Blackjack

Games and Conditions

Single Decks

Since fewer decks are better, single decks are obviously best. Single-deck blackjack is hard to find in Las Vegas. Some casinos offer a version that pays 6 to 5 on blackjacks. These are some of the worst games to play, even at single deck.

The Best Game

Occasionally, casinos offer blackjack games that are beatable with a knowledge of basic strategy alone. The most common combination of rules that provide a player edge is: single deck, dealer stands on soft 17, and double down allowed after splitting. With these rules, the player has a .1% advantage. This edge is very small. A $5 bettor has an expected return of about 30¢ an hour with perfect play. These games may no longer appear, however as it's been a long time since seeing one. The Barona Casino near San Diego offers a single deck game with surrender where the player and house are virtually even money when playing basic strategy.

Advanced Play

Learning to play blackjack is like learning to lift weights. Athletes who take up weight training find that their early progress is rapid. That is, the amount of weight they can lift increases significantly right away. However, they later find that more and more work is required to make smaller and smaller gains. Such is the case with blackjack play. The gains from learning basic strategy are substantial, but progressing beyond this stage into the world of card counting and professional-level play requires much more study in return for improvements that come much slower and in proportionately smaller doses. The information presented in this chapter is all you need to realize that first stage of significant improvement. For those who are interested in learning more, there are many good (and bad) books, newsletters, and software programs on the market. See the Appendix for a directory of the best products.