Each fall at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, I take time away from the seminars and from tours of the major slot manufacturers’ booths to seek out new table games. This time around, a few new takes on blackjack stood out, variations that will be available to casinos in the coming year.
Scientific Games, which acquire longtime table games leader Shuffle Master, was showing Zappit Blackjack. No doubt you’ve suffered through a blackjack session with stiff hand after stiff hand, been dealt yet another 15, and felt like you’d just like to zap it. That’s just what Zappit does. If you’re dealt a two-card 15, 16, 17 or 18, you can toss the hand and get two new cards.
There’s a tradeoff in that that dealer 22s don’t bust, they push any bets still in action. That’s how the casino can afford to give you the chance to upgrade some of your weakest hands.
At the Genesis Gaming booth, I ran into former World Series of Poker champion Joe Awada, who returned to the Expo after a four-year absence. Awada long showed creative new games with his own company, but this time was at Genesis with his new, revised version of Double Draw Blackjack. It’s been simplified from earlier versions to make the game easy on players and dealers alike.
In addition to their regular blackjack bets, players may make a Double Draw side bet that must meet the table minimum. The Double Draw bet is a wager on whether or not the dealer will bust.
One good part for the player, and something that makes this different from past dealer bust games, is that the bet is only in action if the dealer has to draw. If the dealer’s first two cards make a standing hand of 17 to 21, the Double Draw bet is a push. It’s the dealer turning his hole card up plus taking another card that makes this a Double Draw.
Table games are slower to come to market than slot games – there’s a lot more turnover on the slots. But casinos always are looking for ways to coax a little extra action out of blackjack, and these are two with a chance to make it to casino floors soon.
