How to read the payout table at DaleWin tables

For a while I picked tables by the minimum bet and nothing else. Then I read the table of one I liked, and understood why my balance went faster.

DaleWin: how a payout table reads

Before looking at the numbers, it helps to know how they are written. There are three signs I always check:

• «to» shows the winnings only, and the stake comes back separately;
• «for» shows the total, with the stake already included;
• a commission, when there is one, comes off the winnings, not the stake.

With that, two tables that look different turn out to be the same, and two that look alike turn out to differ. That is why I read the format before the number.

Blackjack: 3 to 2 or 6 to 5

A natural blackjack, an ace with a ten-value card, is the best-paid hand. Some tables pay it 3 to 2 and others 6 to 5. With a 10 USD bet, the gap looks like this:

Three dollars a hand sounds small. Yet a natural comes roughly once every twenty hands, and over a long session it adds up. The figures match the analysis by Wizard of Odds, and each table's rules are summed up in blackjack.

Baccarat: commission and the tie

The baccarat table is short, but it hides the two figures that matter most. These are the ones I check:

• the banker bet pays 1 to 1 minus a 5% commission;
• some tables drop the commission and pay only half when the banker wins with 6;
• the tie paid 8 to 1 leaves the house 14.36%;
• the same tie paid 9 to 1 cuts that edge to 4.84%.

A no-commission table sounds better, but it is not always so: the cut simply arrives elsewhere. Besides, even at 9 to 1 the tie is still the most expensive bet on the table. The full rules are in baccarat.

Roulette: the zero and the French rule

In roulette, the payout table barely changes from one table to another. A straight-up bet pays 35 to 1 on the 37 pockets of the European wheel. What does change is the small print about the zero:

• on European roulette, the zero loses every even-money bet;
• under the French La Partage rule, those bets get half back;
• with that rule, the edge on red, black, odd or even drops from 2.70% to 1.35%.

If the lobby has a French table and I play even-money bets, I take it. The other variants are covered in roulette.

My check before I sit down

It takes a minute, and I do it at every new table, even when I know the game. These are the steps:

• I open the table's help screen and find the payout table;
• I check whether payouts are written with «to» or «for»;
• in blackjack, I look for the natural's payout before the limit;
• in baccarat, I check the commission and the tie payout;
• in roulette, I see whether the table uses the French rule.

If something in the help screen is unclear, I don't bet until I understand it. No table turns the house edge in my favour, and that is also why doubling after a loss does not work.

I play with a limit set before I open the browser. If gambling stops being free time, Gamblers Anonymous offers meetings and support at no cost.

Last updated: 2026.

DaleWin FAQ on payout tables

Quick answers on «to» and «for», the blackjack payout, baccarat commission, the tie and the French rule.