The

To say it differently, starting with a 6 is a whole lot better than starting with a 12 when you are facing a dealer’s 2 upcard. Therefore, the correct strategy is to always split a pair of 6s against a dealer 2 upcard (with one exception: if you’re playing a four-, six-, or eight-deck game where you can’t double down after pair splitting. As my blackjack appendix 9 shows, a 2-card soft 18 vs A has an expected value of hitting of -0.100359, and of standing -0.100502. So with two cards it is very slightly better to hit. However, not all soft 18's are composed of two cards. The more the cards in the player's hand the more the odds favor standing.

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Lesson 21: Beating the Double Deck Game (Part 1)

At first glance, it would seem only logical that a smart player will do better at a game that uses fewer decks, but that’s not always the case when you compare double-deck games with six-deck games. A lot of variables come into play, not the least of which are the rules of the games, the minimum bet size required and the amount of scrutiny the games get from casino supervisory personnel. If you do not count cards, it’s very likely that you’ll be better off avoiding the double-deck games out there. I know some of you may be surprised by that comment, but I make it based upon the fact that many casinos have less liberal rules on their double-deck games, yet they require higher minimum bets. As a result, the casino’s overall edge may be similar to that of their six-deck game, but you’ll have to bet more on every hand for the privilege of playing. Because a non-counter cannot get a long-term edge over the casino, you’ll just be betting more on a consistent basis and the casino will eventually get your $$$.

Now don’t get me wrong here; if the rules are the same, a game using two decks will have a lower casino edge than one that uses six-decks, yet the strategies are almost identical. If the minimum bets are the same (or are at least within your comfort level), then go with the 2-decker. That’s a key point, by the way. The proper Basic Strategy for a double-deck game closely resembles that of a four- or six-deck game, much more so than a single-deck game. The few differences between a two-deck and six-deck game with the same rules (dealer hits or stands on soft 17, double after split is allowed, etc.) lie mainly in splitting pairs and, since pairs are the rarest hands you’ll get, the impact is negligible. I might be wrong about this, so check, but I do believe that the only change is to split a pair of 7s against a dealer’s 8 in a double-deck game. In a six-decker, you don’t do that. Not a hand you’re going to see everyday, either way.

My point is that you can move back and forth between DD and 6D games and not worry that you’re playing improperly, but the big question is whether or not you should. We’ve already covered the non-counter situation, so let’s turn our attention to those of you who do count. Even in this situation, the double-deck game isn’t necessarily the hands-down choice and I’ll show you why as we go along.

For whatever reason, many casinos treat their double-deck games as “premium” games, so they have higher minimum bets, may have less liberal rules, less favorable penetration and are usually watched more closely by the “pit critters”, as we lovingly call them here. Some casinos seem to think that counters are showing up in droves at their DD games and carting off chips by the box load, but that’s not necessarily the case. I know of some games that are very easy to beat, but they are few and far in-between. The reality is that beating the double-decker takes extra effort and some sharp play by the counter. But you came here for answers and I have them.

The primary advantage to playing a double-deck game is the volatility of the count. Unlike a 4- or 6-deck game, the running count, which is converted to the True Count (count per remaining deck) in a DD game can rise or fall quickly, but it’s gone almost as fast, due to the shuffle. That’s obviously good when the count is negative, but no fun at all when the count is “up”. Things happen quickly in a DD game and the wise counter takes advantage, but it requires good skills at converting to the True Count and almost needs some ability to anticipate what’s going to happen, while remembering that we never make guesses when counting

The Key: Penetration

Because a DD game uses only 104 cards, versus the 312 of a 6D game, just a few extra cards of penetration can make a big difference in how well you can do at the game. In my Blackjack School lessons, I tell you that you’re wasting your time if you play at a 6-deck game where less than 65% of the cards are dealt before the shuffle. In a DD situation, 65% penetration is very acceptable, 75% is fantastic and 80% or more is phenomenal. What you’ll more likely find is penetration in the 50% range. Yep, they put together two decks and then use only one of them! I hate it when that happens.

But penetration is really important, so it’s something you need to become familiar with. If you play a DD game where the dealer hits A-6, you may double on any first two cards, double after split, etc. and you use a 1-8 betting “spread” (I’ll explain it later on) and the casino deals only 50% of the cards, your long-term edge as determined by simulations that I ran on Statistical Blackjack Analyzer will be about 0.64%. If the penetration deepens to 60%, the player advantage goes up to 0.95% and at 75% penetration it’s 1.47%. That’s not bad, you know.

