Dear Mark: Recently, I was playing Blackjack on a cruise boat. The table had a constant shuffle machine with either 6 or 8 decks, although I can’t be certain. What effect, if any, does this have on the house advantage on a basic strategy player? Charlie L.

With a typical shoe game, any time the number of decks in play is increased, the casino’s edge goes up slightly. For example, compared to a single deck, a two-deck game handicaps your play by 0.35%, four decks, 0.48%, six decks, 0.54% and eight decks 0.58%.  It is always to your advantage to play on a game that offers the fewest decks.