Jul 15, 2019 Use the basic single deck Blackjack strategy to know when to hit or stand. Use this Blackjack chart to get more winning odds when you play online! Live Events 4. In the old days, Blackjack was a simple game that utilized a single, 52-card deck of playing cards. In modern times, the most common versions of blackjack are played with 6 or 8 decks of cards. In Las Vegas, for example, 6-deck Blackjack is most common (thoughmore and more are starting to use 8 decks).
Table Of Contents
- (Online) Casinos usually use two to eight decks of cards during Blackjack games
- The only exception is the Single Deck Blackjack - only one deck of cards is used
- You can play Single Deck Blackjack games at this online Casino
If you want to play only one game at a Casino, make that game Single Deck Blackjack.
Why? Let’s see:
- it’s the card game 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 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 beat the dealer as many times as you can.
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 win.
Then the game is over and you can make another wager to play again.
How 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.
And there are two ways how you can improve your chances:
- by using Blackjack basic strategy
- by counting cards
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.
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 Shows | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Ace |
up to 8 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
9 | D | D | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H |
10 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | H | H |
11 | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
12 | H | H | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
13 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
14 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
15 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
16 | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
17+ | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
soft1 13 | H | H | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H |
soft 14 | H | H | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H |
soft 15 | H | H | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H |
soft 16 | H | H | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H |
soft 17 | D | D | D | D | D | H | H | H | H | H |
soft 18 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | H | H | S |
soft 19+ | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
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.
You may have seen a movie of two where the players make a fortune by counting cards in Las Vegas.
And those movies are based on real stories.
That’s why Blackjack games nowadays use six or even eight decks of cards - to make card counting more difficult if not impossible.
And that’s why Single Deck Blackjack is the best game you can play if you know how to count cards.
It’s also the best game to play when you are learning to count cards. And if you want to learn this mathematical art, read an article about card counting right here. It will have you covered.
Free Single Deck Blackjack
Good luck!
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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.
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