Only over the very long haul does a net profit become likely. About card counting, absolutely not, even the best of card counters will lose often. Next door, at the Westward Ho, double after a split is allowed but the dealer hits a soft 17 for a house edge of 0.04%. The best single-deck game is at the Slots-a-Fun (next to Circus Circus) where the dealer stands on soft 17 for a player edge of 0.01%. With these rules, the house edge is 0.18%. The typical Las Vegas single-deck game does not allow doubling after a split and the dealer hits a soft 17. I have already enhanced the house edge table in the blackjack section to include a wider variation in rules. However, in real life, when single deck is offered the other rules invariably become more stingy.
At the time you wrote this I indicated the house edge according to a fixed set of rules that varied only by the number of decks.
