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How Many Decks in Blackjack: 1 to 8 Decks and the Shoe
A blackjack game uses 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 standard decks of 52 cards – a 6-deck shoe holds 312 cards – and the game's rules or help screen tells you the number. Fewer decks lower the house edge a little: with standard rules it is 0.04% with 1 deck and 0.65% with 8 decks.
- How many decks a blackjack game uses
- The shoe, the cut card and the shuffle
- Continuous shuffling machines and online shuffles
- House edge by number of decks
- Why fewer decks help the player
- What matters more than the decks
- Does the strategy chart change with the number of decks?
01How many decks a blackjack game uses
A blackjack game uses 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 standard decks. Each deck has 52 cards.
- 1 deck: 52 cards
- 2 decks: 104 cards
- 4 decks: 208 cards
- 6 decks: 312 cards
- 8 decks: 416 cards
All the decks are shuffled together into one set of cards. Every deck has the same 13 ranks in four suits:
The game's rules or help screen states how many decks it uses. For games with fewer decks, see single deck blackjack and double deck blackjack.
Open the help screen before you play. Look for the number of decks and the blackjack payout.
02The shoe, the cut card and the shuffle
In a game with several decks, the cards sit in a shoe – the box the cards are dealt from. A shoe game goes like this:
- The dealer shuffles all the decks together.
- The dealer or a player puts the cut card – a plastic card that marks where the next shuffle comes – into the stack.
- The dealer places the cards in the shoe.
- The dealer deals round after round from the shoe. Used cards go into the discard tray – the holder for cards already played.
- When the cut card comes out, the dealer finishes the round. Then all the cards are shuffled again.
Between shuffles, the cards already played stay in the discard tray. They do not come back until the next shuffle.
Card counting is keeping track of the cards already played; card counting explains what it is.
03Continuous shuffling machines and online shuffles
A continuous shuffling machine is a machine that shuffles the cards all the time. Online games dealt by software use a random number generator – a program that picks each card.
| Game type | When the cards are shuffled | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Shoe dealt by hand | When the cut card comes out | Played cards stay out of the shoe until the next shuffle. |
| Continuous shuffling machine | After every round – used cards go back into the machine | Every round is dealt from an almost full set of cards. |
| Online game dealt by software | Usually before every round – a fresh virtual shoe | Every round is dealt from all the decks. |
A live dealer game online can use a shoe or a shuffling machine; check its help screen.
In most software games, each round starts from a fresh virtual shoe, so the cards from the last round do not matter.
04House edge by number of decks
The house edge is the share of each bet the casino keeps on average. The table shows it with perfect basic strategy – the chart of best moves for every hand.
| Decks | Dealer hits soft 17 | Dealer stands on soft 17 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 deck | 0.04% | see the single deck page |
| 2 decks | 0.39% | 0.19% |
| 4 decks | 0.56% | 0.35% |
| 6 decks | 0.62% | 0.40% |
| 8 decks | 0.65% | 0.43% |
All rows use the same other rules: double after split, no surrender, the dealer peeks for blackjack, and blackjack pays 3:2. Soft 17 is a 17 with an ace counted as 11; the soft 17 page explains the rule.
Fewer decks and a dealer who stands on soft 17 both lower the house edge. You can check other rule sets in the house edge calculator.
05Why fewer decks help the player
Fewer decks change the odds in two ways.
- Blackjack comes a little more often. Your first two cards are an ace and a ten-value card in 4.83% of hands with 1 deck, against 4.75% with 6 decks.
- Each card dealt changes a small deck more. With 1 deck there are only four aces. When one ace is dealt, only three are left. With 6 decks, one card dealt changes the rest of the cards very little.
A blackjack pays 3:2, more than any other hand. Getting it more often lowers the house edge.
06What matters more than the decks
Going from 1 deck to 6 decks adds 0.58 percentage points to the house edge. Some other rules change it much more.
| Change | House edge |
|---|---|
| Standard game: 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, blackjack pays 3:2 | 0.62% |
| 8 decks instead of 6 | 0.65% |
| 1 deck instead of 6 | 0.04% |
| Dealer stands on soft 17 | 0.40% |
| Late surrender allowed (you may give up half your bet) | 0.53% |
| Blackjack pays 6:5 | 1.98% |
| Blackjack pays 1:1 | 2.88% |
This is what a 10 bet pays for a blackjack at each payout:
A 6:5 payout alone makes the house edge 1.98%. Check the payout first, then the number of decks; see 6 to 5 blackjack and blackjack house edge.
07Does the strategy chart change with the number of decks?
Only a little. A chart cell is one square of the chart: one hand against one dealer up card – the dealer's card you can see.
- 1 deck: 12 cells differ from the 6-deck chart.
- 2 decks: 4 cells differ from the 6-deck chart.
- 8 decks: 0 cells differ from the 6-deck chart.
So the 6-deck chart also fits 8-deck games. This is the hard 16 row for 6 decks: stand against 2–6, hit against 7–A.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
See the full blackjack strategy chart and practice it in the blackjack trainer.
Questions people ask
How many decks are used in blackjack?
A blackjack game uses 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 standard decks of 52 cards. The game's rules or help screen states the number.
How many cards are in a 6-deck blackjack shoe?
A 6-deck shoe holds 312 cards. An 8-deck shoe holds 416 cards.
What is a shoe in blackjack?
The shoe is the box the cards are dealt from. A cut card inside it marks where the next shuffle comes.
Is single deck blackjack better than 6 decks?
With the same rules, the house edge is 0.04% with 1 deck and 0.62% with 6 decks. A 6:5 payout raises the house edge far more than extra decks do, so check the payout first.
Does online blackjack shuffle every hand?
Online games dealt by software usually shuffle a fresh virtual shoe before every round. Live dealer games can use a shoe or a shuffling machine; the help screen says which.
Do I need a different strategy chart for 8 decks?
No. With the standard rules, the 8-deck chart differs from the 6-deck chart in 0 cells, so the same chart fits both.
Where the numbers come from
Every number on this page is worked out by our blackjack engine for the rules stated next to it, with perfect basic strategy. Unless a rule is named, the rules are 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, double after split allowed, no surrender, the dealer checks for blackjack, and blackjack pays 3:2.