The Effects of Number of Decks on House Edge

Blackjack is one of the most famous online casino game out there. The simple gameplay of Blackjack makes it one of the most played games at online casinos. The most commonly used term with respect to Blackjack is the house edge. Let us try and understand what is house edge and how the number of decks of cards that are being used for playing a table game effects it.

effects of number of decks on house edge

What Is House Edge and How the Number of Decks Affects It?

When the players go for online casino games, they should know that the casino always has an edge over them. Especially in the case of Blackjack, players are always at a disadvantage. However, the house edge is lower than 1%. So, what is the house edge? In easy words, it is the percentage of the players’ bet that the house wins against the players. Since the house edge in Blackjack is really low, the players are attracted towards it.

What Exactly Is the Number of Decks in Blackjack

The number of card decks in play directly affects the house edge. In most of the Blackjack games, the number of decks is fixed. This is because the game has been designed around decks used. However, in some games, the players are able to use different decks. The decks used in the game is directly proportional to the house edge. So, the lesser the decks, the lower the house edge and the higher the decks, the higher the house edge.

If we take an example of a Blackjack game where the following rules are followed:

  • Dealer hits soft 17
  • Double on any two cards
  • Double is allowed after split
  • No surrender
  • Split up to 4 hands
  • No hitting on the split aces
  • Cut card is in use
  • When the dealer shows blackjack, original bet of player is lost.

The percentage of the house edge changes as follows according to the number of decks in use:

  • 1 Deck- House Edge 0.07%
  • 2 Deck- House Edge 0.46%
  • 4 Deck- House Edge 0.60%
  • 6 Deck- House Edge 0.64%
  • 8 Deck- House Edge 0.66%

So we can see that the house edge increases only when the decks go up and this is how it affects the chances of you winning in the game. Why does the number of decks affect the house edge? The reason for this is that if the decks are less, there will be lesser cards and hence the chance of player to win will be higher. When the cards are dealt with the players, the second card can turn out to be an ace when the decks are less. However, this is not the case with higher deck numbers.

In Conclusion

To conclude, it can be said that the house always has an edge over the players and there are lesser chances for the players to win than the house. However, no of decks can also affect the chances of a player to score wins. So it would be better to play a single or a double deck game. However, you can not ignore the number of decks since most of the casino games available online have 8 decks. The land-based casino table games can, however, vary in the number of decks.