Single Deck Blackjack

My local casino has just added a single deck blackjack table. All cards are dealt face up (except dealer's hole card), dealer must stand on soft 17, double down after split is allowed, and can split up to 3 times, blackjack pays 6-5. I do not know how to count. Is it worth trying to learn a counting system? It seems to me that it would be difficult since they usually reshuffle with about 1/3 deck left. A maxium of 6 players are allowed to play. Usually it is just one or two players except on weekends when the 6-deck tables are full they will have the maximum 6 players or near max. Betting on the 6-deck or single deck game is minimum $5.00 to a max of $100.00. I was at this casino when they first opened the table and watched while they trained the dealers. I played one-on-one with the dealer the first single deck hands they ever dealt. I won $100.00 but have lost ever since then. One of the dealers told me that is was just a novelty game and he has not seen anybody win; so I went back to playing only the six deck shoe. I do have a single deck basic strategy card but again do not know how to count. Any comments, help, or suggestions are very welcome.
Russell

Just say No!

6:5 Single deck has three times the house advantage as the 6-deck games.
For more details, read here:
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/no6to5.php

Don't waste your time and money at that game. Stick to the 6-deck games. For those games counting may be worthwhile, though the $100 max will certainly limit your potential profit.

Ken,

Not being a "numbers guy" like yourself I was curious how the three times house advantage is figured in the 6:5 single deck game? What I am wondering is...does that mean that you will win less money becasue of the payout or win fewer hands because of the rule variations? I can sure see how this would look very inviting to the uninformed...and I don't want to be uninformed!!! Just curious if there is a simple answer...I don't expect you to go throught the whole process

Thanks for the good advice. I thought I was right in just sticking to the 6-deck shoe but wanted a second opinion. I am headed to Vegas today (a two hour drive from where I live). I have not played their in awhile so I hope I don't run into a lot of BJ variations. Thanks again.
Russell

You'll actually win a few more hands, but less money

You'll actually win more hands than at 6 decks but you'll lose more money. Here's the short version... You'll get a blackjack about once every 21 hands on average. When that happens, they're shorting you $3 on a $10 bet. The casino keeping an extra $3 for every $210 in action is where the extra 1.4% house edge comes in.

(This is not a precise calculation. It ignores ties on blackjack.)

Thanks!...that does clear it up in MY head at least...

One way I help friends see that they should avoid 6-5 blackjack tables is to point out that for every $100 they have bet (whether that is 10 hands of $10 or 1 hand of $100) when they hit a blackjack, the casino will pay them $30 LESS than they would have on a normal 3-2 payout table.

Don't fall into their trap :devil: and warn your friends not to also.