Double deck blackjack follows standard blackjack rules for the most part. Players and dealer are still required to reach a hand total as close to 21 are possible without exceeding 21. Only two major differences occur with double deck blackjack, which includes double down only on hand total of 10 or 11 and the dealer stands on a soft 17. If all else is equal, a two-deck game has a lower house edge than a six-deck game, but unequal rules can make six decks the better game. An example crossed my email box recently when a reader wrote to say, 'The casino where I was staying had two-deck blackjack games, but blackjacks paid 6-5. It also had six-deck games where blackjacks paid 3-2.
- Appendices
- Miscellaneous
- External Links
On This Page
Introduction
To use the basic strategy, look up your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer's up card along the top. In both cases an A stands for ace. From top to bottom are the hard totals, soft totals, and splittable hands. There are two charts depending on whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17.
Other basic strategy rules. Casino near jackson ms.
- Never take insurance or 'even money.'
- If there is no row for splitting (fives and tens), then look up your hand as a hard total (10 or 20).
- If you can't split because of a limit on re-splitting, then look up your hand as a hard total, except aces. In the extremely unlikely event you have a pair of aces you can't re-split and drawing to split aces is allowed, then double against a 5 or 6, otherwise hit.
Ideally, the basic strategy shows the play which, on average, will result in the greatest win or the least loss per initial hand played. The way I usually go about this is to look at the initial 2-card hands only. Generally, this will result in the overall best play. However, soft 18 against a dealer ace when the dealer stands on soft 17 provides the only known exception that I am aware of for any number of decks. 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. Simulations show that if forced to always hit or always stand, it is better to stand. I would like to thank Don Schlesinger for bringing this unusual play to my attention.
Multi Hand Double / Two Deck Blackjack offered by Cryptologic is another impressive variant of the classic casino game where just two decks of cards instead of the standard six/eight make the difference. Whats great about playing Double Deck online, is that there are no unconventional rules that would increase the house edge, something that often happens in land based casinos.
There are two Double Deck Blackjack games offered online, one by Bovada and one by Cryptologic. Both use a similar set of rules, the main advantage of the version we review here is that you can play up to five hands per round, which is why it's very popular with high rollers and more experienced gamers, that are able to take advantage of it.
The overall gaming experience is also top notch, the only drawback is that Cryptologic do not accept bets from USA players and do not allow free play, so if you are from the States or just looking to polish your skills, please check our Bovada Free Double Deck blackjack.
Does Double Deck Blackjack Have Better Odds
Multi Hand Two Deck
Two Deck Blackjack Rules
As the title would suggest, the Cryptologic product is played with two standard decks shuffled after each round, with five betting positions adding to the appeal. The dealer will draw to 16 and stand on all 17's, while peaking for blackjack and offering the player Insurance. When this happens for the first time, you can simply select Yes/No to all and thus speed up the gameplay.
Written by:Michael Shackleford
Multi Hand Double / Two Deck Blackjack offered by Cryptologic is another impressive variant of the classic casino game where just two decks of cards instead of the standard six/eight make the difference. Whats great about playing Double Deck online, is that there are no unconventional rules that would increase the house edge, something that often happens in land based casinos.
There are two Double Deck Blackjack games offered online, one by Bovada and one by Cryptologic. Both use a similar set of rules, the main advantage of the version we review here is that you can play up to five hands per round, which is why it's very popular with high rollers and more experienced gamers, that are able to take advantage of it.
The overall gaming experience is also top notch, the only drawback is that Cryptologic do not accept bets from USA players and do not allow free play, so if you are from the States or just looking to polish your skills, please check our Bovada Free Double Deck blackjack.
Does Double Deck Blackjack Have Better Odds
Multi Hand Two Deck
Two Deck Blackjack Rules
As the title would suggest, the Cryptologic product is played with two standard decks shuffled after each round, with five betting positions adding to the appeal. The dealer will draw to 16 and stand on all 17's, while peaking for blackjack and offering the player Insurance. When this happens for the first time, you can simply select Yes/No to all and thus speed up the gameplay.
Double Deck Blackjack Odds Calculator
Double down option is available on any first two cards, but you will only be able to split identical cards, rather than same value cards as that is usually the case. One split is allowed per hand, but you get to hit or double after splitting if you wish to do so.
Cryptologic Limits & User Interface
Cryptologic Two Deck Blackjack offers no fewer than four table limits in the $10-$200, $25-$500, $100-$1,000 and $500-$5,000 range, meaning that low stakes players may be forced to switch to other blackjack variants in order to have access to lower bets. The game interface is pretty impressive and it definitely makes the action at the tables even more rewarding.
