Integer Compositions Applied to the Probability Analysis of Blackjack and the Infinite Deck Assumption

Abstract

Composition theory can be used to analyze and enumerate the number of ways a dealer in Blackjack can reach any given point total. The rules of Blackjack provide several restrictions on the number of compositions of a given number. While theory guarantees a specific number of unrestricted compositions of any positive integer, we must subtract the number of compositions not allowed in Blackjack. We present a constructive approach to enumerate the number of possible compositions for any point value by deleting those illegal compositions from the total number of unrestricted compositions. Our results cover all possible cases and also generalize to changes to the rules of Blackjack, such as the point value where the dealer must stand. Using the infinite deck assumption, we also find the approximate probability that the dealer reaches that point total.