Single Deck Blackjack (Las Vegas Rules and Strategy)

This is meant to be a complete guide to single deck blackjack.

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If you want to learn what this game is and why it’s better than double deck or multi deck games, you can dive right into this post.

Related: Best Slot Machines to Play at Circus Circus

This guide includes how to play, where to play (even in Las Vegas), what the best strategy is, how the odds work, and answers to the most commonly asked questions.

Here’s everything you need to know:

What Is Single Deck Blackjack? (Versus Double Deck or Multi Deck)

What is single deck blackjack, and how does it compare to double deck or other multi deck games?

The most basic version of blackjack is played from one deck of 52 cards. You’ll find casinos that offer the game dealt from two decks (double deck) or from as many as six or eight decks. The number of decks make a big difference in the play of the game and its odds. The best thing about single deck blackjack is that you’ll get more blackjacks.

And, if you’ve played at all, you already know how important that is.

See also: Can You Count Cards in Online Blackjack?

Is Single Deck Blackjack Better?

Is single deck blackjack better than double deck or multi deck games?

Yes, single deck blackjack is significantly better. As I pointed out in the previous section, you’ll see more blackjacks. But that’s not the only advantage. There are several, and I cover those in detail in the next couple of sections.

But before that, I want to warn you about one thing:

This version is always better unless the casino changes the payout for a blackjack from 3 to 2 to 6 to 5. This one rules change has a horrible effect on the odds.

I’ll cover that in a couple of the later sections in this post, too.

Why Is It Better?

Why is single deck blackjack better than double deck or multi deck games?

It’s better for multiple reasons, but the biggest reason is that you’ll get a natural more often when playing in a single deck game. Since a natural pays off at 3 to 2 odds, this is good for you as a player.

Another reason it’s better is because the effect of doubling down is increased — doubling down is less powerful in a game with multiple decks.

Finally, when you stand with a stiff total — a total of between 12 and 16 — you’re hoping that the dealer will bust. The dealer will bust more often in this situation in the single deck version of the game.

Why is all this true?

I cover that in the next section about odds and probability.

It’s one of the most detailed sections in this guide.

Single Deck Blackjack Odds and Probability

It might not be immediately apparent why single deck blackjack odds are better than in multi-deck games. After all, the ratios for the cards is the same regardless of how many decks are in play. If you’re using one deck, you have 4 aces out of 52 cards, so the probability of getting an ace is 1/13.

But if you’re playing in a game with eight decks, you have 32 aces out of 416 cards, which still gives you a 1/13 probability of getting an ace.

So, you have to look at things more specifically to see how the odds are different.

For example, what are the odds of getting a blackjack?

It’s an easy calculation. You calculate the probability of getting an ace as your first card and the probability of getting a 10 as your second card. That’s the first way to get a natural. The second way is to get a 10 as your first card and an ace as your second card. Add those two probabilities together, and you have the probability of getting a blackjack.

In a game with one deck, the probability looks like this:

(4/52 X 16/51) + (16/52 X 4/51) = 32/663, which is the same as 0.0483 or 4.83%. That’s also the same as saying you’ll get a natural one time out of every 20.7 hands.

Now let’s look at the same formula for a game with six decks:

(24/312 + 96/311) + (96/312 + 24/311) = 0.04749, or 4.75%. That’s the same as saying you’ll get a natural one time out of every 21.1 hands.

It’s a small difference, but when it comes to that 3:2 payout, it makes a significant difference to the house edge.

In fact, the house edge for a single deck game is 0.6% better than the house edge for an eight deck game. Even the difference between a single deck and double deck game is 0.3%.

I consulted Andrew Brisman’s excellent book, Winning Ways: American Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling for the math in this section.

Single Deck Blackjack Rules (How to Play)

How do you play single deck blackjack? What are the rules?

You play single deck blackjack with the same rules as any other 21 game — you still choose between hitting, standing, doubling down, splitting, surrendering, and taking insurance.

The big difference in gameplay is how the cards are handled.

In a single deck game, you get your cards dealt to you facedown, and you’re allowed to pick the cards up off the table to look at them. In games with multiple decks, your cards are dealt face up.

The hand signals you use to tell the dealer what you’re doing with your hand are different, too. If you want to hit in a single deck game, you scrape the cards gently on the table. To stand, you put the cards under your chips. To split or double down, you flip your cards over and put another bet on the table.

Those are the only major differences in how to play single deck blackjack. Rules don’t really change beyond that.

How to Win at Single Deck Blackjack

How do you win at single deck blackjack?

Learning how to win at single deck blackjack isn’t much different from learning to win at blackjack, period. You start by mastering basic strategy, which I cover in the next section.

Even that won’t get you a mathematical edge over the casino, though, which is what you’d need to be able to win consistently in the long run.

To get a mathematical edge, you need to also learn an advantage technique like counting cards. I cover that in another section, too.

