Blackjack Strategy Single Deck

Single Deck Blackjack is a variation of blackjack played with one deck of 52 cards. This blackjack variant features a very low house edge, and as such, many online casinos do not offer it.

Even if you find it available at an online casino, you have to make sure that the casino is safe before playing. Gambling at trusted casinos will guarantee the safety of your funds and private information.

Legitimate Casino has compiled a list of the top online casinos to play this classic variation of blackjack.

Single-deck blackjack was, at one point, the standard, as it had the lowest house edge (0.15%). However, over time, more decks were introduced, and soon, multi-deck games became the standard. Regardless of what has become standard in the blackjack world, having a solid strategy for single- or multi-deck games will go a long way. USA Casino Expert is an independent community of gambling industry professionals founded in 2017. The Basic Blackjack Strategy Single Deck main goal of our team is to provide recommendations on the choice of safe, reliable and trusted online casinos, welcome bonuses.

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Playing online Single Deck Blackjack is a great experience that you can enjoy at our recommended casinos. We show you everything about playing this game, from blackjack strategy to the odds of winning!


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What Is Single Deck Blackjack?

Our game in question, as its name implies, is an online blackjack game you play with a single deck of 52 cards.

The objective of this version of blackjack is the same as all classic variations of blackjack; get a hand score of 21 or as close as possible to 21 before the dealer without going bust (going over).

Perhaps the most evident difference between Single Deck Blackjack and the Multi-Deck variation is the number of decks used.

While a Single Deck mainly uses one deck, several Multi-Deck variants offer from 3 to 8 Decks. However, there are other differences, like house edge, strategy, and payout

Top Online Single Deck Blackjack Games

21 Blackjack

There is a game named 21 Blackjack – which is simply classic blackjack. This exciting blackjack variant is powered by Real Time Gaming- one of the best software developers in the industry.

You can find this game at several online casinos but we recommend playing at Las Atlantis!

Super 21

A great game to play original single deck blackjack is Super 21 Blackjack. It pays 3:2 for blackjack and 2:1 when your ace and ten are diamonds. It also supports insurance and surrender.

Although this game is popular at many casinos online, Legitimate Casino encourages that you play Super 21 only at Red Dog Casino.

Single Deck BJ

Single Deck BJ is another classic blackjack game available at Super Slots that features a 3:2 natural blackjack payout. The blackjack variation also allows you to place an insurance bet, and it pays 2:1. Starting from $1, you can make a bet at the Single Deck BJ at Super Slots casino.

As one of our favorite single deck games, we highly recommend that you try it out at Super Slots casino.

Single Deck Blackjack

The game pays 3:2 and there is an option for insurance bet. You can increase or decrease the speed of your card dealing animation while playing the game.

This game and three different tables of Single Deck blackjack can be played on BetOnline.

Single Deck Blackjack

One distinct feature about playing Single Deck Blackjack available at My Bookie is that you’re eligible for a casino bonus of 300% on a deposit of 100$ up to $1,500 during weekdays!

If you’re ready to give this exciting game a try, give it a shot at My Bookie today!

Single Deck Blackjack Basic Strategy

Having a good basic strategy is a way to limit your risks and win when playing blackjack. It’s called a basic strategy because it is simple; it deals with knowing when to hit, stand, split, and double down.

For this reason, it is vital for you to adopt a solid strategy while playing single-deck blackjack because every single card you play has a significant impact on the deck’s remaining cards.

A simple move can as well make or mar your final hand.

This basic strategy will help knock out some little percentages from the house edge. Memorize it and apply it when playing the game.

We made some strategy adjustments for Single Deck gameplay:

  • Stand when your hand is 12-16 when the dealer has 2-6
  • Hit when your hand is 12-16 when the dealer has 7-Ace
  • Always split pairs of Aces and 8s
  • Double 11 versus the dealer’s 2-10
  • Hit or double Aces-6
  • Hit hard totals 5 through 7 against any dealer upcard
  • Double down on 11 against any dealer upcard
  • Split a pair of 7s against dealer upcards 2- 8
  • Double down on soft 13 through soft 16, included, against a dealer with a 4, 5, or 6
  • Double down on soft 17 against dealer face-up cards 2- 6 included
  • Double down on soft 18 against the dealer’s 3 through 6
  • Stand on hard 16 against the dealer’s 2 through 6, hit against the dealer’s 7 through 9, and surrender against the dealer’s ten or ace (if surrender is unavailable, you hit)

The basic blackjack strategy will help you achieve optimal play. Later on in this article, we condensed this strategy into a colorful chart that would make it easier for you to memorize and remember.

