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6 to 5 Single-Deck Blackjack

A lot of readers have evidently heard of the "explosion" in the availability of single-deck (SD) games in Las Vegas and other casino centers, so they're asking me if they should learn how to play that or 6-deck games. What most don't realize is that these new SD games are, for the most part, a bad deal for any player because a 'blackjack' (or natural, as I call it) does not pay the normal 3 to 2 bonus that other versions of the game offer; instead, they pay only 6 to 5 versus the normal 7.5 to 5 you'd expect. As a consequence, the casino's edge is more like 1.5%, rather than the 0.50% of a decent 6-deck game, which makes these SD games very tough to beat.

I always try to give my best advice to our readers and in this case my advice is to avoid the game like the plague. However, as one reader said, he played the game quite a bit, not realizing he was being shorted in the natural bonus but had fun and made some $$$ anyway. His question was more like: "I'm going to play it regardless. Any advice now?"

Well, when you put it that way, there are some things you can do to cut down the casino's edge and they're not all that difficult to learn. First of all, there's no way you can cut the casino's edge without learning how to count the cards. But the nice thing about counting cards at SD games is that it's a fairly simple process. Let me explain. To be sure, you still have to learn the "point" values of all the cards - 2 through 6 are plus 1; 7, 8 and 9 are 0; Aces and faces are minus 1 - you can't get around that. But most people find the True Count conversion, which is needed for multi-deck games, to be the toughest part of learning to count. That's not so important in a single-deck game, as I'll show you. We use a True Count (TC) calculation in order to "standardize" the running count. Obviously, if the running count is +6 after the first hand is completed in a 6-deck game, it doesn't have as much significance as a running count of +6 with only two decks remaining (which means 4 of the 6 decks have been used thus far.)In order to standardize that count, we convert it to a "count per remaining deck", which we call the True Count. If the running count is +6 with nearly all 6 decks remaining to be played, the True Count is not quite 1. But if the running count is +6 and there are only 2 decks remaining to be played, the TC is now 6 divided by 2 = 3. The TC allows us to measure our edge - or lack thereof - over the casino. For example, each increase of 1 in the TC increases the counter's edge by 0.50%, so in a 6-deck game with typical rules, a TC of 1 will put us about even with the "house."

However, if the casino's rules give then an edge of 1.5%, as happens in most 6 to 5 single-deck games, you can quickly see that it'll take a TC of 3 to get to the break-even point. And therein lies the rub with this game - until the TC goes over 3, we're at a disadvantage. That's the bad news. The good news is that single-deck games are noted for the volatility (rapid up and down movement) of their counts. So, if you can see enough True Counts of 3 or more, it's possible to make bets when you have an edge. The key here is "if." How often the TC will get to 3 or more is a function of penetration, which I'll discuss shortly but let's finish up True Count conversion first.

If we're playing a single-deck game, there will never be more than one deck remaining, so the TC will always equal or exceed the running count. For example, if you're playing one-on-one with the dealer, the minute you see your two cards and the dealer's up card, there's less than one deck remaining to be played (49 cards, in fact.) So, if you have 6,5 as your cards and the dealer's showing a 7, the running count is +2 (1 plus 1 plus 0 = 2), so the count per remaining deck is just over 2. It's not the 3 we need to get even with the casino, but it's very close. Of course, this count won't help us in the betting for this hand - counts only help us with betting on the next hand - although the count can help us play our hand more accurately. My point here is that you can make smart bets at a SD game even if you don't do a TC conversion that's accurate to the third decimal point. But remember that minus counts are adding to the casino's edge, also by about 0.50% for each "decrease" in the TC. For example, if your first 2 cards are Q,J and the dealer is showing an Ace, the running count is -3, so the True Count is a bit over 3. Add that to the casino's edge of 1.5% and they'll have an edge over you of roughly 3% on the next hand, assuming the running count doesn't change in the play of the current hand (like if the dealer has a zero-value card like 7,8 or 9 in the "hole.") Naturally, the dealer may well have different cards, but you'll count them as they become visible and either way you'll have a running count for the next hand. This running count can also be the True Count, which will be in your favor or not.

The beauty of counting is that we can bet small when the casino has the edge and bet big when we have the edge. So, if the TC is 3 or lower, bet the minimum and if it's more than 3, shove out as many $$$ as you can. Actually, I'll present a reasonable betting schedule in the simulations that we'll discuss here, but for now let's talk a little about penetration. We use that term to describe how deeply into the deck the dealer goes before shuffling and it's always: the deeper, the better. While deep penetration is important in any Blackjack game, it has its biggest effect in a single-deck game like we're talking about here. Even with terrible rules, a SD game can become profitable if the penetration is good and you're able to take advantage of it with a wide bet spread. Under normal conditions, a 1-4 or 1-5 bet spread is more than enough to make some $$$ at a single-deck game. For example, if you're playing a $5 minimum bet table, a top bet of $20 or $25 will make up for all of the minimum bets you're forced to make when the house has the edge. Unfortunately, the 6 to 5 Blackjack game we're talking about here needs a bigger spread to be profitable and whether or not you can get away with it depends upon where you're playing. Some casinos know the 6 to 5 SD game carries a huge house advantage, so the supervisors - our beloved "pit critters" - will tolerate a big bet spread, but others won't.

