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PART
I
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Fundamentals of Blackjack by Chambliss and Roginski |
Of vastly greater importance than uncommon bonus hands are the effects which arise
from using various numbers of decks. As we have already stated, a single-deck game
is significantly more advantageous to the player than is a multiple-deck game which
uses the same rules. But why is this so? There are several reasons. Let us compare a
single-deck game with the eight-deck shoe game which now prevails in Atlantic City.
In a single-deck game the likelihood of a player being dealt a Blackjack is 1/20.72. In
an eight-deck game it is 1/21.07. What is greatly increased in the latter case,
however, is the probability that both the dealer and the player will have Blackjack in
the same round. In the single-deck game this is 1/27.22, but in the eight-deck game
this is increased to 1/21.71. If you have Blackjack and the dealer doesn’t, you are
paid off at 1.5 times your original wager. But if the dealer also has Blackjack, it is a
standoff and you win no money. Since Blackjack pushes are 20% more likely in the
eight-deck case than with single decks, it is clear that your earning potential will be
reduced when multiple decks are used.
Another significant adverse factor in a multiple-deck game is the fact that the player’s
expectations for most doubling situations are significantly reduced from what they are
in the single-deck case. A good hand suitable for doubling such as 10 or 11 usually
consists of two relatively low and undesirable cards. Their removal from the deck
increases the likelihood of getting a good hit. Consider the case of doubling on 11 in
a situation in which the dealer’s up card is other than a ten or ace. In the single deck
case the probability of reaching 21 is 16/49 or 0.3265. In the eight-deck case this is
reduced to 128/413 or 0.3099. Thus, a player in the latter game is 5% less likely to
reach 21 by doubling on 11 than he is if he is playing a single-deck game.
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