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

0.73% per initial bet with perfect basic strategy (win 43.5% / push 8.5% / 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)
Dealer 22busts normally
Hole cardUS style — dealer peeks for blackjack
Blackjack pays3:2
Free Betnot offered
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

Hard totals: rows are your hand, columns the dealer upcard
2345678910A
5HHHHHHHHHH
6HHHHHHHHHH
7HHHHHHHHHH
8HHHHHHHHHH
9HHHHHHHHHH
10DDDDDDDHHH
11DDDDDDDDDH
12HHSSSHHHHH
13SSSSSHHHHH
14SSSSSHHHHH
15SSSSSHHHHH
16SSSSSHHHSH
17SSSSSSSSSS
18SSSSSSSSSS
19SSSSSSSSSS
20SSSSSSSSSS

Soft totals

Soft totals: rows are your hand, columns the dealer upcard
2345678910A
A,2HHHHHHHHHH
A,3HHHHHHHHHH
A,4HHHHHHHHHH
A,5HHHHHHHHHH
A,6HHHHHHHHHH
A,7SSSSSSSHHH
A,8SSSSSSSSSS
A,9SSSSSSSSSS

Pairs

Pairs: rows are your hand, columns the dealer upcard
2345678910A
2,2HHHPPPHHHH
3,3HHPPPPHHHH
4,4HHHHPHHHHH
5,5DDDDDDDHHH
6,6HPPPPHHHHH
7,7PPPPPPHHHH
8,8PPPPPPPPPP
9,9PPPPPSPPSS
10,10SSSSSSSSSS
A,APPPPPPPPPP

Dealer outcome odds

Probability of each dealer final result, by upcard:

Dealer final-total probabilities by upcard (BJ = blackjack)
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 0.73% 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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