Just how much you should bet and when is relatively easy to calculate, especially in a computer simulation, which is what I did. To overcome a house edge that's at least three times the normal requires both deep penetration and a wide bet spread and even then, your edge is, at best, still a bit less than the 1% that I consider to be the minimum for any serious play. But in reality, if serious play is your goal, this isn't the game you should be sitting at. On the other hand, if you want to get some experience at counting and at SD play, plus have some fun (believe me, playing SD Blackjack is fun), then spending a few hours at one of these games isn't the worst thing that can happen to you.

I tried to keep the game plan for this fairly simple and, while it may not be the easiest thing you ever did, it's not quantum physics, either. First of all, you have to learn the proper Basic Strategy for a SD game where the dealer hits soft 17 (which seems to be the case at most of them), along with doubling on any first two cards, plus double after splitting pairs. As always, my recommendation is to hop over to www.blackjackinfo.com and use the facilities there to generate a Basic Strategy matrix. And yes, before you ask, the correct play with 7,7 vs. a dealer's 10 is to stand! Weird, but right. If you have the Basic Strategy for a multi-deck game with the same rules (H17, Da2, DAS) down pat, it's a snap to learn the differences. If you already know how to count, that's great, but do you know how to count in a game where the cards are dealt face down? If not, see Lesson 6 at my other site, www.blackjack-school.com/ If you're new to counting, just start at Lesson 3 over there and you'll see how really easy it all is; honest! And remember, you don't have to do a True Count conversion because the TC will always be bigger than the running count. Okay, that'll get you started.

What I want to cover now is the bet schedule, which is also pretty simple. When the running count is 3 or lower, bet one unit, which is the table minimum, I presume. Honestly, you shouldn't play this game unless you can bet $5 or lower, or if you're a multi-millionaire; in which case, why are you playing 6 to 5 Blackjack in the first place? So, bet 1 unit at a running count 3 or lower, bet 4 units at a running count of 4 and bet 6 units at a running count of 5 or more. Yes, sometimes you'll be jumping your bet from 1 to 4 units, but that seems to play in most SD games anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem. Where you might run into a problem is the 6-unit "top" bet. If the count suddenly jumps from negative to highly positive, you will likely draw some attention if you go from 1 to 6. Again, it all depends upon the place and their attitude toward this game - but let's be honest here; if they have the dealer hitting soft 17 in a game like this, somebody's showing their greedy side and it's not the counters. Nonetheless, if you cannot put out the 6-unit bet, you cannot get an edge at this game. At least jump to 4 units if the count soars, then go to 6 if the count remains high when your play is being observed by any of the pit critters. As for how much to bring to the table, I'd want at least 15 top bets, which is about $500 for a $5-$30 bet spread, if I were planning to play two or three hours. Let me caution you right now: You really shouldn't be playing this game in the first place, so if you do, just keep it at the "recreational" level - save your big $$$ for a better game.

Still with me? Okay, now let me show you the effect that penetration has on your results at this game. It seems that most of these games on the Vegas Strip offer 50% penetration (26 cards are used before the shuffle), but that simply isn't good enough. Nope, you've got to find a game where at least 32 cards are used and, for all I know, there may not be any games out there like that. So it's going to take some searching, although I'll show you some nifty tricks to make them easier to find. But if you do find a game where 32 cards are used AND you bet as I suggest, you'll at least be even with the house in the long run. Remember, break-even isn't a bad thing for recreational play, although you're not likely to get many comps from a $5-$30 bet spread, which produces an average bet of about $9. If you can find a game that uses 38 cards before the shuffle (75% penetration), then you can get about a 0.50% long term edge. Better than break-even, but certainly not a game for serious $$$.

There are two interesting "tricks of the trade" that work with single-deck games you might be able to use. The first is to understand the "rule of 7", which is what some casinos use to tell their dealers when to shuffle. In all candor, the rule of 7 is rare to find in "regular" SD games, but I know for a fact that some places have dealt very deep in the 6 to 5 SD games before, but I don't know if they still do it, so I won't name names. The rule of 7 prescribes that a table of 6 players gets 1 round before a shuffle (6 plus 1 equals 7), a table of 5 players gets 2 rounds (5 plus 2 equals 7) and a table of 4 players gets 3 rounds before the shuffle (4 plus 3 equals 7). The next situation in that scenario is where 3 players get 4 rounds. It's still a 7, but it works out that you get higher counts here because you're not sharing the high cards with as many people. If you're lucky enough to find a place that will deal 5 rounds to 2 players or 6 rounds to 1 player, it is, as they say, "money." Not big money because of the lousy rules, but about as good as it gets.

Another way of getting good counts in SD games is the "You up your bet, I shuffle" routine that seems to happen - at least to me - mostly in Reno. The idea here is that some casinos tell their dealers to shuffle if a player increases his or her bet for the next hand by more than double. Of course, as soon as the count drops, triple your bet and the dealer will shuffle away the bad count. Unfortunately, the house edge of the 6 to 5 SD game is way too big to be betting anything above the minimum on the first hand of a newly-shuffled deck, so this trick won't do a whole lot for you, but it's really fun to use in a regular SD game.

Let's wrap it up. First, please, please, please take my advice and don't play 6 to 5 SD Blackjack. But if you're going to play regardless, try it my way.

I'll see you here next time.

 

2007 Articles