However, that is not the only thing you need to know to win while playing this single-deck game.

Below, we listed some exclusive tips that would aid your gameplay and increase your chances of winning.

Single Deck Blackjack Tips

  • Understand the blackjack lingo before playing.
  • Start with a chip and continue playing with chips of the same value for the rest of the session.
  • Insurance betting is best for gamblers who place huge bets.
  • Be accurate and precise with your counting.
  • Memorize and understand the our strategy chart

Single Deck Blackjack Chart

To read the basic blackjack strategy chart below, locate your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer’s card along the top. From the top to bottom of the chart are the hard totals, soft totals, and splittable hands. A represents Ace.

You’ll find 3 different sections in this single deck blackjack chart with a color coded matrix showing the recommended basic strategy to follow when the dealer stands on soft 17.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Single Deck Blackjack

This game of blackjack comes with some unique benefits and drawbacks that distinguish from Multi-Deck Blackjack. We have covered them below.

Advantages

  • The most important perk to playing this classic rendition of blackjack is that it comes with the lowest blackjack house edge of 0.15%. Having such a low house edge, you have greater chances of making more money.
  • With such a low house edge, you have more chances of beating the casino at their own game.
  • Couple this advantage with a good basic blackjack strategy, and you would find yourself winning in no time.

Disadvantages

  • One main disadvantage of our game in question is that online casinos often offer it with stringent and unfavorable rules. All in a bid to increase the house edge to favor the casino.
  • This version of blackjack features a 6:5 blackjack payout in most casinos, unlike the 3:2 payout known with Multi-Deck variations. Even though a 6:5 payout is not very rewarding, you have better chances of winning. This may off-set the lower blackjack payout by having you win more often.

Single Deck Blackjack Odds Of Winning

In each situation, knowing the chances you find yourself at possibly winning while playing blackjack is essential. This information would help you make the right decisions and maximize your bets.

Naturally, when your hand value totals 17, you don’t want to hit or get another card. However, here are hand values and chances of bursting if you take another card.


Hand ValuesOdds Of Going Bust
2092%
1985%
1877%
1769%
1662%
1558%
1456%
1339%
1231%

Single Deck Blackjack House Edge

Deck

Of all blackjack variations, Single Deck Blackjack has the lowest house edge of 0.15%. The main reason why this blackjack variant’s house edge is low is because of its single deck.

To ensure that they have some advantage, casinos often feature several rules to go along with their blackjack gameplay.
These primary rules include dealer hits soft 17, no surrender allowed, and a 6:5 blackjack payout.

All these rules further increase the house edge for Single Deck.

Real Money Single Deck Blackjack Payouts

A Single Deck Blackjack game pays 3 to 2 or either 6:5 for blackjack at most casinos. Insurance bets pay 2 to 1, while other winning hands pay 1 to 1.

Single Deck Blackjack RTP

Our game in question features a 99.75% RTP. The factors that contributed to its low house edge also gave it a high RTP.

Apart from being played with only one deck, you would also be able to use your card-counting skill. These factors make this variant of blackjack a great game to play for real money.

Single Deck Blackjack Rules

Basic Rules

This version of blackjack shares similar rules with traditional blackjack which include;

  1. Uses only one deck of 52 decks
  2. Decks are shuffled at the beginning of every hand
  3. Face cards are worth 10. Aces 1 or 11
  4. If you are dealt an Ace & 10, you will get a natural Blackjack
  5. The player can either hit, stand, split or double down
  6. Aces can be split, and the player receives only one card per Ace
  7. Aces cannot be re-split

House Rule Variations

Casinos often alter some Single Deck Blackjack rules to make the house edge more favorable to them. The rules may vary from one casino to another. They include:

  1. Blackjack pays 6:5, while some pay 3:2
  2. The player may double down on only 9, 10, and 11
  3. No late surrender (surrender is not an option at some online casino’s)
  4. The dealer hits on soft 17s
  5. The player may not double down after splitting pairs.
  6. The player may only split once.

