Reno / N. Nevada (double deck, H17): blackjack house edge & basic strategy

Classic Northern Nevada game with the famous "Reno rule": you may double only on hard 10 or 11. 2 decks, dealer hits soft 17, US hole-card peek, no double after split, no surrender, blackjack pays 3:2.

House edge

0.85% per initial bet with perfect basic strategy (win 43.4% / push 8.6% / lose 48.0% of rounds). Derived by seeded Monte Carlo simulation of 300,000 rounds under the exact rules below.

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Table rules

Decks2
Shuffleshoe, ~60% penetration
Dealer soft 17dealer hits (H17)
Hole cardUS style — dealer peeks for blackjack
Blackjack pays3:2
Double downtotals 10–11 only
Double after splitnot allowed
Splittingup to 4 hands; no resplitting aces, one card on split aces
Surrendernot offered

Basic strategy chart

H Hit · S Stand · D Double · P Split · R Surrender. Rows are your hand, columns the dealer upcard (A = Ace).

Hard totals

2345678910A
5HHHHHHHHHH
6HHHHHHHHHH
7HHHHHHHHHH
8HHHHHHHHHH
9HHHHHHHHHH
10DDDDDDDHDH
11DDDDDDDDDD
12HHSHSHHHHH
13SSSSSHHHHH
14SSSSSHHHHH
15SSSSSHHHHH
16SSSSSHHHSH
17SSSSSSSSSS
18SSSSSSSSSS
19SSSSSSSSSS
20SSSSSSSSSS

Soft totals

2345678910A
A,2HHHHHHHHHH
A,3HHHHHHHHHH
A,4HHHHHHHHHH
A,5HHHHHHHHHH
A,6HHHHHHHHHH
A,7SSSSSSSHHH
A,8SSSSSSSSSS
A,9SSSSSSSSSS

Pairs

2345678910A
2,2PPPPPPPHHH
3,3PPPPPPHHHH
4,4HHHHPHHHHH
5,5DDDDDDDHDH
6,6HPPPPHHHHH
7,7PPPPPPHHHH
8,8PPPPPPPPSP
9,9PPPPPSPPSS
10,10SSSSSSSSSS
A,APPPPPPPPPP

Dealer outcome odds

Probability of each dealer final result, by upcard:

Upcard1718192021BJBust
213.2%13.2%13.3%12.6%11.9%0.0%35.8%
312.6%13.1%12.8%12.2%11.7%0.0%37.7%
412.1%12.9%12.2%11.9%11.5%0.0%39.4%
511.7%12.2%11.9%11.8%10.9%0.0%41.6%
611.5%11.7%11.3%11.1%10.6%0.0%43.8%
737.0%13.9%7.9%7.9%7.2%0.0%26.0%
812.6%35.9%13.0%7.0%7.1%0.0%24.4%
912.2%12.1%34.7%11.9%6.3%0.0%22.8%
1011.1%11.0%11.1%34.2%3.4%7.9%21.3%
A5.7%14.1%14.4%14.2%6.5%31.0%14.2%

Frequently asked questions

What is the house edge at Reno / N. Nevada (double deck, H17)?

With perfect basic strategy the edge is about 0.85% in favour of the house, per initial bet. Derived by Monte Carlo simulation of 300,000 rounds under these exact rules.

Does the dealer hit or stand on soft 17 at Reno / N. Nevada (double deck, H17)?

The dealer hits soft 17 (H17), which adds roughly 0.2% to the house edge compared with standing.

How often does the dealer bust with a 6 showing?

Under these rules the dealer busts 43.8% of the time with a 6 up — the weakest dealer upcard.

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