Single-Deck Blackjack Strategy Introduction. Common questions for novice players: What is single deck blackjack? Is it better to play single deck blackjack versus multi-deck variations? To use the basic strategy, look up your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer's up card along the top. In both cases, an A stands for ace. Note: The blackjack strategy charts lists the player’s two-card hand total and a possible multi-card hand total as a result of hitting a previously different hand one or more times. (In other words, play the multi-card hand as if it were an original two-card holding.).
- Blackjack Chart One Deck Free
- Blackjack Chart One Deck Online
- Blackjack Chart One Deck Card Game
- Blackjack Chart One Deck Game
Those of you who are new to the game of blackjack may have noticed that some blackjack games are played with one deck of cards while others are played with 2, 4, 6 or even 8 decks of cards. What’s the difference between single and multiple deck games and what are the advantages or disadvantages?
Single deck blackjack has often been looked at as the holy grail of the game because it offers players the best chance to win profits. In fact, the house edge is just 0.15% when players stick to blackjack games with a single deck.
Long ago, single-deck blackjack was the standard and the only game in town. In recent years, however, casinos have moved towards multiple deck games to make it harder for players to count cards, a strategy which has gained popularity over the past few decades. Not only is it more difficult for players to count cards with multiple decks in use, but using multiple decks also increases the house edge slightly.
Many casinos have reintroduced the single-deck blackjack game, but don’t be fooled into thinking that playing a single-deck game will give you better odds. In fact, you will notice that when playing a single-deck game of blackjack many casinos only offer a 6:5 payout for blackjack, while multi-deck games offer 3:2.
If you placed a $10 bet and got blackjack on a multi-card game with 3:2 payout you’d walk away with $15, whereas you’d only get $12 for a single-deck game with a 6:5 payout. The slight increase in the house edge isn’t worth the decrease in the blackjack payout that the house gives for a single-deck game. Therefore, unless you can find a casino that offers a 3:2 payout for single-deck blackjack it is a wise decision to stick to multiple deck games.
Casinos also often enforce disadvantageous rule variations on single-deck and double-deck games in order to give the house more of an edge. These variations can include requiring the dealer to hit on soft 17, not allowing players to double down after a split, not allowing the resplitting of aces and a number of other variations.
Card counter have tried to employ their strategy even when using multiple decks, even though it involves more calculations and a greater risk of losing the correct count. Casinos have developed an arsenal of tactics to disrupt counters who try to count multiple decks. Many have decided to use continuous shuffle machines which shuffle the cards back into the shoe with every hand.
With this being the case, you’d think that finding a single deck blackjack is the greatest thing ever. However, there are actually some disadvantages to the subject as well, which is covered below along with single deck blackjack advantages.
Advantages
The obvious advantage to playing single deck blackjack is just as we stated before in that you’re getting the absolute lowest house edge. Facing a 0.15% house edge puts you on nearly a level playing field with the casino, and makes your chance of profiting seem like a coin flip. Of course, to take advantage of the low casino edge, make sure that you understand good basic blackjack strategy first – otherwise, it doesn’t really matter how many decks you’re dealing with.
There is another big advantage for card counters. Usually, card counters these days are dealing with six and eight deck shoes, which means they have to wait longer for favorable counts. But with single deck blackjack, card counters don’t have to wait nearly as long to get a favorable count, thus letting them bet big much sooner.
Disadvantages
Based on the aforementioned advantages, you wouldn’t think there’d be much downside to single deck blackjack. But the problem is that casinos often advertise single deck games, yet offer unfavorable rules to increase the house edge. And what’s bad about this is that the house edge can actually end up being higher than with six or eight deck blackjack.
Blackjack Chart One Deck Free
In the worst case scenario, casinos will only make 6:5 blackjack payouts instead of 3:2 payouts. This one rule alone will bring the house edge from 0.15% all the way up to 1.45%. Considering the fact that you can still keep the house edge at around 0.5% with both six and eight deck blackjack, it’s sometimes not even worth the effort to search for single deck games. Casinos might put other unfavorable rules in the single deck games too, so watch out for this.
Single and double deck games are generally dealt with the cards face down. This is another tactic that casinos use to thwart counters. Players who stand before your turn will place their cards face down on the table. Since no one has no idea what they are holding, counters not value those cards in the count.
Another disadvantage to single deck blackjack is that you’re very unlikely to earn many comps with this version of the game. After all, if it’s true single deck blackjack you’re playing, the casino won’t make much money off you in the long-term. That said, they aren’t going to be generous with comps either.
Casinos usually offer a few lower limit single deck games to entice players to visit their casino. It is the old bait and switch technique that often works. They know that if the table is full or the betting limits are severely restricted, players will move to higher earning tables.
Learn about the other tricks by reading “How Casinos Cheat.”
In the early days of casinos and till the 70s, Single Deck Blackjack was one of the most popular games. The smart gambler knew that this was the best game being offered and took advantage of its very low house edge.
