Description
Alyrians love games of all kinds and that includes blackjack! Blackjack dealers can be found in numerous locations around Alyria including New Rigel, Sigil, Tellerium, Templeton, Arcane Archipelago, and Smuggler's Gulch. All you need to start playing is a voucher or any amount of gold!
How To Play
Blackjack is a game played between you and the blackjack dealer (otherwise known as the "house"). The object of the game is to get as close as possible to 21 without going over or "bust".
Once you have located a dealer, the game can be started by giving the dealer any amount of gold or any blackjack voucher. Blackjack vouchers are worth a predetermined amount of gold printed on the voucher and can be obtained as a reward from the tourism representatives located in major Alyrian cities.
The dealer will deal 2 cards to the player and 2 cards to themselves. Both of the player's cards will be face-up but only one of the dealer's cards will be visible. The player can either 'hit', 'stay', or 'double down' by saying it to the dealer.
Saying 'hit' will prompt the dealer to deal you one card. If you hit and go over 21, the game is over and you lose, forfeiting any gold you paid to begin the game.
If you 'stay' or 'double down', the turn is passed to the dealer and the dealer then has the option to hit or stay. The dealer will always hit if his face up card value is under 17, The dealer will always 'stay' on 17 or higher unless he has an Ace.
Choosing to 'double down' means that the player doubles their original bet, but receives only one more card and then stays. You may only 'double down' on the your initial turn. Once you have 'hit', you may only continue to 'hit' or 'stay'. When using a voucher, if the player chooses to 'double down' they will give dealer an amount of gold equal to the credit from the voucher, ie: 5000 additional gold for a voucher worth 5000g.
Choosing to 'stay' means that the player does not want any more cards.
Once the dealer has taken their turn, the player will again have the option to 'hit' or 'stay'. This process will repeat until the player goes 'bust' (their cards total more than 21 points) or chooses to 'stay'. Then the dealer will continue with their turn until the dealer chooses to 'stay'.
When both the player and the dealer have chosen to 'stay', the dealer will flip over his remaining card and compare their score to the player's. If the dealer has the higher score, the player forfeits whatever gold they paid to play.
Payouts
- If the player goes bust or the house wins, the player forfeits the gold they
- paid to begin the game.
- If the player and the house tie, the player wins back the amount of gold they
- paid to begin the game.
- A regular win yields 1:1 earnings, while on a double down, a win yields 2:1.
- A blackjack yields 3.5:2.
Tips
- If you have card values less than 10, you should hit, no matter what the
- dealer shows.
- If you have card values 10 or 11 when the dealer shows 3-6, Double Down.
- The probability of the dealer busting is high, and the payout will be
- rewarding.
- If you have card values 10 or 11 when the dealer shows a 10, you should
- hit, unless you are feeling lucky and hope to get another 10 or Jack.
- If you have card values 13-16 when the dealer shows 13-16, you should
- stay. Chances are, the dealer will hit a card and bust.
- If you have card values 12-16 when the dealer shows 7-10, you should
- hit and hope to not bust.