5-Card Charlie blackjack rule: A complete guide

Casino chips. (Image by Studio_3321)

August 14th, 2024

When you were growing up as a kid, you probably played blackjack, or a variant like Pontoon, at home. Chances are, you had a rule whereby if you collect five cards in your hand without busting, you automatically win – unless the dealer has a blackjack.

The rule about five cards is so common in family games that most of us assume it must be a standard element of the blackjack games enjoyed in land or online casinos.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. You simply don’t see the rule played in any brick and mortar casinos, and you’d be hard-pressed to find that variant anywhere online.

What is 5-Card Charlie?

While it’s always nice to get two good starting cards in blackjack or to take one card and get closer to 21, sometimes you get dealt another low card and then another. Normally this is not great because it can leave you on a total like 13, and you have a dilemma about hitting again or standing.

However, imagine that you could win the hand simply by taking another card, so long as you don’t bust? In 5-Card Charlie, getting five cards wins the hand, even if you have something poor like 15. It gives you an extra incentive to take another card.

Naturally, there is a downside to this rule. Some players with a mediocre hand might be tempted to take another card just so they can make five cards – but end up busting instead

Why is 5-Card Charlie not popular in casinos?

As with all games in a casino, they exist to make the establishment a profit. Casinos are there to make money – if they don’t, they close. And if they close, you will have nowhere to get some gaming entertainment. Because of this, the casino has a house edge in every game, and it’s why we are happy to accept it.

There is a house edge in blackjack, for recreational players at least, of about 4%. This can be reduced to below 1% if you follow a fairly simple and solid blackjack strategy.

But when you introduce an extra rule like 5-Card Charlie, it affects the house edge. You might only make a five-card hand once in 50 rounds of blackjack, but it’s enough to tip the scales more in the player’s favor.

And as we’ve seen, the casinos don’t wish to see that happen. It’s for this reason alone that 5-Card Charlie is not played in land-based casinos.

If you are lucky, you might find the variation in an online casino. But if you do, check out any other rules at the table because it’s likely another slight variation of the rules, like the number of decks or whether the dealer stands on soft 17, will offset your advantage.

It’s a shame because the blackjack five cards rule adds some extra excitement to the game. It gives you something else to shoot for if all seems lost. Somehow busting while going for the fifth card is not quite so annoying as being dealt a ten and a four, taking a third card, and busting.

Drawbacks of the 5-Card Charlie rule

One negative aspect of the 5-Card Charlie in blackjack is that it can slow the game down. If you are sitting at a full table with, say, seven players, at least several of them each round will be in a position where they think for longer and take more cards because they are considering bagging a 5-Card Charlie.

Getting frustrated by a slow game does nothing for your own decision making. It’s when you tend to make poor choices, affecting your win rate and chances of making a profit.

Play blackjack for free

You can enjoy practicing blackjack for free at YouBet Casino, where all table games and slots can be played with play money. Once you get up to speed, you can make your first deposit, grab your generous welcome bonus, and see if you can win some cash.

Unfortunately, however, you won’t find the 5-Card Charlie rule in play.