While other games in casino had a house advantage as high as 15% or more, single deck blackjack offered the player an unheard of 99.85% payout. The house still has an edge, but it was by far the lowest of any game you could find.
To make it even better, savvy players learned that counting cards made the advantage tilt towards the players. There is no game in a casino where you can make this happen so easily as in Single Deck.
Content
1. Free Games
2. Rules
3. Game Comparison
4. Rule changes in land based casinos
However, the casinos caught on to this and quickly adjusted Blackjack rules to increase the house edge. This is why these days, most blackjack games are played with 4 decks or more. In most cases, 6 to 8. Simply adding a few decks brought the house edge up to 0.50% or more, depending on the various rule changes. And it also made it much harder for card counters.
Even though single deck Blackjack has become scarce, some land based casinos are starting to bring the game back to life. But beware, the game isn’t what it used to be. It may look the same at first glance; but when you take a deeper look, you will see just how different single deck Blackjack has become over the years.
However not all news are bad. Online blackjack players can still enjoy few Single Deck Blackjack games with favorable rules and 99.83% payout. There few variations available online and you can try them out for free. There are even two Single Deck Blackjack games for USA players, one developed by Bovada casino, the best payout casino online, and the second by BetSoft.
Free Single Deck Blackjack
Online Single Deck Blackjack Rules
Blackjack Chart One Deck Online
The payouts rules of all Single deck games are quite similar, however the rules vary a lot from one version to another. Here you can find the basic set of rules, and below we will compare the differences between the games.
Dealer:
- Dealer hits soft 17.
- Dealer doesn’t check for blackjack (similar to European Blackjack).
- When the dealers face card is Ace, you are offered insurance.
Players:
- Double on 9, 10, 11.
- One card after doubling.
- You can split similar value cards.
- No Re-splitting.
- You can hit or double down after splitting, but split Aces receive only one card.
Payouts:
- Natural pays 3:2.
- Insurance pays 2:1.
- Hands of equal value are a push.
- If you have a blackjack and the dealer face-up card you are offered even money.
Game Comparison
Here you can find the unique rules each game has. For your convenience we’ve also added some valuable points, such as the stake limits, the number of hands you can play and US friendliness.
USA (Bovada, Ignition):
- Dealer checks for blackjack on 10 value cards.
- Double on any two cards and after splitting.
- 1 split.
- High minimum bet of $25.
- USA Friendly.
- Single hand.
- Odds: 99.92%
- Where to play: Ignition Casino
Amaya:
- Dealer stands on soft 17.
- No doubling down on split hands.
- Multi-hand: up to 3 hands per round.
- Wide betting limits: $1 – $500
- No USA players
- Odds: 99.76%
- Where to play: Guts Casino
BetSoft:
- Doubling down only on 10, 11 value hands.
- A and 10 after splitting counts as 21 and not natural.
- USA Friendly ( ($1 -$100 bets)
- Multi-hand: up to 3 hands per round.
- Odds: 99.54%
- Where to play: Bovada Casino
Gold (Microgaming):
- Dealer peaks for Blackjack on 10 value cards.
- No double down after splitting.
- Ace and 10 after splitting count as 21 and not natural.
- No USA players
- Odds: 99.67%
- Where to play: JackpotCity Casino
Low Limit (NetEnt):
- Dealer checks for Blackjack on 10 value cards.
- Double down only on 10, 11 value hands.
- One card after doubling.
- No double down on split hands.
- Ace and 10 after splitting count as 21.
- Lowest minimum stakes of 10 cents/pennies.
- No USA players
- Odds: 99.53%
- Where to play: Guts Casino
WGS Vegas Single Deck:
- Dealer checks for Blackjack on 10 value cards.
- One card after doubling.
- Ace and 10 after splitting count as 21.
- USA Friendly ($1 -$100 bets)
- Odds: 99.80%
- Where to play: Red Stag Casino
Play’n Go:
- Blackjack pays 6/5 – Highly not recommended.
- Dealer stands on all 17s.
- Double on any two cards.
- Late surrender available.
- Ace and 10 after splitting count as 21.
- No USA players
- Odds: 98.76%
How Single Deck is Played in Land Basic Casinos
Blackjack Chart One Deck Card Game
The first major change was allowing the dealer to hit on a soft 17. This is a total 17 containing an Ace. This alone brought the house advantage up an extra 0.20%
The other change was how Blackjacks are paid out. This is where the game took a wrong turn for the worse. At least for the players.
In most Blackjack games, a Blackjack pays out 3:2. However most land based casinos changed the blackjack payout at their single deck tables to 6:5. This may not look like a big deal, but it actually raises the house edge by 1.5%. That’s a lot!
Blackjack Chart One Deck Game
What once was a game with the best odds, has now become the worse form of Blackjack to play. It’s considered a sucker bet, or a ploy to attract unsuspecting players into its trap. If you can find a brick and mortar casino that offers single deck game that pays the traditional 3:2 on Blackjacks, you should play it. Otherwise steer clear or just play blackjack online, where you can still enjoy favorable rules and odds.