Super Fun 21 is truly super fun

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, Gambling Scams