Siete y Medio (Seven and a Half) Game
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Here are the rules.
- The game is played with an unknown number of decks (it was closed on the Monday night I saw it).
- All eights, nines, and tens are removed.
- Face cards are worth half a point. Aces one point, 2-7 according to pip value.
- The object of the game is to get more points than the dealer, without going over 7.5.
- Play starts with the player and dealer each getting one card face up.
- The players choices are only hit and stand. The player may hit as much as he likes.
- If the player goes over 7.5, he busts, and immediately loses.
- After the player has finished the dealer will play out his hand, hitting on 4.5 or less, and standing on 5 or more.
- If the dealer busts any players still standing will win even money.
- If neither player nor dealer bust then the higher total shall win. Wins pay even money. A tie is a push.
Here is my basic strategy, assuming infinite decks.
The house edge I get is 0.94%.
I welcome all questions, comments, or best of all, confirmations.
Wikipedia link (in Spanish).
And now for something completely different... Were the "Jacks", "Valets" in Uruguay?
Quote: AyecarumbaIf played with a small number of decks (2-4?) is this game countable? I would think having many large cards out could present opportunites. Perhaps a shoe heavy with high cards would make standing on 3.5 or 4.5 against any up card a good move?
I don't know; I've only done a simple infinite-deck analysis for now. Most tables in Argentina and Uruguay use continuous shufflers, so it may not matter. I should have noted if the table I did see had one, but I forgot. It probably did.
Quote: AyecarumbaAnd now for something completely different... Were the "Jacks", "Valets" in Uruguay?
Good question. They use American-style decks, with a J, Q, and K. I forgot to ask what they call them. However, I had to ask at five different casinos if re-splitting aces was allowed, which is not easy given my terrible Spanish. The word in Spanish for "ace," at least where I went is pronounced like "ass." So I had a hard time keeping a straight face when asking about this rule, especially to women.
Quote: Wizard7. If the player goes over 7.5, but he busts, and immediately loses.
9. If the player dealer busts any players still standing will win even money.
Split your ass? Ouch!Quote: WizardI had to ask at five different casinos if re-splitting aces was allowed, which is not easy given my terrible Spanish. The word in Spanish for "ace," at least where I went is pronounced like "ass." So I had a hard time keeping a straight face when asking about this rule, especially to women.
LOL
Here is a link to my new page on Siete y Media.
But is the house edge correct? The edge is negative when using more than one deck? I.E. It's a positive player expectation game?
Quote: DJTeddyBearI notice you made a couple minor tweaks to the strategy.
But is the house edge correct? The edge is negative when using more than one deck? I.E. It's a positive player expectation game?
Yes, when I considered the effect of removal in a finite-deck game, there were a couple strategy changes.
Indeed, if you find a single-deck game then you will enjoy a 0.76% player advantage.
Quote: RaspberryCheeseBlintzAh, Uruguay...do they still have casinos in Frey Bentos and Piriopolis? ah, for the days of 15-card cuts...
I don't know. I went to only two in Punta del Este. My article about the casinos in Argentina and Uruguay should be ready soon.
Quote: aluisiosiete y medio is a really nice game to play, even though it lacks the actions of splitting and doubleing down that blackjack offers.
Can you tell me how many decks it is typically played with?
Quote: WizardI had to ask at five different casinos if re-splitting aces was allowed, which is not easy given my terrible Spanish. The word in Spanish for "ace," at least where I went is pronounced like "ass." So I had a hard time keeping a straight face when asking about this rule, especially to women.
Quote: DJTeddyBearSplit your ass? Ouch!
LOL
That, and I can't help remembering that, in just a few places unfortunately, the term "split-ass" refers to a woman.
Quote: RaspberryCheeseBlintzAh, Uruguay...do they still have casinos in Frey Bentos and Piriopolis? ah, for the days of 15-card cuts...
There are still some hotel and casinos in Frey Bentos, but no big deal. I think that Conrad is the biggest in the country, btw.
Quote: WizardHowever, I had to ask at five different casinos if re-splitting aces was allowed, which is not easy given my terrible Spanish.
Why didn't you ask me?
I would go with "¿Se pueden dividir los Ases?" You could also have tried "partir." But I'd like to know what you came up with.
Quote:The word in Spanish for "ace," at least where I went is pronounced like "ass." So I had a hard time keeping a straight face when asking about this rule, especially to women.
Men <sigh> I went through that when I played poker with some friends. Two spoke English about half as well as I do, the other could guess the meaning of "yes" if you spotted him an English-Spanish dictionary and gave him two days to figure it out.... But I digress.
The word is "As." The pronunciaton, in Mexico, is the same as the word "haz," meaning "make" or "beam." The "h" is silent in Spanish (and what's the use of a silent letter anyway? That's what I'd like to know.)
There is a paper about this game in Spanish that is worth reading - http://optimierung.mathematik.uni-kl.de/mamaeusch/veroeffentlichungen/ver_texte/siete_media_s.pdf
Search "sette e mezzo".
