Super Fun 21 is truly
super fun
5 November 2002
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
I recently played a game called Super Fun
blackjack. There were certain rule changes from
regular 21; particularly only being paid even
money for a blackjack. Is it worth giving up the
bonus for a blackjack? Greg M.
Super Fun 21, a slight variation on blackjack,
is now found in many casinos. Not only is it fun
to play, but if you use smart play, you drop the
house edge to less than one percent.
Though the cash return is not equivalent to that
in straight blackjack, using perfect basic
strategy on a single deck game, the liberal
rules and enhanced entertainment value offset
the slight difference in the casino advantage
and the miserly even-money blackjack payoff.
The rules, Greg, are roughly the same as with
blackjack but with the following modifications:
The game is played with a single deck of cards.
All blackjacks are paid at even money, except a
blackjack in diamonds. They pay 2 to 1.
A blackjack always wins no matter what the
dealer has. There are no pushes.
The dealer must hit a soft 17.
You can double after any split.
You can double down on any number of cards.
After splitting aces, you can take as many hits
as you want, and even double down thereafter.
You can late surrender on any number of cards.
You can re-split up to four hands, including
aces.
Players may surrender half of their total bet
after doubling. Except after doubling, a hand
totaling 20 or less, and consisting of six cards
or more, automatically wins.
A hand of 21, consisting of five cards or more,
except after doubling, instantly pays 2 to 1.
I had not played Super Fun 21 until your
inquiry, Greg, making a field test of the game
obligatory. Damn, what won't I do for my
readers! Anyhow, I held the fort for four hours
on a $50 buy-in, and had a "grand" time. "Grand"
because that is what I walked away with using
perfect basic strategy, and a conservative
winning progressive method of betting; $5, $5,
$7, $10, $15, $22, etc., and flat bet (table
minimum) when losing.
Thanks again, Greg, for the question. Look for
your share in the mail.
Dear Mark,
In a machine that holds your credits, does
pushing the single play button or max play
button give you the same combinations? Tats N.
Gaming regulations of most if not all
jurisdictions would never allow the outcome of a
slot return to be affected by the number of
coins or credits played. If you were to obtain a
super jackpot pushing the single play button,
the machine would not sneeringly alter what you
were to receive because of the button you
pressed. There is no built-in AIC (artificial
intelligence chip) admonishing the payout
function of the slot machine that such and such
a player is undeserving of a jackpot, because he
a) always stiffs the cocktail waitress, b) the
casino operator is behind in the light bill, or
c) failed to caress the max play button.
Dear Mark,
Though not a poker player, I was wondering if
you could describe what a "flop" is? Andy G.
In poker twaddle, a flop is "not falling on your
face." The archetypical flop occurs when the
three community cards are dealt face up, all at
once, in the center of the table in the game of
Hold'em. Players then use their own two cards in
conjunction with the communal cards to make the
best possible poker hand.
Gambling quote of the week: "Money is not always
the sole motivation for card cheating. It may be
ego, cynicism, or even neurosis." Darwin Ortiz,
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