Let’s recap this so it stays with you:

2 Deck Pitch Blackjack Strategy Tips

A “trick” I stress in my lessons is to leave the table when the True Count drops to -1 or lower, if at all possible. That can be fairly easy to do in 6-deck games and not so easy to do in DD games. Therefore, you have to pretty well accept the fact that you’ll be playing in all counts, which makes the penetration factor even more important.We call this “play all” and the figures above were calculated under those conditions. By the way, you need to remember that simulation software plays Blackjack perfectly and we humans don’t. That’s why I use the term, “theoretical” player edge; that’s about as good as it will ever be, but figure 10% less for purposes of reality.

Getting Started

If you have never played DD games as a counter, you need to do some basic planning first. While they aren’t a world apart from 6D games, here are some differences to consider:

• Many, though not all, DD games are dealt facedown and that requires you to count the cards in a different way.
• Because it will be difficult to leave the table when the count drops, you’ll need to learn more “negative” Basic Strategy variations.
• Many DD games require the dealer to hit soft 17 (I’m going to assume that throughout this series), so there are some Basic Strategy changes needed. You can get them at www.blackjackinfo.com
• With penetration being such a crucial factor, you should first check your local game to see if it’s even worth the trouble. Verify the rules while you’re there.

So, start doing your homework on this and I’ll be back next time with a plan for how to bet in this game.

As always, if you have any questions, e-mail me at [email protected] and Ill get back to you ASAP.

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The GameMaster Online, Inc.

Blackjack is a diverse casino game with multiple variants, rules, and a different number of decks in the shoe depending on where you play. In this guide, we will look at how to play the two deck Blackjack strategy.

As with any Blackjack system, the two deck Blackjack strategy comes with quite a few variables depending on the casino you are playing at. You may also see two deck Blackjack referred to as ‘Double Deck Blackjack’, and needless to say, you play Blackjack on a table with two decks of 52 cards (104 cards) in the shoe.

Every casino scrutinises its Blackjack games, and it is this due diligence that helps the gaming team decide which rules to apply to Blackjack tables that make it to their casino floor or an onlinecasino’s Blackjack section.

As ‘2 Deck Blackjack’ has a lower house edge compared to 4, 6, and 8-deck games, many casinos either avoid this variation, add high minimum bets, and/or apply less liberal rules. The other solution is to not include 2 deck Blackjack tables at all.

You will find out later on in this guide how difficult it is to find double deck Blackjack games, and when you do, you will need to make sure you are ready to take on some of the restrictive rules casinos tend to add to this variant.

Luckily all 2 deck Blackjack tables come with several basic strategy charts to prepare you for the varying rules applied to double deck games.

Below we will walk you through the easy to learn steps you need to take to choose the correct basic strategy chart so you can quickly learn how to play 2 deck Blackjack tables whether you find them at a land-based casino or onlinecasino.

We will cover the following topics in this guide:

• Rules that influence Two deck blackjack strategy
• Using Table Rules To Apply The Correct Basic Strategy Charts
• Two Deck Basic Strategy Charts In Action,
• Where can you play 2 deck Blackjack?
• Play Blackjack at mBitcasino

Rules That Influence Two Deck Blackjack Strategy

Every Blackjack strategy that you apply to your session whether you are playing an 8 deck, 6 deck, 4 deck, or 2 deck Blackjack strategy, you should always be using ‘basic strategy’. This is the key ingrediant to not only playing winning blackjack, but to reducing your losses by playing ‘perfect Blackjack‘.

To figure out which basic strategy charts you should use, you need to understand the different rules applied to Blackjack tables.

Dealer Rules

Nearly all ‘Two Deck Blackjack‘ games use the rule ‘dealer stands on 17’ (H17) referring to hard 17 and not a soft 17. For the benefit of those that do not know, soft 17 is any hand that totals 17 using an Ace as one of the cards. That Ace can count as 1 or 11. For example, A-6, A-4-2, or A-3-3 are all soft 17 hands.

Soft 17 counts as an 11 on Blackjack tables that use the H17 rule, and as such, the dealer is perfectly within his or her rights to hit the 11 total. On the other hand, if the table rules state that the dealer must ‘stand on all 17s’ or ‘dealer stands on soft 17’ (S17), then you are in luck because this rules works in your favour.