Single Deck Blackjack Frequently Asked Questions

Is it better to play single deck blackjack?

Yes, Single Deck Blackjack is excellent for you because of its low house edge, and you would also be able to count cards easily.

What is a Single Deck Blackjack basic strategy based on?

A Single Deck Blackjack basic strategy bases itself on knowing when to hit, stand, split, and double down.

Why do some strategy charts differ from others?

Strategy charts do vary from another due to the deviations in the specific rules of the game and the region. For instance, although based on the same basic blackjack strategy, single deck charts sometimes have different variables from multi-deck charts.

Blackjack is a card game, in which the player aims to beat the dealer’s hand without going over 21. Technically, any amount of card decks can be used in a game of blackjack. Casino blackjack games are played most often with six to eight decks.

However, you can find tables using anywhere from one to eight decks. In this guide, we will teach you the best blackjack single deck strategies.

Multi Deck vs Single Deck Blackjack

First, let’s look at the difference between single and multiple deck blackjack games. When playing with a single deck, a player will hit blackjack approximately once every 20.72 hands. With a two-deck game, the rate increases to once every 20.93 hands.

For four decks, it is once every 21.02 hands, and six-decks correlates with once every 21.07 hands. The payout will change as well, depending on whether you use a single deck or multiple decks. For instance, many casinos offer 6:5 payouts for single-deck games, but 3:2 payouts for multi-deck games.

Let’s give this a practical application. Let’s say that you have $10 that you’d like to wager. If you play a 3:2 multiple deck blackjack game and won the round, you would win $15. However, if you instead chose to wager $10 on a 6:5 single-deck blackjack game, you would only win $12.

Essentially, you are losing out on $3 each time you hit blackjack. Plus, if you place a wager that isn’t divisible by $5 then your returns will be even worse.

Utilizing a 3:2 payout, here is the house edge for different numbers of decks:

On the other hand, this is the house edge for a 6:5 payout:

Does this mean that you should avoid playing single-deck blackjack altogether? Definitely not! There are some casinos that have done away with the 3:2 payout model and only employ 6:5.

If this is the case, you should try to play a single game since it will have the lowest house edge. So, let’s take a look at blackjack strategies for single-deck games.

The Basic Strategy for Blackjack Single Deck Games

Let’s start off with the blackjack basic strategy for single-deck games. We have two single deck blackjack strategy charts for you: one is for when the dealer hits on soft 17, and the other is when he stands. To use the chart, you will look at your hand on the left vertical edge and at the dealer’s card along the top. Find the intersection point of the column and the row.

If the square says H, you should hit. If the square says S, you should stand. For D, you should double if allowed – and if not, then hit. Similarly, double if allowed if your square says Ds.

If not allowed, then stand.

Blackjack Basic Strategy Single Deck

If the square says P, you should split. If you are allowed to double after splitting, then you should split for H/P, D/P, and S/P. If not, then you should hit, double, and stand, respectively.

If the square says H/R, then surrender (or if not allowed, hit). Similarly, for S/R, surrender if you are allowed, or otherwise stand.

Now that we’ve taken a look at the single deck blackjack basic strategy, let’s go through some other methods you can use to improve your chances of winning.

Card Counting

Another useful single deck blackjack strategy is card counting. You can count cards no matter how many decks the dealer uses, but there are some differences in a single deck vs. a multiple deck game. In a multiple deck game, players starting hands will be dealt face up. In a single deck game, however, players will receive their two first cards face-down.

If you are accustomed to card counting during multi-deck games, this change may be a little difficult to get used to. However, the main principle of card counting remains the same. You will establish a running count and then add or take away the value of each visible dealt card.

There are two schools of thought regarding the true count in a single-deck game. In multi-deck games, a player would establish the true count by dividing the running count by the total number of remaining decks. So, some players do not establish a true count during a single-deck game. This certainly makes the card-counting process simpler but not necessarily more accurate.

Blackjack Strategy Single Deck

Some people decide to alter the true count calculation method to improve their odds in a single count game. Rather than dividing by 1, some people count the number of hands and multiply that figure by 2.7. Then, they subtract the result from 52.

That number is what you divide into the running count in order to establish the true count. However, this requires very quick thinking and strong mental math skills since you are multiplying and dividing decimals.

