How Many Decks of Cards Are Used in Blackjack?

You might enjoy the game of Blackjack with one or two decks with your few friends at home. But step into any casino, you will find at least five to eight decks of cards used in Blackjack game! Excluding jokers, each of these decks come with a standard 52 cards. That being said, let’s take a look at how the decks of cards used in Blackjack affects the house edge as well as card counting.

How Card Counting Is Affected by the Increase in Decks of Cards Used in Blackjack

Many players must already be aware that through counting the cards which are dealt and which will be up next for dealing, they can strategise their upcoming moves to win the game. Now, it is simpler to understand and calculate the cards when there is a single deck of cards in the game. You do not have to be an expert at math here. Also, don’t forget those books that teach players the tricks to various card counting methods. However, with multiple decks of cards used in Blackjack, the counting becomes more difficult and players are forced to play the game by rules and not any strategy.

House Edge Dependency on the Number of Decks of Cards Used in Blackjack

Conceptually, the house edge maintained on a single deck of the card game of 21 is lower than 1%. This kind of game hence makes the blackjack the most player-friendly casino game. But this is not the case when it comes to using multiple decks of cards in Blackjack game. Now with the increase of few numbers of decks of cards per game, a typical house edge of 0.5% is fixed along with some lucrative rules for players.

Going by this rule, you will notice an increase in the house edge with the increase in the decks of cards. This is because as the higher numbers of decks of cards are used, the possibility of getting a Blackjack (an ace along with a 10 value hand) naturally gets lower. But everyone knows when the decks of cards used in Blackjack are less; drawing a natural Blackjack is easier. Now when there are fewer decks in game, the chances of the dealer getting a natural blackjack as opposed to the player is also less, which indicates a lower possibility of a pushed tie.

Also, there are many new rules introduced especially in the land-based casinos to get the house some other advantages too!

Know How Some Land-Based Casinos Still Use Fewer Decks

In the beginning, the Blackjack game was played using a single deck of cards and a house edge of 1%. With the increase in players, the strategies too increased, especially the card counting one, to win at this game. Therefore, the casinos went on to make some rules to make the game fair. While some of these rules were made for a single deck Blackjack game, some other casinos went on to increase the number of decks itself. This definitely did not do well with the majority of players.

So, the next step for casinos was to make some fair rules that were not too harsh on players while still keeping the number of decks in play to lesser. Some of these rules included lower betting limits, fewer returns for Blackjack wins and restricting splits. This was kind of win-win situation for both players and casino houses.

But, players must know that the house edge and chances of winning Blackjack online are higher than at any land-based casino.