In our ‘12 Pro Strategies on how to win at Blackjack’ guide, we mention that when the ‘dealer stands on soft 17’ this increases your house edge by 0.22%. All that being said, you are unlikely to find a 2 deck Blackjack table with this rule. For that matter, very few 4-deck, 6-deck, or 8-deck tables include the S17 rule.

When you are looking at basic strategy charts, the first clue to which chart you should use is the dealer rules:

• Dealer stands of hard 17 = H17
• Dealer stands on soft 17 = S17

Splitting

When it comes to choosing basic strategy charts, you only need to know whether you can double down after splits.

• Doubling Down After Splits Allowed (DAS)
• No Doubling Down After Splits (NDAS)

Doubling Down & Surrender

There are a few other blackjack rules you may need to adjust your basic strategy to. You may find specific basic strategy charts for 2 deck blackjack strategy or your Double Deck Blackjack, H17, NDAS basic strategy chart will include adjustments/alternatives for the below situations.

Make sure that before you play, you understand how these adjustments affect your double-deck game, or any game of blackjack for that matter.

• DOA = Double Down Allowed On Any First Two Cards
• D10 = Double Down Only On 10 or 11 Totals
• RSA = Re-Splitting Aces Allowed
• ESR = Early Surrender
• LSR = Late Surrender

House Edge

This is not so much a rule, but we thoght we’d include this as an interesting fact. The fewer decks in play on a Blackjack table the lower the house edge which is why single-deck Blackjack is so popular.

When you add just 1 addiitonal deck of cards making the game double deck Blackjack, the addition of the extra deck subtracts 0.34% from the house edge.

Here’s how additional decks of cards affect the house edge:

• 2-deck blackjack: subtract 0.34% from the house edge
• 3-deck blackjack: subtract 0.45% from the house edge
• 4-deck blackjack: subtract 0.5% from the house edge
• 5-deck blackjack: subtract 0.53% from the house edge
• 6-deck blackjack: subtract 0.55% from the house edge
• 7-deck blackjack: subtract 0.56% from the house edge
• 8-deck blackjack: subtract 0.57% from the house edge

As 2 deck blackjack has a lower house edge compared to 3+ deck blackjack games, usually the casino will pull back that additional house edge by adding less liberal rules such as no splits on Aces or double down on 10 or 11 only. These rules can then even up the double deck versus 6-deck or 8-deck tables.

Another tactic used is to still allow liberal rules on double deck Blackjack tables, but increase the minimum bet.

Using this theory, the casino is banking on the long run outcome of the house edge working in its favour. With the higher losses from lost bets with a high minimum amount, the table will make as much as its 6-deck and 8-deck games with a lower house edge.

Blackjack Pays 6-5

Some casinos see the threat of the lower house edge of 2 deck Blackjack games as so high that they apply the Blackjack pays 6-5 rule. This rule increaes the house edge more than any other rule – 1.4% to be precise which is a sizeable chunk!

No matter what the variation of Blackjack is, unless there is something special about the rules, just walk away from any Blackjack table with the 6-5 Blackjack pays rule.

The only exception that we can think of is Double Exposure Blackjack but even then, most casinos will use 8 decks for this game to make up for the added advantage of seeing both dealer’s cards, while also restricting other rules such as double downs, DAS, and H17 rules.

Using Table Rules To Apply The Correct Basic Strategy Charts

The only way to play perfectly sound mathematical double-deck Blackjack is to use basic strategy charts. Players that do not play or learn basic strategy potentially hand over around 2% to 3% back to the house. That’s a significant amount when you consider most Blackjack games have a house edge of 99.5%!

In order to choose which basic strategy chart you use, you need to get answers to the following questions:

• Does the dealer stand on soft 17? (H17 or S17)
• Is Doubling down is allowed on any 2 cards?
• Is doubling down after splits permitted?
• Is surrender allowed?

Once you know the answers to these questions, you can apply the correct basic strategy rules to your game.

Examples of Basic Strategy Charts To Choose:

• Double Deck Blackjack, S17, DAS
• Double Deck Blackjack, S17, NDAS
• Double Deck Blackjack, H17, DAS
• Double Deck Blackjack, H17, NDAS

Two Deck Basic Strategy Charts In Action

Just to give you an idea of how a basic strategy chart work, we will give you a couple scenrios. You can then find two deck blackack basic strategy charts here at Wizard of Odds to compare.

