You might enjoy the game of Blackjack with one or two decks with your few friends at home. But step into any casino, you will find at least five to eight decks of cards used in Blackjack game! Excluding jokers, each of these decks come with a standard 52 cards. Online Blackjack games are quite similar to their brick-and-mortar counterparts. As such, most make use of multiple card decks, though some use single card decks. However, the fact that an online Blackjack game in an online casino is using a single card deck does not mean that the advantage goes to the player.
I had no idea that live blackjack online tables feature a “shoe” and not an automatic shuffle machine! I noticed it today when I checked my balance of my (almost forgotten) account at an online bookmaker that advertised their live casino games in their home page. I thought that maybe skillful gamblers can make money by card counting at these games, so I joined and tried my “luck”. The short answer is that card counters may be able to make money in the long run playing live blackjack online, but due to the slow speed of the games and the very bad penetration, they should better look for better investments elsewhere.
At first it was a pleasant surprise to find out that I could once again practice my card counting skills! It has been 10 years since the last time I visited a real casino and counted cards (read some stories about my blackjack career). Fortunately I still remembered the basic strategy and the Hi-Lo counting system, although I seem to have forgotten all the variations according to the true count. Anyway, long story short, I decided to sit down at one of those live blackjack tables, while I would be searching online for other card counters’ opinions related to these games.
It turns out that most of them complain about the speed of the games. True, just 20 hands had been dealt during the hour I spent playing live blackjack online. What is even worse is the fact that the 7-seat tables are usually full, even the ones of high stakes (50 euros minimum!). That really slows the game down.
Another discouraging fact is that players are only allowed to bet on their own hand or spot. At real casinos card counters usually bet the minimum on their hand when the odds are against them and place more bets (bigger as well) on other people’s hands when they have an edge versus the casino. In order to make money at blackjack, we need to increase our betting substantially when the “true count” number is more than two. At live blackjack online tables I wasn’t able to place bets to hands dealt next to me, or open another spot (or “box”).
To get you an idea, I would very much like to bet 5 euros per round when the casino’s edge is 0.5% against me (costing me about 2.5 cents per hand) and bet 50 euros at 3 different spots (for a total of 150 euros) when my edge is 0.5% against the casino (winning 75 cents per round). If the true count reached over 4 (more than 1% edge versus the casino), I would be willing to risk 300 euros on a single round for a nice 3-5 euros net profit in the long run!
True count is the number card counters calculate when they divide the “running count” by the number of the remaining decks. For example, if the running count is +8 and there are 4 decks still in the shoe, the true count is +2. Card counters use that number to decide how much money they would bet and whether they need to change the basic strategy. Hitting or standing on 16 against the dealer’s Ten is one of the changes that comes to mind.
Therefore, one of the most important parts of the game is knowing how many decks there are on the blackjack table. I estimated that it must have been 6 decks of cards at the table I was playing at. What’s even more important though is where the dealer places the cut card, which will signal the end of dealing the “shoe”. If they place the cut card towards the bottom of the shoe allowing 5 decks of cards to be dealt, the penetration is 16.6% (1/6) and is considered a favorable situation for the players. Depending on the penetration, the players’ edge vary accordingly.
Penetration is important because if the running count is, say 12 and the cut card is about to be dealt before the last remaining deck, we know that there are a lot of high-value cards (tens, kings, aces, etc.) in the remaining 52 cards. On the other hand, if the cut card is placed at the last 2 remaining decks, the high-value cards are scattered over 104 cards. For all we know, they can all be found at the last deck!
It turns out that when I compared casinos, most online casinos set the penetration of their live blackjack games at 50%! That means 3 decks of cards won’t be dealt out of 6! If the decks were 8, four decks wouldn’t be dealt! That is a very big disadvantage and combined with the slow speed of the games, it made me stand up and leave the table. Not before though I was dealt three 7’s!
The odds of that happening is 0.04%! Once upon a time when I was playing blackjack at brick and mortar casinos, I was dealt that very same hand twice the same night! The casino was offering a bottle of wine to any player hitting three 7’s, so I and my friend certainly didn’t leave the blackjack room empty-handed!
Enjoying these posts? Subscribe for more
Already have an account? Sign in
The casino’s battle to keep card counters from beating them is well known. They routinely use various measures to identify advantage players (APs) and kick them out.
Of course, they’re not always successful in this endeavor. But they do catch a lot of card counters and ban them.
If you’re interested in counting cards, you can benefit by knowing what techniques casinos use to identify and/or stop APs. Here are 7 methods that casino is used to root out counters.
1 – Lower Natural Blackjack Payouts
The general public has a common misconception that casinos spend massive amounts of time looking for and chasing APs. The movie 21 has a lot to do with this idea.
Pit bosses do spend some time looking for counters. But for the most part, casinos let the rules work for them.
The worst of the bunch involves lowering the natural blackjack payout from 3:2 to 6:5. This single change increases the house edge by 1.39%.
Everybody from APs to amateurs have to deal with 6:5 payouts in many casinos. But card counters are largely to blame here.
Gambling establishments use 6:5 payouts to lower potential profits for APs. But they also benefit by making more money off unsuspecting novices too.
