How Many Decks Are Used in Blackjack? Everything You Need to Know

In today’s article, we’re going to look at how many decks are used in blackjack in a casino. 

It used to be that blackjack was played with a single deck, but since the mid-1960s, casinos have increased the number of decks in use and made a couple of other changes to the rules to make the game more difficult to beat.

You can also watch our informative video on Blackjack decks and the way they impact the game below:

Once you have finished the article, you will know why they would do that, and also how it affects the players’ chances of winning.

Read on...

How Many Decks Are Used in Blackjack

As I said earlier, it used to be that blackjack was dealt using a single deck of cards. 

The cards were pitched to the players face down, with the object being to get more than the dealer without going over 21.

An MIT math professor named Ed Thorp had released a book called ‘Beat The Dealer’ in 1962, which explained how to keep track of the high value and low value cards to gain an advantage when playing, and the game was changed forever.

One of the main things that happened when the book was published was that the casinos now realized that the average player could beat the game, and they came up with a couple of strategies to regain their advantage.

One of these was to increase the number of decks in play. 

One effect of that was to increase the House Edge on the game.

A single deck game with standard rules has a House Edge of 0.29%.

As the number of decks increases, the House Edge increases, too.

House Edge based on the number of decks

Why Was the Number of Decks Increased?

The casinos knew that the House Edge increased as the number of decks went up, so increasing the number of decks was an easy decision for them to make.

But having been exposed to the ‘Beat The Dealer’ philosophy of card counting, they wanted to make it more difficult for the players to count cards, and thought that increasing the number of decks would also have the (for them) positive side effect of making it more difficult to count the cards.

It really doesn’t – counting cards isn’t made any more difficult by increasing the number of decks once you know what you’re doing.

But the casinos believed it did, so they increased the number of decks anyway.

Increasing the number of decks also speeds up the game.  If you’re dealing a single deck, you need to shuffle every few minutes as you will run out of cards quite quickly. 

By changing the game to having 6 or 8 decks in a shoe, it can take up to 20 or 25 minutes before the need to reshuffle.

The players like it because they’re not waiting while the dealer shuffles every few minutes, and the casino likes it because they get more hands out – which increases their revenue.

Once the casinos had instituted the multi-deck 6-deck and 8-deck shoes, they quickly got used to the increased revenue.

But they also found that the players still liked to play on a single deck. 

The problem was that the card counters made the game difficult to protect – and with a standard set of rules and a 3 to 2 blackjack payout, the game was almost an even proposition.

So the casinos decided to change the blackjack payout to 6 to 5 from 3 to 2. 

It doesn’t seem like much, does it? 

Now, instead of getting paid $30 for a $20 bet, the player would only get $24.  And changing the blackjack payout changes the House Edge from 0.29% to 1.68% - an increase of 1.39% which is an increase of about 4x.

Which makes it pretty much impossible to beat the game.

You will find 6 to 5 single deck games on the retail floor of many casinos these days – but good luck finding one that pays 3 to 2 for a blackjack.

Expert’s Advice

If you’re trying to find a good game to play, look for a double deck game that pays 3 to 2 for a blackjack.

They are definitely out there and it’s worth spending the time to find one, because it is the best game for you to play, given that the other rules are reasonable.

And those other rules may include the dealer standing on a soft 17, you being allowed to double down on any two cards, to split three times into four hands and to double down after a split.

You may not find all of those rules, but any three of the four will give you a good game worth playing.

A 6-deck shoe isn’t the worst thing in the world either, particularly if the dealer stands on a soft 17.

It’s interesting to note that in an online casino, the computer will ‘shuffle’ the cards after every hand, even though the game is set up as though you are playing with a 6-deck shoe. 

Why do they do it that way?

Because the online casino likes the additional House Edge that using 6 decks gives them, and they shuffle after every hand to prevent card counters from being able to count down the shoe.

Conclusion

The old school guys will all tell you that a single deck is the best game to play.

Which is a great example of ‘A little learning is a dangerous thing’. 

Because it used to be the case when blackjack paid 3 to 2 on a single deck.

These days, you will be very lucky to find a single deck that isn’t paying 6 to 5 for a blackjack – which is not a good game for you to play.

You will find blackjack games being dealt with one, two, six or eight decks. 

You may even find a four-deck shoe out there somewhere.

Try to find a game that pays 3 to 2 for a blackjack, and allows you to double down after a split, to double down on any two cards, that allows you to split three times into four hands, and especially where the dealer stands on a soft 17.

Using multiple decks does change the House Edge on the game with more decks meaning an increased House Edge, so finding a game with the fewest decks in play, like a double deck with a 3 to 2 blackjack payout, is the best way to go.

We have many articles about playing blackjack (and the other casino table games including roulette, craps, and baccarat) in the casino in our Academy. They’re all written by experts, and they are all free.

And as always, good luck.