One Deck Blackjack Strategy

Laura Klusaite
  1. One Deck Blackjack Strategy Game
  2. One Deck Blackjack Strategy
  3. Double Deck Blackjack Strategy Chart
  4. One Deck Blackjack Strategy Strategies

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.

Single deck blackjack is often limited to one hand only and the cards are shuffled after every hand so the advantage here would only be found during exceptional hands in which a large number of one particular card, e.g. Ace, appears many times and is an important factor in further decisions. Strategy for Blackjack Variations at Bethard Casino.

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.

  1. If a casino only uses one deck and no face cards have been dealt out, and the stack of cards is dwindling, a player knows blackjacks are coming. They can then adjust bet amounts and shift to an adjusted blackjack strategy guide. The result can be painful for the house! For that reason, the standard is.
  2. One Deck Blackjack Strategy The player is responsible for how much the person is willing and able to play for. We always urge a use of responsible gambling.
  3. Jackpot is a casino-style jackpot which increases each time Blackjack Strategy One Deckthe game is played, if the jackpot is not won. When the progressive jackpot is won, the jackpot for the next play is reset to a predetermined value, then resumes increasing with each play. Some games even feature a.

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.

One Deck Blackjack Strategy 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.

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.

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 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:

One Deck Blackjack Strategy

  • 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

Double Deck Blackjack Strategy Chart

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.

One Deck Blackjack Strategy Strategies

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.

_____
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.

The promotion presented on this page was available at the time of writing. With some Casino promotions changing on daily basis, we suggest you to check on the site if it still available. Also, please do not forget to read the terms and conditions in full before you accept a bonus.

Card Counting as One of the Blackjack Strategies

Card counting is a buzzword in any blackjack strategy, yet you need to know that it is not a panacea – an all-out solution for anything blackjack-related. Counting cards is an intellectual challenge and carries risk, because most casinos forbid it.

When done right, this basic, yet highly-efficient, strategy can take you a long way at any land-based casino, but it has zero utility in online casinos, because the decks are reshuffled each time a hand has been played.

This eliminates any opportunities to card count reliably online. However, you can benefit from this blackjack strategy at most retail and commercial casinos. To get yourself involved in card counting, you will need to study, have rudimentary mathematical knowledge, and be very patient.

Only if these three conditions are met can you begin to grasp card counting. Time will be of the essence in order to grasp the necessary skills to count cards, and you will need to practice. With this said, let’s take a look at what the blackjack basic strategy principles of card counting are:

Deck
  1. Assign a value to each card
  2. Start counting
  3. Calculate the “true count” per deck
  4. Adjust your bet based on the true count
  5. Bring the house down

You see, these four conditions are in fact very simple to follow through with. Assigning a card value is the simplest. Most players go with the following values in their blackjack strategy:

  • 2-6 = +1
  • 7-9 = 0
  • 10-Ace = -1

Once you have the values, all you have to do is pay attention and count the cards. A single deck would allow you to figure out the true count, as there are no additional challenges. But this is where your blackjack basic strategy should begin to adapt.

Casinos are aware of card counters; in fact, they employ many card counters to help them catch other players who are counting cards. Therefore, casinos have introduced additional decks to make your job more difficult.

Now, the true count is split between several decks and you need to keep track, adjusting your bets. But this is not quite all. There are additional challenges threatening to throw a spanner in your blackjack strategy.

For starters, a dealer might chat you up, a waitress may start bringing drinks your way in an effort to see if you are easily distracted or focused on the game – almost always a dead giveaway you are counting cards. With this said, you are probably wondering right now – is card counting worth it? The simple answer is yes; any blackjack strategy will benefit from counting cards. Here are a few things to keep in mind however:

  1. The casino will actively pursue you if you are a card counter, especially if you’re good at it
  2. You can be asked to leave if you win too much and systematically
  3. To master card counting, you will need months, if not years
  4. Casinos use artificial intelligence, card counters and staff to see if a winning customer is a counter
  5. A dealer might shuffle the deck if he suspects a customer is winning too much, or request a new deck and cards
One deck blackjack rules

This sums up card counting, painting one of the most popular blackjack strategies in broad strokes. Card counting is worthwhile, but you must commit to it over a long period of time to see benefits.