At the moment, the most popular charts are the ones applying to 4-deck to 8-deck kinds of blackjack, which also happen to be the most played variants. Textual Basic Strategy Charts Let’s take a quick recap of some of the basic rules that we should stick to at blackjack tables, as suggested by blackjack strategy charts. 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.

• Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Double Deck
• Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Double Deck Plans
• Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Double Deck Boards
• Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Double Deck Plan
• Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Double Deck Steps

Table Of Contents

We all know that Blackjack is one of the most popular table games out there.

But have you tried out the single deck version?

If you want to play with the best chances the game offers, you'll need a simple single deck Blackjack strategy and a few tips.

• Single deck Blackjack games have the lowest house edge of all games
• The low house edge gives players multiple advantages over the classic multi deck game

Before you jump in, you'll need to learn key strategical points and differences between playing single deck Blackjack and standard multi-deck.

Single vs Multiple Deck Blackjack

Back in the good old days, single deck Blackjack was the standard.

It was played widely around the world, with blissful players taking advantage of the 0.15% house edge.

It became popular with card counters, who swooped in with their own single deck Blackjack strategy to take a piece of the pie. The use of one deck makes card counting easy, but Casinos caught on quickly.

They began introducing Blackjack games with a double deck or more decks to raise their own edge and make it harder to count cards.

So, what are the differences between these types of Blackjack? Besides the number of decks, the payout is generally different as well—you'll find that many Casinos offer payouts of 6:5 in single-deck games, while multi-deck games generally pay 3:2.

Rules & Gameplay for Single Deck Play

The basic concept and objective remain the same in single deck Blackjack. You want to get to 21 points or as close to 21 as possible without busting.

You'll place your bet, then the dealer will deal the hands. You'll get two face-up cards, and the dealer will get one face-up and one face-down.

You'll study your cards and the dealer's upcard, then decide to hit, stand, split, or double down.

Remember, both land-based and online casinos usually have specific rules for single-deck Blackjack which differ from multi-deck. These include:

• Whether or not the dealer hits or stands on soft 17
• Whether or not players may double down after a split
• If and when players can surrender

It's common to have the dealer hit on a soft 17, to prohibit players from doubling down after a split, and to prohibit surrender because these rules increase the house edge.

However, these and other rules will vary depending on the online Casino site of your choice

Tips & Single Deck Blackjack Strategy Guide

It's imperative you learn how to make a decision as a player and follow the basics of single deck Blackjack strategy as you play.

Remember that every single card which is played in the single-deck game has an appreciable impact on the distribution of the remaining cards in the deck, more so than multi-deck games.

Always use this to your advantage and pay attention to the cards being played.

It's also a good idea to consult some Blackjack basic strategy charts to figure out the optimal play for your hand.

Our Blackjack cheat sheets display possible hands in conjunction with possible dealer upcards, telling whether you should split, double down, stand, or hit for that specific combination of cards.

Optimal Plays

Assuming that the dealer hits on soft 17, doubling down after a split is not allowed, and surrender is not allowed, you can follow these guidelines:
Hard Hands

• 5-7: Always hit
• 8: Double if dealer shows 5 or 6, otherwise hit
• 9: Double if dealer shows 2-6, otherwise hit
• 10: Double if dealer shows 2-9, otherwise hit
• 11: Always double
• 12: Stand if dealer shows 4-6, otherwise hit
• 13: Stand if dealer shows 2-6, otherwise hit
• 14: Stand if dealer shows 2-6, otherwise hit
• 15: Stand if dealer shows 2-6, hit on 7-ace
• 16: Stand if dealer shows 2-6, hit on 7-ace
• 17-21: Always stand

Soft Hands

• A-2: Double if dealer shows 4-6, otherwise hit
• A-3: Double if dealer shows 4-6, otherwise hit
• A-4: Double if dealer shows 4-6, otherwise hit
• A-5: Double if dealer shows 4-6, otherwise hit
• A-6: Double if dealer shows 2-6, otherwise hit
• A-7: Double if dealer shows 3-6, stand on 2,7, & 8, hit on 9, 10 & ace
• A-8: Double if dealer shows 6, otherwise stand
• A-9: Always stand
• A-10: Always stand

Pairs:

• 2-2: Split if dealer shows 3-7, otherwise hit
• 3-3: Split if dealer shows 4-7, otherwise hit
• 4-4: Split if dealer shows 4-6, otherwise hit
• 5-5: Double if dealer shows 2-9, hit on 10 & ace
• 6-6: Split if dealer shows 2-7, otherwise hit
• 7-7: Split if dealer shows 2-7, stand on 10, hit on 8, 9 & ace
• 8-8: Always split
• 9-9: Split if dealer shows 2-6 and 8-9, otherwise stand
• 10-10: Always stand
• Ace-Ace: Always split

Keep in mind that this is not an optimal strategy for every game, because you won't just make different plays according to the dealer's upcard; single deck basic strategy play Blackjack is also dependent on the house rules.

House Rule Variations

If the dealer stands on soft 17, you know that he has no chance of improving this hand. Keep this in mind as you make your decisions, because it actually increases your odds of beating him with certain plays.

Double down rules will affect your bets, so pay close attention to them.

If you can double down after a split, you'll want to be a bit more aggressive with your splits than the guide displays—for example, you could split a pair of 3s if the dealer shows 2 or 3, not just 4 through 6.

Likewise, if you can surrender, you'll want to do so strategically. For example, if you have a pair of sevens and the dealer shows 10, you know your odds aren't good, so surrendering would be the best option.

Tips for the Table

When you're at the table, keep these tips for Blackjack basic strategy in mind:

• Use your knowledge of the cards which have been played to infer which cards may come up. Remember, this knowledge comes easier when you play with a single deck.
• Never take insurance or even money, because the house edge on insurance is 5.9% in single-deck Blackjack
• Use a responsible betting strategy, making wagers which fit with your bankroll and allow you to bet for longer. Remember, it's all about having fun.

Now that you know about single deck Blackjack strategy, it's time to try a hand at the tables with this action-packed game.

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

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.

Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Double Deck

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’.

Double Deck Blackjack, H17, NDAS

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

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

Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Double Deck Plans

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

Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Double Deck Boards

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

Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Double Deck Plan

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!

Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart Double Deck Steps

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!