for online blackjack games
Blackjack 1 deck odds:
We all at one time or another have
thought how great it would be to count cards and do nothing but go from one casino to
another making our fortune. Unfortunately it isn't quite that simple.
If it were there wouldn't be a casino left to play. The house needs a
small percentage edge in their favor or they couldn't stay in business. That
percentage exists even when a player exercises strategy termed as "perfect
play". The percentage is kept to a reasonably acceptable risk however
when the "perfect play" strategy is in use.
Another way of increasing your odds for
walking away with more money than you started is to find the right places to play.
note: you have just read the most important thing to remember about playing blackjack:
increasing your odds for walking away with more money than you started.
That is the name of the game
after all. To walk away with more money than you had when play started. Its not
about who
walked away with more wins. There is a very big difference.
This article focuses on what is
one of the easiest, yet most overlooked things a gambler can do to increase the odds of
"walking away with more money than when play started". That is to find and play blackjack
games that use the fewest decks of cards in a shoe.
Here is a simple demonstration
about why it is important to have as few a decks in use as possible.
For demonstration purposes,
we shall be using a deck that consists of only 3 cards. The three cards our
deck will have in it: Ace, Jack, and Deuce.
We begin play. You are dealt an
Ace. There are two cards remaining in the shoe. A Jack and a
Deuce. What are the odds of you getting dealt the jack for your second card
and thus
giving you a blackjack? They are 1 out of 2. Your chance of getting
dealt the Jack are 50%.
Next see the dramatic percentage change of getting a
blackjack with multiple decks in use.
Double Deck Blackjack odds:
Okay, now the game has added an
extra deck of cards. We now have 2 Aces, 2 Jacks, and 2 Deuces in our shoe.
I deal you an Ace, what
are the odds of you getting dealt a Jack to complete a blackjack? They drop
from 50% chance to a 40% chance. 10% lost upon adding one extra deck.
Your odds for hitting a blackjack have
dropped from a 1 in 2 chance when we were using a single deck. 50%
To a 2 in 5 chance of hitting a
blackjack. 40%
A considerable difference.
But that is only making the game into a double deck game. Many casinos,
most in fact, use a shoe with 6 decks, some as many as 8 or 9. You can
see why it is important to find a blackjack game that has as few decks in use as possible.
Over time all those would-have-been blackjacks but missed ... could/ would
have amounted to a nice chunk of change.
| name of game |
Vegas Strip |
Atlantic City |
Double Exposure |
European
|
Vegas Downtown |
Super Fun 21 |
Spanish |
multi-hand |
Triple 7s
Progressive |
| Decks |
4 decks |
8 decks |
8 decks |
2 decks |
2 decks |
1 deck |
8 special |
5 decks |
5 decks |
| Dealer stays |
all 17 |
all 17 |
hard 17 |
all 17 |
hard 17 |
hard 17 |
hard 17 |
all 17 |
all 17 |
| Dealer hand |
hole card |
hole card |
face up |
face up |
hole |
hole card |
hole card |
face up |
face up |
| Double |
any |
any |
9-10-11 |
9-10-11 |
any |
any |
any |
9-10-11 |
9-10-11 |
| Split |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Re-split
times |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| Split Aces |
no draw |
no draw |
no draw |
yes draw |
no |
yes draw |
yes draw |
yes draw |
yes draw |
| Double after
Split |
yes |
yes |
yes |
no |
yes |
yes |
yes |
no |
no |
| Blackjack
pays |
3-2 |
3-2 |
1-1 |
3-2 |
3-2 |
1-1 |
3-2 |
3-2 |
3-2 |
| Surrender |
no |
yes |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
yes |
no |
no |
| Progressive |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
| Multi-Hand |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
no |
Blackjack: double deck
Blackjack: single deck