Yet other players estimate how much of the single deck is left and divide that number into the true count. For instance, if the running count is 2 and there is ½ of the deck left, then you would multiply 2*1/2 to get 4. This method is more accurate than ignoring the running count altogether, but also much simpler than multiplying hands by 2.7.

So, decide whether you want to establish a true count, and what method you will use to do so.

Here are some various card counting strategies you can use while playing a single-deck game of blackjack:

Hi-Opt 1

While the Hi/Lo card counting method works great for multi-deck games, Hi-Opt 1 is better for single-deck games. It has a betting correlation of .88 and is a level I strategy, meaning that it is quite simple. In this strategy, you would count cards 3-6 as +1, 2,7,8,9, and Ace as 0, and 10 as -1. It may also be beneficial to run a side count of aces.

If a quarter of the deck has been played, but no aces have yet been dealt, then you know that the rest of the deck is “rich” one ace. So, for betting purposes, you can temporarily add +1 to the running count. Conversely, if 2 aces have come out of the quarter-deck, you can adjust the running count by -1.

Hi-Opt I has a betting correlation of

Hi-Opt II

As the name suggests, Hi-Opt II is a little more complex than Hi-Opt I, but it has slightly more accurate results with a .91 betting correlation. It was developed for single decks but can also be used in a multi-deck game. Many experts believe that Hi-Opt II will not work properly unless you keep a side count of Aces, so be sure to do that.

Blackjack Basic Strategy Single Deck

With Hi-Opt II, 2,3,6, and 6 have a value of +1. 4 and 5 have a value of +2, while 8, 9, and Ace have a value of 0. 10 has a value of -2. You have more values to keep track of, which is what makes it more complex than Hi-Opt I.

What to Bet

Single Deck Blackjack Trainer

So now that you have established a running count, and possibly a true count, what should you bet? Well, one method you could follow is the MIT betting strategy: Amount to Bet = (True Count – 1) * Betting Unit.

Let’s say you are playing at a table with a $5 minimum and a $25 betting unit. Here is a guide to what you would bet, depending on your true count:

0 or less: bet $5

+1: bet $5

+2: bet $25

+3: bet $50

Now, what if you don’t have that kind of bankroll to support those bets? Well, according to the Kelly Criterion, a player should take a look at their advantage and then bet the same percentage of their bankroll. Let’s say that a player has a bankroll of $1,000.

If the true count shows that the player has a 1% advantage, for instance, then the player should bet 1% of $1000, or $10. If their bankroll was only $300, then the bet should be $3. This method should maximize the player’s profits while simultaneously minimizing their risk.

Another blackjack betting system is the Martingale strategy. With this, you don’t take your running count into consideration when placing your bets. Rather, you double your previous wager for every losing bet that you make. Then, when you have a win, you go back down to the minimum wager.

The mathematics of the system show that you would have an overall profit of your starting stake. For instance, if your first bet is $5, then you would net a total profit of $5. This would be a good betting system to use if you don’t want to bother with card counting. Martingale’s downside is that it typically requires a large bankroll because you have to outlast potential losing streaks.

Additional Tips for Single Deck Blackjack

These tips will help you become proficient at playing single-deck blackjack, but you can also apply them to multi-deck games.

  • Start with Small Stakes: When you are still learning how to count cards, it is best to keep the stakes low. Look for $5 minimum tables, or even lower if such tables are available. Use this opportunity to master your skills before moving on to tables with higher stakes.
  • Stay Aware of Your Bankroll: This is especially important if you are going to use Martingale or another progressive betting strategy. Running out of money mid-losing streak would be very unfortunate.
  • Be Subtle About Card-Counting: Casinos reserve the right to refuse to let you play a game, or to kick you out of the venue altogether. They might do so if they suspect you of counting cards, so don’t be blatant about your techniques. Furthermore, don’t forget to take breaks! If you sit down and play for hours upon hours, this will garner some suspicion.
  • Practice Mental Math: Practicing counting cards at home can be simple enough. However, at a casino, things can get a little hectic. You need to be sure that you can count cards efficiently and ignore distractions.

Now that you’ve added some strategies and tips to your arsenal, go ahead and give single-deck blackjack a try! At Bob Casino, you can play for fun or for real money. Why not both? Practice your skills for fun, and then, once you have mastered your counting strategies, play for money. Join Bob Casino to have a great time playing single-deck blackjack!

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