Basic Strategy Contingency Rules & Legend

Before you begin, make sure you understand the meaning of each letter and combination of letters on a basic strategy chart. You will also see that there are contingency rules in place for games that include additional rules on top of the S17, H17 DAS/NDAS rules.

• H – Hit
• S- Stand
• D – Double
• Dh – Double if allowed, otherwise Hit
• Ds – Double if allowed, otherwise Stand
• P – Split
• Su – Surrender
• Suh = Surrender if allowed; otherwise hit
• Sus = Surrender if allowed; otherwise stand

Double Deck Blackjack, S17, DAS

2 Deck Pitch Blackjack Strategy For Beginners

In this scenario your hand is an A-7 and the dealer’s upcard is a 9. On the basic strategy card for a table with the above rules it states you should act using the following sequences when your hand is an A-7:

• Double on dealer upcards 3 through to 6
• Stand on dealer upcards 2, 7, or 8
• Hit on dealer upcards 9, 10, or A

The correct move here is to hit.

Double Deck Blackjack, H17, DAS

You switch tables and now the dealer rules are ‘dealer stands on 17’ and doubling down after splits is allowed. Your hand turns out to be 4-4 while the dealer’s upcard is a 5.

There is only one move here accroding to the two deck blackjack H17 DAS basic strategy chart, and that is to split.

Double Deck Blackjack, S17, NDAS

Now in this scenario your hand is a A-2 and the dealer’s upcard is a 6. Now this is where basic strategy charts allow for a contingency plan. On this table, let’s assume the D10 (Double Down Only On 10 or 11 Totals) is in action.3

You refer to the basic strategy chart it says:

• Double Down if allowed, otherwise hit (Dh)

As you cannot double down on a 3 total or any total (DOA), the correct move in this situations is to ‘Hit’.

Where can you play 2 deck Blackjack?

We had a good look around to see where you can find 2 deck Blackjack games in gambling hot sports such as Las Vegas, at online casinos by checking which software providers offer operators 2 deck Blackjack tables, and we also looked at live dealer casinos.

Here is what we found:

Land-Based Casinos

2 Deck Pitch Blackjack Strategy

In places like Las Vegas, there are only a handful of casinos that host 2 deck Blackjack. The lowest minimum bet in Vegas is at Aliante which is $5 while the next in line are the Bally’s and 4 Queens casinos with a $25 minimum bet, and Aria, Caesar’s Palace, and Bellagio offer double deck Blackjack with a $100 minimum bet.

The reason for the higher than normal minimum bet at many of these casinos is that 2 deck Blackjack has a lower house edge versus the more common 6-deck and 8-deck games.

Virtual RNG Operated Online Casino 2 Deck Blackjack Games

As for online casinos, to date, most software providers avoid developing 2 deck Blackjack games. As such, the only notable onlineBlackjack developer to release 2 deck Blackjack tables is Real Time Gaming (RTG). These are all virtual RNG games that are set by default to 2 decks but most operators change this to 4 decks because of the higher house edge.

Live Casino 2 Deck Blackjack Games

2 Deck Pitch Blackjack Strategy Games

It took a lot of research to find out exactly how many decks each live casino platform offers with their live dealer Blackjack games, and there are no live Blackjack tables from any of the top live casino platforms that offer 2 deck Blackjack.

Play Blackjack at mBitcasino

At mBitcasino, you have the choice of multiple ways to play blackjack. For virtual Blackjack tables, check out our virtual blackjack section.

Games from BGaming include 6-Deck Blackjack Surrender (99.404%) RTP), 6-Deck Multihand Blackjack (99.24% RTP), 6-Deck Multihand Blackjack Pro (99.4% RTP), and 8-Deck Double Exposure (99.3% RTP), and 8-Deck Pontoon (99.503% RTP). There is also 1 virtual table game from Amatic which is 6-Deck Blackjack 21. You can also play 5-Deck Blackjack (3-hand) by Habanero!

There is also a selection of live Blackjack tables from eZugi while the largest number live Blackjack games with the largest variation of tables are from our Evolution live casino games. We recommend the immense fun of Party BJ and a whole new way to Blackjack as Evolution removes 64 cards which are all 9s and 10s from its 8-deck Power Blackjack novelty way to play live Blackjack table games!