2 – Add More Decks
Just like with 3:2 natural payouts, real money blackjack tables previously featured single-deck games. A single deck lowers the house edge by 0.5% when compared to the common eight-deck shoes of today.
Aside from increasing the house edge, more decks also make it tougher to have confidence in your count. Here’s an example to explain:
- A table features a six-deck shoe.
- You start counting and have a +4 count after one deck.
- Normally, a +4 count would be really good.
- But with five decks remaining, your +4 count isn’t as strong.
Some casinos dangle single-deck blackjack to draw players. This move works because many gamblers understand that a single deck is more favorable than multiple decks.
However, casinos also include 6:5 natural payouts. The 1.39% house edge increase from 6:5 payoffs definitely overshadows the 0.59% decrease from a single deck.
3 – Allow Less Deck Penetration
Deck penetration refers to how much of the shoe a dealer goes through before shuffling. If they deal four out of eight possible decks, then they’re allowing 50% penetration.
This concept is extremely important to card counters when it comes to the common multi-deck games of today. You stand a better chance of winning money when you get further into the shoe.
Again, you can have more confidence in your counts after seeing more cards. Fewer remaining cards make it more likely that positive counts will result in profits.
For example, a +2 count can lead to profits. However it provides a thin edge that won’t necessarily result in winnings at 50% deck penetration or less.
You want fewer cards left, so that a positive count indicates a larger percentage of 10s and aces remaining in the shoe. 75% deck penetration, or better, is ideal for making this happen.
How Many Decks Do Online Casinos Use In Blackjack No Deposit
Some casinos do allow this amount of penetration so that they can keep games moving faster. As a result, they rake in more profits from amateurs.
Other casinos, however, are too leery of card counters to allow 75% of the shoe to be dealt. You definitely want to avoid these establishments.
4 – No Mid-Shoe Entry Rule
As covered above, deck penetration is really important with regard to successful card counting. You want to see as many cards/hands as possible to gain more faith in your count.
If this is the case, though, why not just count off to the side and jump into the game later with a favorable count? Actually, many counters from the past used this exact strategy.
Most blackjack tables feature a sign that states “no mid-shoe entry.” You can’t enter these games until a new shoe starts.
The no mid-shoe entry rule is specifically designed to prevent wonging. If casinos didn’t institute this rule, they’d get crushed by APs.
5 – Chat with Players
Pit bosses have a lot of responsibilities around the gambling floor. Therefore, they don’t just sit around watching for card counters all day.
However, when a pit boss does catch wind of a potential card counter, they need to monitor their play. Sometimes, just the pit boss standing and watching the player is enough to back them off.
Other times, though, the pit boss takes a more-direct approach that involves chatting with the player. They may start out with a harmless conversation about the game or another matter.
But their end goal is to get the player to stop counting or even kick them out, depending upon the casino’s policy. These chats let the AP know that they’ve potentially been spotted and need to stop counting.
6 – Limit Bet Sizes
Sometimes, the talks described above result in the pit boss taking action. One of their favorite methods for dealing with counters involves limiting their bet size.
The pit boss has two different options in this case:
- Cap how much the player can bet (e.g. no more than $50).
- Force the AP to flat bet (e.g. $10 every hand).
The first route ensures that APs can’t take advantage of positive counts. After all, one needs to raise their bets at some point to capitalize on positive counts.
The second route accomplishes the same goal—only in a more-extreme manner. It doesn’t matter how skilled a card counter is if they can only bet $10 on every hand.
Pit bosses can limit bet sizes when they’re unsure if a particular player is actually counting. Assuming the gambler isn’t counting, they may continue playing even if they’re only allowed to flat bet.
7 – Ban Players & ID Them
The most-extreme method for dealing with card counters involves banning them from the casino. A ban may extend to all of the corporation’s properties.
If you get caught counting at MGM Grand, for example, then you’ll be banned from every single MGM casino throughout the world.
Many gambling establishments try to get your ID after catching you counting. They use this information to ensure that they can better identify you, in case you ever try stepping foot in their casino(s) again.
In the worst-case scenario, they’ll enter you into an international database of known advantage players. Such a database allows many casinos to check for your info if they suspect that you’re a card counter.
You may think that you must hand over an ID upon request. After all, casinos need to ensure that they only allow players who meet the legal gambling age.
The truth of the matter, though, is that no casino employee can legally force you to provide identification. Only a law-enforcement officer can do so.
If you’re a serious card counter, then you should never give a casino worker your ID. They’ll likely use this info against you and ensure that gambling establishments can better identify you as an AP in the future.
Conclusion
How Many Decks Do Online Casinos Use In Blackjack Vegas World
Casinos have known that card counters can beat them ever since the 1960s. They’ve spent considerable time learning how to spot card counters and stop them.
Rule changes are one simple way to hurt an AP’s bottom line. Unfavorable rules, such as 6:5 natural payouts, severely lower a card counter’s profit potential.
How Many Decks Used In Casino Blackjack
Of course, some APs still make money even with bad rules. So, casinos also have pit bosses watch for suspected counters and take necessary actions.
How Many Decks Are Used In Online Blackjack
You might find this information discouraging, but you’re better off knowing it than not. That way, you know what to watch out for in case you get into card counting.