Question about Bovada's single deck black jack game

I have played Bovada's free bj, but can't tell if it is a six deck, two deck or one deck game. How do you tell? I only want to play the one deck game. Hopefully, the house advantage(realistic) is still 0.19, as mentioned on the Wizard of Odds site.

Thanks.

Quote: moosit

I have played Bovada's free bj, but can't tell if it is a six deck, two deck or one deck game. How do you tell? I only want to play the one deck game. Hopefully, the house advantage(realistic) is still 0.19, as mentioned on the Wizard of Odds site.

Thanks.

In a few hands, you may be able to rule out a 1 deck game. Do you see the same card in the same suit within the same hand? If it happens, it can't be 1 deck.

wouldn't the game be 1 deck, but continuous shuffle?
Why would an on-line casino set themselves up to be taken advantage of by a computer program that could 100% count and KNOW what EXACT cards are left to be played?

Since single-deck blackjack is advertised, I'm guessing the ordinary blackjack isn't single-deck. Obviously it's continuously shuffled, but don't shufflers usually run through multiple decks?

Quote: moosit

I have played Bovada's free bj, but can't tell if it is a six deck, two deck or one deck game. How do you tell? I only want to play the one deck game. Hopefully, the house advantage(realistic) is still 0.19, as mentioned on the Wizard of Odds site.

Thanks.

There are three Blackjack icons in the Table Games section:



The icon labeled "Single Deck Blackjack" is the single-deck game.

Also, note that the single- and double-deck games don't allow resplits or surrender... and the double-deck game is S17. Even so, according to the Wizard's calculator, the single-deck game is a better bet, 0.19% edge vs. 0.3%. The "normal" version does allow surrender and a single resplit (and is H17), which means four decks would give it an edge of .52%, or .58% for eight decks.

That's absolutely right, Bovada offers one of the most liberal BJ games to be found anywhere on the Internet, if not the World. Why not? They understand that even with a minimal house edge they will eventually make money and the operating costs of the game are very close to nil, so they want to give the player a good bet and positive gaming experience.

Raise Your Game.

Sorry for replying to a post over a year old.

This question was the reason I ended up on this site today.

I had two decks of real cards, and took the cards out of my physical deck of cards as I played in the Bovada double deck. Somehow in 29 cards I came up with 9 sixes. So I was about to call some major BullS**. I didn't find anywhere on the Bovada site where they tell you that's what's happening - or what the rules, odds, or anything else with the games are.

But poking around and reading before I stumbled on this thread, discovered most likely they shuffle the two decks after every hand, and also, probably dealer and players pull from their own individual decks.

This explains a lot of the bizarre stuff I've found that doesn't match my experiences in a casino, and the reason it feels like they open a drain after you win a certain amount, or bet a larger amount and suck the money out.

So I'm cashing out with what I have left and heading back to real casinos where I can see what's happening with the cards.

I wasn't expecting to win money, but something smells of Bull around this, I don't care who vouches for it.

I'm sure it sounds like a lot of whining, but I just returned from land based casino, where I was up a couple thousand playing at $15 tables for three days, then losing all but $250 in a few hours the last day. I didn't whine and don't feel like I was cheated, so I'm not one of those people that are sore losers.

All that being said - if someone can show me some stats on the method of madness with everyone having their own independent shoe and shuffling them all after each hand, how is that not more of a roulette game, and nothing consistent with a fair blackjack game.

Specifically the odds of losing ten hands in a row, not counting a few pushes here and there.

Not sure why anyone would recommend Bovoda online, or any that has such impossible conditions - but I do like all the information I find otherwise.

With games like this - it's more like roulette - except that if you don't play perfect BS you get raped even more.

I've had big up and down swings, but never to the point where I am ahead, and down about a factor if 10-20% of my total play each session.

I've been playing the match bonuses on BlackJack Thursdays, but have used them all up so I'm done now. Of the $1,000 I've deposited, and the other $1000 they matched. I have $450 left. Playing basic strategy and $5 hands. Does that sound like fair blackjack outcomes? If I ever had that luck in a real casino I wouldn't go back there either.

My thinking was with the match play and playing perfect, I might come out a little ahead. Their deposit fee I consider adding to the house edge, and on top of it my credit card charged me an international transaction fee. So from the get go, the effect house edge was digging into me more than 10% and to have all the squirelly rules just adds insult to injury.

Was wondering what the stats (probability) are or chances of me losing ten hands in a row, not including pushes. Playing the 6-deck game. I understand it now - each hand is it's own game independent of the last, and has nothing to do with it, but still what is probablility of losing 10 hands in a row under these conditions.

