21st century blackjack

[hauchen]

In Bay101, they play this variation of BJ called 21st century blackjack. http://www.bay101.com/blackjackrules.html

I can't find the odds chart for it on wizard of odds. Also, goggling it was not very helpful (found some angelfire page which i'm not sure how legit it is)

Can anyone help me with this game? basically the major differences are:
-you DONT get paid 3:2 for BJ (get paid 1:1)
-jokers are in play and they are essentially the same as getting a 21 (unless the dealer has them)
-if both you and dealer has over 21 and your hand is closer to 22, it counts as a push
-you can be the house once per orbit

http://poker.wikia.com/wiki/21st_Century_Blackjack

So obviously the play when you have a 12 changes (and other plays too). does anyone happen to know how to play this game in the most +EV way?

thanks!

[stigmata]

pretty interesting.

Basically you take turns being the "dealer", and the game is instead raked. In this case, I guess the table limit must be fixed.

If the game is high enough, the rake low enough, and the opposition bad enough, then I can imagine that it could offer +EV opportunities. Moreover, the fact that the house simply collects a rake, means that they should be unbothered by advanced strategies such as counting, etc.

Given that professionals are quite often the people keeping big games running, it would seem to be in the casinos interest to share profits from suckers between themselves and pro's, much the same as things have evolved with poker. Whether this happens to be the case, I shall be interested to see.

[ChipWrecked]

Wizardofodds has the strategy under 'California blackjack'. His strategy is for the Hollywood Park game but afaik it's the same.

[stigmata]

[ QUOTE ]
guess the table limit must be fixed.

unbothered by advanced strategies such as counting, etc.


[/ QUOTE ]

These two parts of my post are contradictory. Thought I better point that out before one of you pedants does [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[hauchen]

thanks! i saw the strategy on wizard of odds. looks like i have to bet at least $100/hand to counter the rake that is taken every pot

[Double Down]

I banked this game at Commerce. It's called no bust blackjack.
it requires a very different basic strategy from regular bj.
Just so you know, it's virtually impossible to make any money at this game because for every bet you make up to $100, you have to pay a dollar. In addition, if you play perfect basic strategy (which only us bankers were taught!) the you are playing at a 1% disadvantage. The only way to combat this is to bank a lot of action when it is your turn to bank. In addition, try to get involved in other people's banks if you can. We were trained to look out for people who did this, called bank chasers, and a good employee will make sure to never let any player bank in more than 3 seats per orbit.

I think if you end up banking 10x the action compared to how much you bet as a player, then you can erase the disadvantage. So bet the minimum $10 on the hand before it's your turn to bank, then when you bank, cover all the action on the table.

Even with this, it still only creates about a 1% advantage with absolute wicked variance. I banked all day 8 hours a day 5 days a week and had losing streaks of weeks and weeks.

My recommendation is to stay the hell away. The drinks aren't even free anyway. If you are going to attempt to find an advantage in a playing vs banking game, learn pai gow and study optimal strategy.
If you still want to play, PM me and I will give you the basic strategy. I'll also hook you up as best as I can with some good strategies for pai gow.