Single Deck Blackjack

The objective in single-deck blackjack (played with a full deck of 52 cards) is the same as that in multiple-deck variations. You need a hand whose value is closer to 21 than that of the dealer but without going over.

Players again have the choice of hitting, standing, doubling, splitting pairs, and taking insurance when the dealer’s upcard is an Ace. Insured winning bets return standard payouts of 2 to 1. The player and dealer push on hands of equal value, with the player having their original bet returned. Cards are reshuffled after every round.

One major difference you will undoubtedly notice has to do with table etiquette. Players receive their cards face down, whereas the dealer has only one of their two cards exposed. You are permitted to handle your cards manually as long as you do so with one hand only and keep them above the table.

This is where things start to go downhill, rules-wise. Most land-based casinos that still operate single-deck tables have tweaked the rules, which has a pronounced negative effect on the player’s expected returns. We have listed these adjustments below:

• The dealer hits soft totals of 17.
• Blackjacks pay 6 to 5 (in most land-based casinos still offering the game). In some single-deck variants, players are offered even money (1 to 1) for their blackjacks when the dealer’s exposed card is an Ace.
• Players are allowed one split and can hit split pairs multiple times. An exception is made for split Aces where you receive only one extra card per Ace. A split Ace and a ten-value card count for a regular 21, not blackjack.
• Doubling down is restricted to two-card totals of 9, 10, and 11. Some variants are even more restrictive, allowing double downs on totals of 10 and 11 only. Doubling down after a split (DAS) is often not an option.
• Surrendering is generally not allowed.

These adjustments can cause the house edge to climb to nearly 2% in some single-deck variations. As you can see, things are far from perfect, but the biggest problem is the reduction in the payouts on your naturals. Let’s see why.

A typical blackjack game offers a payout of 3 to 2 on naturals, unless the player pushes with the dealer. In the single-deck variants available across land-based casinos today, players are usually paid at a rate of 6 to 5. This means that each time you get a blackjack with a $10 bet, you earn only $12 in net profit.

In contrast, a 3-to-2 payout yields net profit of $15 for a blackjack with a $10 bet. In this case, the casino keeps $3 on every natural paid at reduced odds, which ultimately costs you money. You can calculate your expected loss by multiplying the number of rounds you play per hour by the house edge, the number of hours played, and the amount you wager per hand.

The average number of hands you play between naturals is about 21. If the house keeps $3 from your blackjacks while you are flat-betting $10 per hand, it effectively retains roughly 30% of one wager every 21 hands, which corresponds to about 1.40% per hand.

Keep in mind that the minimums at some tables start at $25. If you raise your flat bets to $25 per hand, play for an hour, and go through one hundred hands, you will lose about $36 because of this payout reduction alone.

In some single-deck variations of the game, there is a further reduction in the payouts on naturals. When a player is dealt a blackjack and the dealer shows an Ace, the player is offered an even-money payout on their natural. The player can accept or decline the reduced payout before the dealer reveals the hole card.

Accepting the even-money payout is essentially the same as taking insurance and is just as detrimental to the player. Let’s consider a couple of examples to illustrate this.

Suppose you wager $10 and are dealt a blackjack against a dealer who shows an Ace; you can immediately win the same amount if you accept the even-money payout.

Now, imagine the same scenario, only this time you decide to insure your blackjack for $5 instead of taking even money (insurance pays 2 to 1). There are two possible outcomes. If the dealer indeed has a natural, you will collect $10 from your $5 insurance bet and push with the dealer on your blackjack. Your net profit in this case is $10, the same as taking even money.

However, if the dealer does not have a natural, you will lose your $5 insurance bet and collect $15 from your blackjack, again netting a $10 profit.

Of course, this applies only when your blackjacks are paid at the standard rate of 3 to 2. If the payout is reduced to 6 to 5, you will collect only $12 in the scenario where you lose your insurance bet, meaning you net just $7 on top of your original $10 stake.

Now, let’s examine a six-deck blackjack game played according to the standard rules, where naturals return a 3-to-2 payout. You are the only player at the table, bet $20, and receive an A-Q blackjack on the very first round. Much to your displeasure, the dealer also shows an Ace.

Now that we have gone through the rules and explained how some of them put the player at a disadvantage, you are probably wondering whether there are any benefits to playing single-deck blackjack. In fact, there are some advantages, although the negatives greatly outnumber the positives.

The removal of individual cards has a more pronounced effect in single-deck blackjack than it does in multiple-deck games. This results in several benefits for the player, starting with the increased likelihood of drawing an Ace with a ten-value card and vice versa.

You can read more about blackjack probabilities later in the guide. For now, it suffices to say the likelihood of getting a natural in a single-deck game is higher at 4.83%, compared to 4.75% in eight-deck blackjack.

This works out to having a blackjack once every 20.71 hands when a single deck is in play. In games that use eight decks, you will get a blackjack only once every 21.07 hands on average. This difference, small as it is, has an impact in the long run because of the higher payouts that blackjacks earn you.

Another benefit is that the dealer and player push with blackjacks less often in single-deck games. If you have already paired an Ace with a ten-value card, you reduce the Ace richness of the deck by 25%. The probability of pushing with the dealer when you have a blackjack is roughly 3.67% in a single-deck game. This figure rises to 4.60% in eight-deck games.

In single-deck games, dealers have a higher chance of breaking their hands, which also works to the player’s advantage. Small cards like 4, 5, or 6 are good for the dealer, so their chances of busting increase each time a small card leaves the pack.

Unfortunately, casinos have successfully offset the value that single-deck blackjack offers players by changing some of the most crucial rules of play. Each rule change gives the house an advantage but never the other way around.

The reduction of the payouts in blackjack itself yields a substantial house edge of around 1.40%. This is practically a total rip-off, which alone should suffice to dissuade a sharp player from joining a single-deck table. The even-money payouts are just as bad, but at least here you have the choice of accepting or declining this option.

To add insult to injury, dealers at single-deck tables are often required to hit soft 17 which gives the house edge a boost of 0.22%. The restrictions on doubling down further increase the casino’s advantage (by 0.09% if you can double on two-card totals of 9 through 11 and by 0.18% when doubling is limited to starting hands of 10 and 11 only).

The absence of DAS (double after splitting) tips the scales in the casino’s favor by another 0.14%. All these tweaks to the rules boost the house edge on single-deck blackjack from the modest 0.15% to nearly 2% at some tables.

All these observations raise the question: “Should you bother playing single-deck blackjack at all?” Well, the answer depends on whether you can find a game with relatively decent rules. The optimal option is to play single-deck blackjack with late surrender, where the dealer stands on soft 17s, you can double on any two-card total, double after splitting, and resplit to four hands.

We regret to say you will have a hard time finding a single-deck table with such favorable rules, though. Good single-deck blackjack variations are practically nonexistent in land-based casinos these days. The best you can do is look for single-deck tables with payouts of 3 to 2 on blackjacks. Under no circumstances should you accept reduced payouts of 6 to 5, as this is equivalent to pouring your money down the drain.

In a way, the online gambling industry has saved single-deck blackjack from complete extinction. The game is available at many online casinos, and although it still abides mostly by adjusted rules, at least the operators have the decency to offer players the standard 3-to-2 payouts for blackjacks. Anything less is worth neither your time nor your money.