But if you master basic strategy, you’ll be playing a game in the casino with as close to no edge as you’ll find. You’ll see some variance at the table, but your goal, if you’re a basic strategy player, should be to quit while you’re ahead and enjoy your occasional winning sessions.

I’m not a huge fan of money management, but if you’re not interested in becoming a card counter, I suggest using at least one money management strategy:

Set a win goal for your session, and quit when you’ve hit that goal. Your win goal is a percentage of your starting bankroll that will signal when it’s time to call it a night.

Here’s an example:

You’re playing a $10 minimum bet game, and you sit down with $200. You decide your win goal is 50% of your bankroll, so you’d play until you either lose your entire bankroll or until you’ve had a net win of $100.

If you don’t set a win goal, you’ll never stop, and you’ll always play until you go broke. That’s just how most gamblers roll, even when they claim they don’t roll that way.

Single Deck Blackjack Strategy (Basic Strategy Chart)

Here’s what you need to know about single deck blackjack strategy:

It’s the mathematically perfect way to play every hand in the game. In other words, it’s the way to play the game where you have the highest expected value.

In some situations, you’re going to face a disadvantage. The basic strategy in that case is to keep that disadvantage as low as possible.

You’ll also have situations where you’ll be at an advantage. And your goal in those situations is to maximize your advantage.

Most sites present these tactics in a basic strategy chart, but I prefer explaining it in text, which is what I’ll do here.

Here’s how to minimize the house edge in every situation in single deck blackjack:

Surrendering

The first thing you do is decide whether or not to surrender. Many casinos don’t allow surrender, and even in those that do, you won’t surrender most of the time.

The only totals you’ll consider surrendering with are hard totals of 15 or 16. You’ll surrender with a 16 when the dealer has a 9 or higher showing, and you’ll surrender with a 15 when the dealer has a 10 showing.

In no other case should you surrender.

Splitting

Once you’ve decided not to surrender, you decide whether or not to split. You can only split when you have a pair.

The first thing to know is that you’ll always split aces or 8s.

The next thing to know is that you’ll never split 4s, 5s, or 10s.

That’s half the possible pairs you could have, so you really only need to memorize the rules for the other possible pairs.

First off, you’ll split 2s or 3s as long as the dealer has a 7 or lower showing.

You’ll only split 4s against three possible dealer cards — 4, 5, or 6.

You’ll split 6s if the dealer has a 7 or less showing.

And, you’ll split 7s if the dealer has an 8 or less showing.

Finally, you’ll almost always split 9s — the only exceptions are if the dealer is showing one of these cards — 7, 10, or ace.

If you don’t split, you just treat the hand as you would any other hard total.

Doubling

Your next decision is whether or not to double. When I first learned how to play, I just never doubled, but that’s a big piece of your expected return, so learn when to double.

The main thing to remember about doubling is that it means you’re probably going to win the hand. It wouldn’t make mathematical sense to double the amount of money you have in action if you weren’t likely to win.

Doubling with Hard Totals

With hard hands, you’ll only double on totals of 8, 9, 10, or 11.

You’ll only double on an 8 if the dealer has a 5 or 6 showing. (When the dealer has a 5 or 6, she’s more likely to bust than with any other card showing.)

You’ll open it up and double a little more often with a hard total of 9 — any dealer card of 6 or less means double with a hard 9.

With a hard total of 10, you’ll double against any dealer card other than a 10 or an ace.

With a hard total of 11, you’ll always double.

Doubling with Soft Totals

With soft totals — hands where you have an ace that can count as 1 OR 11, you’ll double down even more often.

If you have a soft total of 13, 14, 15, or 16, you’ll double against a dealer 5 or 6.

With a soft total of 17, you’ll double against any dealer 6 or less.

With a soft 18, you’ll double against a dealer 3, 4, 5, or 6.

Finally, with a soft 19, you’ll double against a dealer 6.

That’s it — those are the rules for doubling.

Hitting or Standing

Once you’ve decided about surrendering, splitting, or doubling, the only other options you have are hitting or standing. Those rules are simple, too.

Hard Hands

You’ll hit any hard total of 11 or less.

You’ll stand with a 12 if the dealer has a 4, 5, or 6. Otherwise, you’ll hit.

With a hard total of 13, 14, 15, or 16, you’ll stand if the dealer has a 6 or lower. Otherwise, you’ll hit.

You’ll stand on any hard total of 17 or higher.

Soft Hands

You’ll hit any soft total of 17 or less.

You’ll hit a soft 18 if the dealer has a 9 or 10 showing. Otherwise, you’ll stand.

You’ll stand on a soft 19 or higher.

Notice that you play soft hands more aggressively. That’s because you can’t bust such a hand.

That’s it — that’s all you need to know about single deck blackjack basic strategy.

If you play in a good game with standard rules, the house edge on a single deck blackjack game using this strategy is close to 0%.

You can find more information about blackjack strategy charts here. Michael Bluejay does a great job of explaining basic strategy for multiple decks here, too.

