Single Deck Blackjack Strategy

Most blackjack games you will play in a Las Vegas blackjack will have at least 4 decks of cards. While you still get the same odds as any other blackjack game you come across, there is a different strategy involved.

Single deck blackjack, like the name suggests, uses only one 52-card deck for the entire session of play. Because of this, there is going to be more shuffling (and slightly slower game play) but there is also an advantage for the player.

When playing with 1 deck (and ideally a full table of players) you will be able to watch the cards that have been dealt and used up. For example, after all 4 aces have been played, there are no more. Conversely, if you are getting deeper into a deck that has issued limited face cards or aces, it might be time to increase your bets.

Dealer Rules

When playing single deck blackjack, be sure to know the rules the dealer needs to play by. In some instances, the dealer must stand on soft 17 and others must hit. While this will not really impact your strategy, it is vitally important to always know the situation of rules, payout and dealer limitations while you are playing.

An area that might impact your play is the ability to split and re-split cards. Know if you can split a second time, if you triple up.

Single Deck Rules to Stick By

• Ignore insurance: the house edge increases on insurance during single deck play
• Keep track of the cards. When you are playing multideck games of 21, there is less of an impact of what cards have been dealt
• Save big bets for when you know big cards are coming

People often talk about ‘counting cards’ with single deck blackjack strategy. This is difficult to do, and doesn’t exactly work because decks are shuffled before they reach the end. Stick to the basic tips before you worry too much about counting every card.