Australian Invents Lucky 13s Casino Blackjack
A new blackjack variant has been developed for land casino play. However, Australian online casino blackjack players will find this news interesting for several reasons. The first is that the game has been developed in Australia by Vinny Sandhu, the general manager of Engaging Table Games Pty. Ltd., Perth. The second reason is that the new game is a blackjack variant and all blackjack players should check it out. The third reason is that sooner or later one of the Australian online casino software providers will pick up this game for online play. The game is titled Lucky 13s Blackjack.
Lucky 13s Blackjack is played with a deck of 64 cards. The additional twelve cards are 11, 12 and 13 in each of the four suits. These are different from the face cards Jack, Queen and King. They have 11, 12 and 13 pips respectively and are valued at their pip count. Most of the standard blackjack rules have been incorporated. Blackjack pays 3 to 2 as usual. The dealer has to stand on hard 16 and all 17s. The player can insure against the dealer’s ace.
With 12s and 13s in the deck of the player can go over 21 with his first two cards. He can protect against this by placing a Protection side bet. The bet normally pays 5 to 1 on a total of 22 to 25 and pays 40 to 1 if two 13s are dealt. At the same time if the dealer’s face up card is 13 these payouts are multiplied by 5. Hence when a player gets two 13s and the dealer gets one 13 the payout is a whopping 200 to 1. No wonder that this blackjack variant has been named Lucky 13s. The player will bust in the main game, but with these payouts that is no worry. A player can split two 12s just like any other pair, so this hand does not bust. There is a Pairs side bet that pays 12 to 1 if the player is dealt a pair. This payout is also multiplied five times if the dealer shows a 13.
Lucky 13s Blackjack was unveiled at the 2014 Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. Sandhu said that this blackjack variant adhering to Engaging Table Games’ governing “SPA” principle, which stands for simple, playable and awesome. Some more information has been released by Sandhu. With more high value cards in the pack the dealer will bust more frequently. He added that Lucky 13s had been designed for maximum AU$10 tables in an effort to appeal to the widest consumer base possible.