The Best Single Deck Blackjack Casinos in Las Vegas

I’d originally planned to offer a hierarchical list of the best single deck blackjack casinos in Las Vegas, but after some research, I realized that there wouldn’t be much of a hierarchy.

First, I don’t recommend playing single deck blackjack at a table where they’ve reduced the payout to 6 to 5 from 3 to 2. You’re better off playing a multi-deck game with the 3 to 2 payout.

Second, I only found two casinos in Las Vegas even offering single deck blackjack with a 3 to 2 payout:

1. El Cortez
2. Silverton (updated November 3, 2022 — Silverton still offers single deck games, but they’ve switched to a 6/5 payout, too, which makes El Cortez the best single deck blackjack game in town. Source.)

According to the blackjack survey at Wizard of Vegas, plenty of casinos offer double deck games, but El Cortez and Silverton are the only two casinos offering single deck games. (This was true when I published this post, but since then, Silverton has changed their payouts on single deck blackjack to 6/5.)

The minimum bet at the El Cortez tables is $5, and the maximum bet is $500. The rules are great, and, with perfect basic strategy, the house edge is only 0.18%. Also, the casino managers watch these games closely, so don’t think you’re going to get rich counting cards there. They’re willing to back players off quickly — especially if they’re playing for higher limits. They do have at least six tables of single deck blackjack, though.

At Silverton, the minimum bet is $10, and the maximum bet is $1000. The rules aren’t as good, though, and the house edge is 0.44%. Silverton only has two tables of single deck blackjack. (Update — I don’t know if these betting limits still apply — after all, they got rid of the 3/2 payout tables, so they might have changed their betting limits, too.)

Also, this information is only as current as the information on that survey page I consulted. These kinds of pages are normally created using reports from casino visitors, so this information could change at any time. In fact, if I need to update this page accordingly, email me, and I’ll do so.

What about Online Casinos?

Most online casinos offer single deck blackjack with favorable rules. You can’t usually use bonus money to play at such tables, but online casinos have so little overhead that they don’t mind offering casino games where the house edge is really low. It’s not like they have to worry about how much floor space is costing them or earning them.

I have a caveat about single deck blackjack online, though — you can’t count cards at online casinos regardless of the number of decks. That’s because the random number generator program shuffles the deck after each hand, eliminating any edge you might have gotten.

Even live dealer casinos use multiple decks and continuous shuffling machines.

If you’re looking for the lowest house edge casino game on the internet, the single deck blackjack games at Bovada have a house edge of only 0.19% (according to BlackjackInfo. Bovada claims it’s even lower than that.)

Questions and Answers

Here are some questions and answers about single deck blackjack.

Why Does Blackjack Pay 6 to 5 on a Single Deck?

The reduced payout of 6 to 5 on a single deck blackjack game compensates for the otherwise low house edge. Lowering the payout from 3 to 2 to 6 to 5 adds 1.39% to the casino’s edge.

That’s a huge difference. You should never play ANY blackjack game with a 6 to 5 payout.

When Should You Hit or Stay?

You should hit or stay in single deck blackjack when basic strategy tells you to hit or stay. Generally, you want to stay when you have a hand that’s likely to beat the dealer, OR when you have a hand that’s liable to hold up if the dealer busts.

Any time the dealer has a 6 or less showing for her face-up card, she’s more likely to bust.

Why Are the Odds Better on Single Deck versus Multi Deck Blackjack?

The odds are better on single deck blackjack versus multi deck blackjack because you’re going to see a natural (with its corresponding 3 to 2 payout) more often than you would in a multi deck game. Getting a natural one out of every 20.7 hands as opposed to once out of every 21.1 hands makes a big difference.

You’ll also do better doubling in a single deck game.

Which Casinos in Las Vegas Have Single Deck Blackjack?

The only casinos in Las Vegas that have single deck blackjack with a 3 to 2 payout are El Cortez and Silverton. Other casinos might offer single deck games, but they do so with a 6 to 5 payout.

This sounds like a good deal, but the 1.39% added to the house edge more than compensates for the mathematical perks of playing from a single deck.

How Do You Count Cards in Single Deck Blackjack?

You count cards in single deck blackjack very carefully. (That’s a little humor — very little.) The real secret to counting cards in single deck blackjack is to track how many big cards versus small cards are left in the deck.

Every time a big card — a 10 or ace — is dealt, you subtract 1 from the count. Every time a small card is dealt — a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 — you add 1 to the count.

You raise the size of your bets when the count is positive.

Those are the basics of counting cards.

How Can You Master Single Deck Blackjack?

To master single deck blackjack, you must master basic strategy first. That requires memorization.

Next, you must master counting cards. That requires practice.

It’s really not much more complicated than that to master single deck blackjack.

Conclusion

That’s everything I can imagine anyone would want to know about single deck blackjack.

If I left something out, please let me know, and I’ll update this post accordingly.