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How Many Decks Do Casinos Use For Blackjack

Laura Klusaite
  1. But step into any casino, you will find at least five to eight decks of cards used in Blackjack game! Excluding jokers, each of these decks come with a standard 52 cards. That being said, let’s take a look at how the decks of cards used in Blackjack affects the house edge as well as card counting.
  2. How many decks do most casinos use in blackjack? I'm going up to Oklahoma soon to visit the Winstar Casino, and was wondering if anybody knew how many decks they use in their blackjack tables? I know they might have a few tables that vary but any information on this casino would help!
  3. Blackjack in Las Vegas can use one to eight decks. How many decks may not make any difference to a beginner player who knows just knows and plays basic strategy without paying attention to the cards played. However, the main thing you need to pay attention to is the rules of the specific table AND blackjack payouts.

Usually a casino will use two sets of multiple decks of cards on a blackjack table. While one set of cards is being used by the dealer on the game, the other set is being shuffled offline by the automatic shuffler.

Table Of Contents

  • Online casinos usually use two to eight decks of cards during Blackjack games
  • One exception is the Single Deck Blackjack - only one deck of cards is used
  • To play Single Deck Blackjack games, register on this page

If you want to play only one game at a Casino, you might want to make that game Single Deck Blackjack.

Why? Let’s see:

  • it’s one of the the card games with the best odds (the house edge is only 0.3 percent)
  • it’s easier to count cards when playing Blackjack with only one deck of cards
  • the game is as exciting and fun as any other Blackjack variant

But you won’t find Single Deck Blackjack games that often. Especially if you play at brick-and-mortar Casinos.

Playing Casino games online? Then play Single Deck Blackjack at this online Casino.

Even before you actually find the game, you need to know some things about the game: how to play Single Deck Blackjack, and more importantly, how to get your best odds to win.

How to Play Single Deck Blackjack

If you’ve played any other variant of Blackjack, you won’t have any problems playing Single Deck Blackjack.

The rules are completely the same - only the number of cards differs.

Need a refresher on the Blackjack rules? This part of the article has you covered.

When You Win and When You Lose

When you open a Single Deck Blackjack game, you have only one goal - to get to 21 or gather more points than the dealer without going bust.

To do so, you need:

  • to have a hand that’s a natural Blackjack - 21 points in value from the first two cards, e.g. a Jack (10 points) and an Ace (11 points)
  • to have a hand that’s higher than the dealer’s and equal/lower to 21, e.g. a 20 (two Jacks) while the dealer has 19 (a Jack and a 9)
  • to have a hand that’s lower than the dealer’s while the dealer’s hand in value goes bust (goes over 21)

If you have a hand exceeding 21 points - you go bust (you lose). Then it doesn’t even matter what hand the dealer has.

If you don’t go bust but the dealer has a higher hand, you lose yet again.

The Game Play Explained

How do you get a winning or a losing hand?

First, you make your bets. That’s a sign for the dealer that you want to join the game.

Then, the dealer deals each person at the table (including themselves) two cards each. Your cards are face-up while the dealer has one card face-up and a hole card face-down.

If the dealer’s face-up card is an Ace or a 10-value card, they peak at their second card to see if they have a natural Blackjack. If they do, the game is over right there and then - the dealer wins, the players lose.

Unless you have a natural Blackjack, too. Then the game is a push.

If the dealer doesn’t have an Ace or 10-value card or after checking the hole card the game goes on, it’s your time to make a move.

You can do the following:

  • to hit - to ask for one more card
  • to stand - to stick with your current hand
  • to double down (only if you have a hard1 9, 10, or 11) - to double your bet and ask for one more (but the last) card
  • to split (only if you have two cards of the same symbol, e.g. two Aces) - to make an extra bet and divide your hand into two hands

If you hit and don’t go bust, you can always hit again.

After you finally stand, the dealer plays out their cards. You see which one of you had the higher hand and wins.

Many

Then the game is over and you can make another wager to play again.

How to Get the Highest Odds to Win at Single Deck Blackjack

While the game of Single Deck Blackjack may seem simple, it does require skills and strategy to maximize your chances of winning.

How Many Decks Do Casinos Use For Blackjack Winnings

And there are two ways how you can improve your chances:

  • by using Blackjack basic strategy
  • by counting cards

How Many Decks Do Casinos Use For Blackjack For Real

Basic Strategy

Single Deck Blackjack basic strategy is the list of mathematically best moves you can make under certain circumstances to have the most chances of winning.

They are based on your hand value and the card that the dealer shows.

Blackjack

It’s important to note that each variant of Blackjack has a different basic strategy.

Therefore, to make sure you’re following the right strategy for Single Deck Blackjack games, only use the strategy table presented below.

Your HandDealer Shows2345678910Ace
up to 8HHHHHHHHHH
9DDDDDHHHHH
10DDDDDDDDHH
11DDDDDDDDDD
12HHSSSHHHHH
13SSSSSHHHHH
14SSSSSHHHHH
15SSSSSHHHHH
16SSSSSHHHHH
17+SSSSSSSSSS
soft1 13HHDDDHHHHH
soft 14HHDDDHHHHH
soft 15HHDDDHHHHH
soft 16HHDDDHHHHH
soft 17DDDDDHHHHH
soft 18SSSSSSSHHS
soft 19+SSSSSSSSSS

When it comes to splitting, NEVER split 10s but ALWAYS split 8s and Aces.

Also split:

  • 2s when the dealer shows between 3 and 7
  • 6s when the dealer shows 6 or lower card
  • 7s when the dealer shows 7 or lower card
  • 9s unless the dealer shows a 7, a 10, or an Ace

Card Counting

While the basic strategy gives you the lowest house edge you can get in Single Deck Blackjack, you can improve your chances of winning even more by counting cards.

Card Counting is an advantage play technique that increased in popularity in the middle of the last century.

It involves keeping a track of cards that have been dealt and using that knowledge to hit/stand/split/double down when it makes the most sense.

How Many Decks Do Casinos Use For Blackjack Card Game

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1You have a hard hand if you don't have an Ace or the Ace in your hand can only have a value of 1.
2You have a soft hand if you have an Ace that can still be counted as both 1 and 11.

How Many Decks Do Casinos Use For Blackjack Machines

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