Sorry it sounds like it turned into a rant, I'm just trying to understand better, and got flustered the more I tried to explain it lol.

Went to Cherokee this weekend and was up $3k playing $15 tables for three days using basic strategy and flat betting. And then last day lost $750 in an hour the same way. But I had no question or ill feelengs, and understand perfectly. I guess there is an advantage to seeing the cards with my own eyes.

I don't think player and dealer get cards from different decks, although it is shuffled after every hand (of course). Your losing streak sounds pretty tough, but my experience hasn't been like that (although I did once lose $1000 and win it back playing single-deck at $25 a pop, going up to $50 on the way up when I had won back about $200). I've had losing streaks, but also winning streaks. That's the game.

Quote: luckyfrog

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Was wondering what the stats (probability) are or chances of me losing ten hands in a row, not including pushes. Playing the 6-deck game. I understand it now - each hand is it's own game independent of the last, and has nothing to do with it, but still what is probablility of losing 10 hands in a row under these conditions.

The Wizard answered a very similar questions a while back (https://wizardofodds.com/ask-the-wizard/blackjack/probability/). Using his number of 53.64% probability of a loss ignoring pushes, the probability of losing ten in a row is simply 0.5364 to the power ten, or about 0.2%. This assumes various things (# of decks, basic strategy), but it gives you an idea of the rarity.

If you play a lot of hands, it is not that unlikely that you will see a long series of losses like this.

My personal record is 13 straight losses in a row. No pushes, just 13 straight losses at a brick and mortar casino. That carries a probability of about 0.01% using the same numbers as above! But of course, I have played countless hours of blackjack, so eventually you will see streaks like this.

I don't know if there is a way to calculate something like this but what is the probability of predicting something and then it happening for instance if i could tell you every time you were going to lose a hand of blackjack or a series of hands?

Funny, I was just reading that discussion in teliot's book, and he mentions that particular statistic. 10 losing hands in a row "occurs about once every 1540 hands". Note: This is in the chapter called "Table Game Mythology"...about betting systems. Good book: Contemporary Casino Table Game Design by Dr. Eliot Jacobson. Well worth the $25 on Amazon (free shipping with your order). He discusses a lot more than game design in explaining what goes into a good one. Shameless plug out.

Yeah, I guess in online you get so many more hands you'll see some weird stuff sooner (and come up against "eventually" sooner) I had a nice bump in my account today. Not sure why, seems like it's happened before though. Seems odd, if they wanted to give me something, not to send an e-mail or something. Wondering what would happen if I ever cash out lol. Would be a good time to do it.

Maybe an unlucky bonus or something. Not sure but happy for it none the less.

Or maybe I won it in the $52 spend on Video Poker and (chance to) win $520. But still, seems like I'd get an e-mail saying as much. I like bonuses, but sure would be a lot cooler to know how I got them.

You probably did win it in the VP promotion. They don't tell you when you get the $520 for some reason. Check your account statement. (Also, it's kind of a funny grand prize - if you're playing that much VP, $520 isn't a whole lot...)

Didn't see on statement - hope I'm not getting senile and bought more chips lol.

Quote: Mission146

That's absolutely right, Bovada offers one of the most liberal BJ games to be found anywhere on the Internet, if not the World. Why not? They understand that even with a minimal house edge they will eventually make money and the operating costs of the game are very close to nil, so they want to give the player a good bet and positive gaming experience.

Raise Your Game.

I sure wonder. I'm not an experienced online player and can't prove anything statistically but it's been my experience almost twice now that it seems that when I approach or exceed about half the rollover requirement it becomes very difficult to win, improbably difficult. Last time I did fairly well up to about halfway, after which I couldn't win to save my soul; this time, again, won fairly well, now falling off a cliff. Seemingly hugely improbable dealer strings of BJ's, filling out his 14-16's etc, seemingly routinely hitting 20-21, few busts. Again, I can't prove a thing but the player expectation with the bonus is > +0.005, even with the Bovada 4.9% deposit charge and the various crazy Chinese charges, currency rate exchanges etc. figured in, yet this sort of seeming improbability routinely(?) occurs, all this happening playing the Wiz' basic strategy religiously (6 deck, flat $1 bets almost exclusively) and his composition dependent strategy (single deck,varying bet size).
It would be a good way to fish guys in. Let them win up to ~ 1/2 way thru the rollover, then lower the boom. I wonder.
Had a couple, three software glitches while playing as well. Had to back out of Bovada, then reopen their site. Well, I'll forge on and see what happens.