BLACKJACK DIFFERENCES

I have been trying my hand in many casino games and I have earned a lot through this but black jack has proved the best source for making money. Here I want to tell all the newbie the difference between single and multiple deck blackjack.

As we have seen, the main variations in strategy take place with our doubling and splitting strategies - moves which entail an increased wager on the hand. Let's now see just why the single and multiple deck blackjack games are slightly different.

The greater number of cards used in a multiple deck game makes the removal of any particular card or cards less important for composition change purposes and, as a result, our doubling and splitting strategies are less aggressive.

For example, the removal of three cards (5, 3, 5) creates a favorable imbalance for the player in a single deck game and makes a 53 double vs. the dealer's 5 a profitable play. Not only will these cards be poor draws for the player's double but they're three cards the dealer needs to improve his hand. The effective removal of these three cards gives the player a better chance of drawing a 10on his 8 and, at the same time, increases the dealer's chance of busting. Thus, a single deck game, 53 vs. 8 is a favorable double.

However, the removals of these three cards are barely felt in a four deck game. There are twenty nine other 3s and 5s in a four deck game as compared to only five in a single deck. Thus, not enough of a favorable imbalance has been created in the multiple deck game, and the double down is not a correct play.

This lack of sensitivity to particular card removal accounts for nine strategy changes in the multiple deck game from the preceeding single deck master charts we just presented.

Except for the following nine changes in the doubling and splitting strategies, multiple deck basic strategy is identical to the single deck basic strategy.

ATLANTIC CITY MULTIPLE DECK

The blackjack games offered in Atlantic City differ from the Nevada games in several ways. For one thing, all the Atlantic City games are dealt from a 4, 6 or 8 deck shoe. They do not offer single or double deck games as in Nevada. Doubling allowed after splitting is standard in Atlantic City as opposed to Nevada, where only a few casinos offer this option. Resplitting of pairs is not allowed in Atlantic City. Nevada casinos generally allow the player to resplit pairs as often as they wish.

The Atlantic City game is singular in some other ways as well. To protect against collusion between the player and the dealer, the dealer does not check his hole card for a blackjack (as is standard in Nevada) until all the players have finished playing out their hands. This casino safeguard does not affect the player's chances of winning, for if the dealer does indeed have a blackjack, any additional money the player may have wagered on a doubled or split hand will be returned. Only the original bet is lost.

Another difference is that all player hands are dealt face up in Atlantic City. No casinos allow the player to physically handle the cards. The player must employ hand signals to convey his strategy intentions to the dealer. (Single and double deck games in Nevada are generally face down games where the player can handle his cards, while multiple deck games are played similarly to the Atlantic City face up game.)

The Atlantic City basic strategy is the same as Nevada multiple deck strategy except for more frequent pair splitting due to the player being allowed to double after splits.

EUROPEAN NO HOLE CARD RULES

These strategies are for multiple deck play and take into account that players may only double on totals of 9, 10 and 11, and also will double and split less aggressively when the dealer shows a 10 or Ace due to the no hole card rule.

In no hole card games that allow the player to double after splitting, the player will split more aggressively to take advantage of this favorable option. We'll also show that strategy in a master chart.