Sometimes, when the blackjack bug gets a hold, you roll up to a table in an online casino or a land-based one and find yourself the only player there. Or you can start with other players who then drift away to different games, so you’re suddenly left alone 1v1 with the dealer. But does the fact that it’s just you at the table increase your chances of winning?
This is an intriguing situation, because players may easily conclude they have a greater chance of pulling out higher-value cards if there’s no one else to take them. But does playing alone at a table make that much of a difference? Does the number of players affect the house edge? Let’s find out what the maths have to say about the topic.
The Need for Less Speed?
An interesting comparison to make when deciding on 1v1 or a multiplayer table is the speed of the game. Remember that you are always at a statistical disadvantage with every hand, which means the more you play, the more you stand to lose. In a one-on-one situation, you will play many more hands in an hour of blackjack than if you are one of six players.
A prime example of this can be seen on video blackjack games, where there’s a rapid turnover of hands. Even on live dealer tables, when it’s just you making the decisions, the pace can be on par with video blackjack.
If you find yourself the only player at a table, the speed can feel similar to playing slots, where results appear in just a few seconds, and the balance can be depleted very quickly. To keep their session going and manage the fast pace, players often use various bonuses to extend their bankroll. For instance, this could be 100 free spins that are offered by online casinos. These bonuses can help extend playtime and make the pace of the game feel more manageable.
The House Edge
The house edge is ever-present, and the statistical advantage operates on a per-hand basis. It doesn’t matter how many hands you have already played, or how many other players were involved at the same time; the house edge remains constant.
When it’s just you against the dealer, because of the house edge, you don’t have a 50/50 chance of winning the hand. Statistically, a player’s chance of winning a hand sits around 42%, the dealer’s around 49% and the other 8% or so is the chance of a Push.
The house always has the edge because the player goes first. If the solo player goes bust, then the house automatically wins, regardless of what the dealer has, giving the casino a massive edge. The typical house edge in a multi-deck game of blackjack is 0.5%, but it can vary given different table rules.
What About the Odds?
It doesn’t matter whether you are 1v1 or sat with four or five other players; the odds of you winning don’t change. The number of players doesn’t change the probabilities because all hands in a game of blackjack are independent of each other. When cards get pulled from the shoe for hits, that changes the composition of the remaining stack, not your current hand.
The myth here is that when a player has a bad hit and busts with a coveted card, other players then see that as a wasted card. But that player is just as likely to pull a card that saves the entire table from the dealer winning, or prevents you from going bust.
Looking at the longer-term picture, events will balance out, and on a multi-deck table, that deck is so large that one player’s hit becomes statistically negligible to the overall game. So other players’ cards are statistically irrelevant to you, regardless of how many are sitting in. The only thing that you are playing against with your hand is the dealer’s cards. The dealer is the constant factor that influences your win probability, not what other players are doing.
Natural Blackjack
The probability of getting a natural blackjack (a two-card hand totalling 21) is around 4.75% on a standard six-deck shoe, which is about one in every 21 hands dealt. That’s calculated from how many cards are in the deck and how many Aces and 10-value cards are available.
For a breakdown of that probability, getting an Ace dealt to you as your first card is a 4 in 52 chance, and then receiving a 10-value card as your second card is 16 in 51 chance (as you’d already have been dealt the Ace). The number of players doesn’t shift the probabilities with one notable exception.
A skill card-counter will wait until the ratio of good cards is stronger and then start placing bigger bets. While there are still no guarantees, this practice can help to shift the odds a little bit in favour of the player, but for most players, this is completely irrelevant, and deck reshuffles reset everything anyway.
Lifting the Veil
It’s an illusion that there’s a greater advantage in odds when playing solo than with other players. The mathematics don’t support that theory, no matter how much a player wants to believe that another player drawing a card ruined their chances. The odds are always the same. The house edge is the same, and so you can just join any table and solely focus on what’s going down between you and the dealer.
