If you’ve never played Blackjack at the casino you might be very intimidated. From the fever-pitch atmosphere that shifts between tension and jubilation, to the lingo… You could get a buzz for the first few visits before getting used to playing casino Blackjack – and having great fun while you’re at it.
You don’t have to count the cards to know how many decks of cards for blackjack are used in the game. The standard deck of cards has 52 cards in total – but you won’t be handling all of them at one go! Don’t be surprised to find a “full Table” in a Blackjack casino game with all of 7 players! In addition to the Dealer, there could be anything from a minimum of 1 Player to a maximum of 7 Players.
Of course, the game starts with the Dealer shuffling the deck and granting the player the chance at cutting the deck, before dealing the first hand of 1 card to the Player and 1 card to the Dealer. This is quickly followed by the second and final round of the same.
When How Many Decks of Cards for Blackjack May Vary
Casino Blackjack is not your regular house party Blackjack. It’s BIG business, and every house wants the odds that have House advantage over Player advantage.
- Different Casinos have different Blackjack Rules
A single deck of cards is the standard when playing Blackjack, but that quickly changed for casinos in Las Vegas and beyond by the 1960s. Now 1 Deck of Cards is still the basic but casino Blackjack games have multiple decks of cards, which could be anything from 2 Decks to 6 Decks, and even 8 Decks of cards.
- Not all Blackjack Casino games use the same Number of Cards
Thanks to the veteran genius Blackjack players who formulated various basic and advanced Blackjack strategies, the Game of Twenty-One is not just a game of chance. Different techniques apply to different versions of Blackjack games, such as:
- Card Counting
- Shuffle Tracking
- Doubling Down
- Splitting
- Edward O. Thorp Strategies
Remember, player advantage is what increases your chances of winning the bet in Game 21. For instance, the House advantage increases with multi-deck Blackjack games while Player Advantage decreases with more decks of cards in a game. So if you don’t know how many decks of cards for blackjack games you play, you could be on a losing streak.
Playing Casino Blackjack? Feel Free to Suit Yourself!
The standard 52-Pack deck of cards has been around since the 1600s and was previously known as the “French-Pack” or “52-Card French-Deck”. It packs a pretty punch and features 4 Suits:
Nine (x9) “Face-Value Cards” :
- Hearts (red)
- Diamonds (red)
- Clubs (black)
- Spades (black)
Three (x3) “Face Cards”
- J card (Jack) – in each of the 4 suits of red and black, i.e. J-card Hearts, J-card Diamonds, J-card Clubs, J-card Spades.
- Q card (Queen) – in each of the 4 suits of red and black, i.e. Q-card Hearts, Q-card Diamonds, Q-card Clubs, Q-card Spades.
- K card (Queen) – in each of the 4 suits of red and black, i.e. K-card Hearts, K-card Diamonds, K-card Clubs, K-card Spades.
Four (x4) “Ace Cards”
- A-card Hearts (red) – Ace of Hearts
- A-card Diamonds (red) – Ace of Diamonds
- A-card Clubs (black) – Ace of Clubs
- A-card Spades (black) – Ace of Spades
Total Cards per Deck in Blackjack = 52-Deck Cards
(4 x 9 Face-Value Cards) + (4 x 3 Face Cards) + (4 Ace Cards) = 52 Cards in Blackjack
How many decks of cards for Blackjack are in your favor?
Blackjack experts evaluate the probability of House Advantage as
- For single-deck (1 Deck) Blackjack games – 0.18% in favor of the House
- For multi-deck (6 Deck) Blackjack games – 0.40% in favor of the House
Rookie or not, it shouldn’t be hard to know how many decks of cards are in your favor.