Dumb Question .. but

How is a casino edge affected if there is one deck of cards used or just a single deck?

eg

3 Card Poker uses one deck in the casino. If the casino were to use a 6 deck continuous shuffler, how would this alter the casino edge?

Similarly, the difference of a casino using a single deck or 6 card shuffler with Blackjack?

My initial thoughts are it doesn't change anything. I am not a mathematician so clearly my thoughts don't mean squat.

I would like to hear from those who are into the math

I just analyzed the Pairplus bet for Three Card Poker for multiple decks. I based it on "Pay Table 7" from the WOO page because it says it is the most common. Just adding one more deck makes it advantageous to the player. If that bet were played with six decks, it would have an 8.93% player advantage. Most hands become more common; for example three of a kind (2.53% occurrence with one deck vs. 5.28% with six) and flushes (4.96% with one deck vs. 5.84% for six). Interestingly, straights and straight flushes become rarer because they need a set of cards in a narrow range which more decks makes harder by diluting the shoe with copies of cards already drawn For example, regular straights occur 3.26% in one deck but 3.10% for six. That is not enough to offset the benefits from the other hands though. Because multiple decks are so powerful for Pairplus, the TriLux side bet for blackjack, based on Pairplus, does not pay out for a pair to keep the return in the house's favor. I'd share my analysis but it is in an Excel sheet and it won't let me make a link to my Google Drive.

Pairs would also be more common with multiple decks. But most poker players would freak to get the identical card twice in their hands.

The player's optimal basic strategy would change to a higher threshold for Bet rather than Fold.

I would think they could have to adjust the pay table with trips being more common and straight and flush harder to come by
I have seen on double deck blackjack the 21+3 bet doesn't pay out as often due to only being 2 decks

Quote: Skippy

How is a casino edge affected if there is one deck of cards used or just a single deck?

eg

3 Card Poker uses one deck in the casino. If the casino were to use a 6 deck continuous shuffler, how would this alter the casino edge?

Similarly, the difference of a casino using a single deck or 6 card shuffler with Blackjack?

My initial thoughts are it doesn't change anything. I am not a mathematician so clearly my thoughts don't mean squat.

I would like to hear from those who are into the math
link to original post

It depends on the game.

In 3CP my first instinct is that more decks benefits the player due to the dealer qualifying more often but I'm not going to spend the time to figure it out exactly. Also, pair plus is going to hit more often.

The basic is with more decks, pairs will be more but nonpairs will be less.

More decks in use usually means more hands per hour, as there are fewer shuffles. More hands an hour doesn't change the EV, it just gets you there much faster. If you are playing an EV- game, you want as few hands per hour as you can get away with.

Poker based-games would not really work well with more than one deck so I do not think the theoretical answer to that question really matters.

The only games dealt out of a shoe that I know of are Blackjack (and variants), Baccarat, and Casino War.

Blackjack has a lower house edge with less decks, because the basic strategy is much more useful with less cards to take into account.

Baccarat has a marginally better Banker Bet and marginally worse Player and Tie bet with less decks. The difference is so small that it just happens for obscure mathematics reasons.

Casino War has a slightly lower house edge for the main game but a much higher house edge for the Tie side bet with less decks, because a small deck of cards is less likely to tie with cards that have already been removed.

So, in conclusion, we cannot say that "more decks" or "less decks" is always better for the player or casino, it depends on the game and what you are betting on.

No way. Less decks is always better for the players. Casinos love more decks, but they will go bankrupt because gamblers will go for online casinos.

BTW, poker based-games would be more fun if we insert four more jokers in a deck of 52 cards and use them as wild cards.

Quote: aceside

No way. Less decks is always better for the players. Casinos love more decks, but they will go bankrupt because gamblers will go for online casinos.

BTW, poker based-games would be more fun if we insert four more jokers in a deck of 52 cards and use them as wild cards.
link to original post

This is just wrong.

In blackjack, multiple decks benefits the house. Most poker-based variants (where you compare your hand to the dealer's) have the player and the dealer having the same chance of making any hand, but the dealer has to "qualify" or the player receives a reduced or no payout. This is where part or all of the house edge comes from. If the dealer qualifies more easily (as he would with multiple decks, as it's easier to make a "good" hand), the house edge is reduced.

Additionally, you might have a bet with large payouts for making bigger hands. This could be a side bet (pair plus, trips etc) or a required part of the game (blind bet in UTH). You will make more "big hands" with more decks. The probability of a straights, straight flushes, and royals goes down, but the probability of pairs, trips, full houses, and quads goes up. For most pay takes this is likely to benefit the player (but you would have to calculate it for each specific game and pay table to be sure)

Then, imagine a game like Mississippi Stud or Let It Ride with more decks. The house edge would plummet.

you’re mostly right, it doesn’t change much. in 3 card poker, single vs 6 decks barely affects the house edge. in blackjack, more decks slightly increase the edge and make card counting harder, but casual players won’t notice much

Quote: Kynvox77

you’re mostly right, it doesn’t change much. in 3 card poker, single vs 6 decks barely affects the house edge. in blackjack, more decks slightly increase the edge and make card counting harder, but casual players won’t notice much
link to original post

Duplicate accounts are not permitted.
I believe you have been warned before.
My PM's are open if you want to explain why I'm wrong privately.