Blackjack Odds

In any form of gambling it is critical to have a certain grasp of the odds you are offered. A good handling of the odds allows you to make smarter bets and avoid pitfalls deliberately planted by the casinos. It is even more critical when applied to blackjack. Because of the immense number of varieties for this popular game, knowledge of the blackjack odds is essential for success. The first step towards a winning blackjack strategy is making yourself acquainted with the odds you are offered.

Someone who enters a casino for the first time will be astonished by the variety of casino games offered. Even well known games such as roulette and blackjack, have different varieties which might seem tempting at first, but a close look at the odd will usually reveal that the changes to the rules do not benefit the player. Below you will find a short list of different blackjack games and the house edge associated with them respectively.

To present the blackjack odds in a readable manner some assumption were taken beforehand:

• The game is played with perfect strategy using the blackjack strategy card.
• Player can split to up to 4 hands
• Player can double on any 2 cards
• Surrender is not offered

What do the numbers mean? The numbers signify the house edge in percentage points. If you play 100 double deck blackjack hands with the dealer stands on soft 17 rule, you are expected to lose 0.3379% of your investment after those 100 hands. If your investment for these 100 hands was 1000$, you are expected to lose 3.36$. Of course, variance is a factor and 1000 hands is a very small sample size. You might lose a little more or turn a big profit; but in the long run this is the amount you are expected to lose.

Odds for Single Deck Blackjack

- Dealer stands on soft 17 -0.0013%
- Dealer hits on soft 17 0.1896%

Odds for Double Deck Blackjack

- Dealer stands on soft 17 0.3359%
- Dealer hits on soft 17 0.5374%

Odds for Four deck blackjack

- Dealer stands on soft 17 0.4953%
- Dealer hits on soft 17 0.7128%

Odds for Six deck blackjack

- Dealer stands on soft 17 0.5479%
- Dealer hits on soft 17 0.7672%

Odds for Eight deck blackjack

- Dealer stands on soft 17 0.5742%
- Dealer hits on soft 17 0.7945%

Single Deck Blackjack has the best odds

As you can clearly see, single deck blackjack offers the most favorite blackjack odds. If you can find an available one deck blackjack table, stick with it.

I am sure you already know that taking insurance in blackjack is a very bad move. The table below shows the house edge for insurance:

• Single deck 5.882%
• Double deck 6.796%
• Four deck 7.246%
• Six deck 7.395%
• Eight decks 7.470%