a healthy 99.34%. You’ll need to follow basic strategy to achieve returns approaching this figure. Play the side bets or take the Cash Out offers and the game becomes far more expensive.

• Main game: 99.34%
• Side bets:
  – Perfect Pairs bet: 93.89%
  – Lucky Ladies bet: 91.42%

The theoretical payout percentage for always taking the Cash Out offer is 95.20%.