What Are the Odds of Getting a Pair in Blackjack?

Blackjack, also known as twenty-one, is one of the most popular casino games in the world. The objective of the game is to beat the dealer by having a hand value closer to 21 than the dealer’s hand value without exceeding 21.

One of the most common hands that players aim for when playing blackjack is a pair. In this article, we will discuss what are the odds of getting a pair in blackjack.

Firstly, let’s understand what a pair means in blackjack. A pair is when a player has two cards of the same rank in their hand.

For example, if a player has two cards with a value of 7, they have a pair of sevens. In blackjack, there are 13 ranks of cards – Ace, 2-10 (number cards), Jack, Queen and King.

Now that we know what a pair is let’s take a look at the odds of getting one while playing blackjack. The probability of drawing any specific rank as your first card is 4 out of 52 (or 1 out of 13).

This is because there are four suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades) in a deck and each suit has one card for each rank. Therefore your chances of getting any specific rank as your first card are 4/52 or approximately 7.7%.

If you get dealt two cards at the start of the game, then your chances of getting dealt a pair are calculated by multiplying the probability that you get any specific rank for your first card with the probability that you get another card with the same rank as your first card.

Let’s take an example to understand this better. If you get dealt an Ace as your first card then there are three other Aces left in the deck which can be drawn as your second card out of remaining 51 cards (since one ace has already been drawn).

Therefore, there are 3 out of 51 cards that can form a pair with your first Ace. So your chances of getting a pair of Aces are 4/52 * 3/51 which is approximately 0.45% or 1 in every 221 hands.

Similarly, if you get dealt a pair as your first two cards, then the odds of getting another card with the same rank as your first two cards (to form a three-of-a-kind) are calculated by multiplying the probability that you get any specific rank for your third card with the probability that it matches one of the two ranks already in your hand.

The above calculations apply if you’re playing with a single deck. However, most blackjack games are played with multiple decks (usually six to eight decks). In such cases, the odds of getting a pair become slightly different due to the increased number of cards in play.

In conclusion, the odds of getting a pair in blackjack depend on various factors such as the number of decks being used and the specific rank that you’re aiming for. While getting a pair is not essential to win at blackjack, it can certainly increase your chances of winning if you play your hand well. So next time you’re playing blackjack, keep these odds in mind and aim for that perfect pair!