Quote: MrCasinoGamesHi Babs,
Yes, the show went vary well for me.
Your game is one of the best at the show.
Stephen,
Glad you had a good show! And that's a high compliment coming from you, thanks very much. Did you show the one with the 20 sided die? That looked like a lot of fun.
There's only so much time so I tend to concentrate on card games and leave sidebets and roulette for later (just my personal preference).Quote: timing...were there others that did not take your interest...
btw there's a thread on Blackjack War ( http://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/tables/17421-war-blackjack-is-spreading/7/ ) and a new page ( http://wizardofodds.com/games/war-blackjack/ ). I was unaware of this when reviewing the game.
tables with Grosvenor Casino, Coventry / elsewhere. When you said 'the winner by miles' YOU WERE CORRECT. I should tell you I am Garry A. Hamud, my email is warblackjack.com@gmail.com. WBJ offers a player a new volatile game experience without the usual, concomitant loss of play time because the player now can raise his BJ wager mid hand, after seeing the dlr up card (actually all up cards on the table), using War winnings, not his own chips . . this is fun and advantageous, far better than having to push out all one’s chips on a BJ wager BEFORE ever seeing a card. WBJ is rapidly becoming the people's choice when compared to ordinary BJ.

How it works - from a games' designer viewpoint.
Grosvenor hold a regular event where designers can pay a small fee to have their games hosted. Casino managers and a few punters go along and the most popular are trialled in their provincial casinos. The only downside is they don't subsequently advertise which games go where (e.g. this winter Lucky 13 Blackjack went to two casinos).
Some of the games.
There were many games on show - I tend to ignore the roulette side-bets as, from a review point-of-view, I can't add much value - so I concentrate on the games. Also Grosvenor held an in-house competition and showed five games from their employees.
Card games
1 - Higher Or Lower
Seven community cards are gradually played out on the table, similar to "Play Your Cards Right", and you have to make correct (Ties lose) guesses. Two or less loses, three guarantees Evens, five 2/1, six 3/1. There is also a sidebet on "Ties".
It's a deceptively simple game, but the problem I found was everyone would be betting the same rather than you have your own game.
4- Blackjack Duel
Standard Blackjack except each player has their own dealer's cards (thus trying to reduce the effect of other players on your outcome), and your hand is resolved before moving onto the next player. It seems slower to deal but won the competition; so see it appearing soon!
11 Second Hand 21 (Blackjack)
This game uses a mandatory bet to give you some advantages to your Blackjack game. A "half-bet" loses if your initial total is Even otherwise it ties/paid if your BJ hand ties/wins. In this case BJs and 21s win, you can burn 1st 14-17 or double on any #cards. I like the mechanism but don't know whether people prefer this to Push 22-like methods to grab back house edge.
13 21 or Nothing (Blackjack using a modified deck)
The deck has cards with negative values (using a 5th suit) and also adds 11-cards (removing pictures). The aim is to get to 21 or to 0 (or less); there are also special hands which are treated like "Blackjacks".
It's an interesting twist and similar to Lucky 31 which uses a modified deck, may find difficulty in dealers and players being able to ascertain their totals and this slows the game down.
Dice games
12 Sports Shotz Football (small dice table used)
The concept is that there are three phases of the game, each using a roll of one die. The first roll decides whether it's a Goal, Miss or "Hit Post" (paying 1 2 or 4 to 1); subsequent rolls elaborate (e.g. header, penalty) and pay longer odds.
The pay-table needs tweaking but it's an interesting idea.
20 Dice Ball (small dice tables used)
This is a great idea based Baseball using two dice, the shooter aims to get round four bases and score runs. This is done by not rolling a Seven, four times. The layout has a baseball layout for the shooter's progress and three types of bets.
(a) The shooter will score a run (pays Evens).
(b) The shooter will score three or more runs (pays increasing odds, like a Jackpot or Fire Bet).
(c) Big 6, Big 8 or (2/5) (3/4) ... bets paying Evens (yes not generous odds, but a nice touch to group the numbers in this way).
Probably my favourite game but I'd like to see the place odds tweaked, perhaps paying extra for a double.
Quote: charliepatrickI tend to ignore the roulette side-bets as, from a review point-of-view, I can't add much value.
Well, that just makes me sad.
That's the part of your report I was most interested in!
FYI: I created a roulette side bet that I hope to showcase at a show like this in the near future.
http://www.davemillergaming.com/
Reading your review of what's out there would be most helpful...
I've known of poker style bets using 0 as wild for some time, but I think the other one was US based (i.e. 0 or 00) and used five spins so was more complicated (but easy online).
MrCasinoGames also had a bet based on the last digit (of, I'm guessing, two or more spins).
So 2nd hand Blackjack is similar to Zap It, but uses a negative expectation mandatory wager for clawing back HE? On an initial 14 & 16, do you lose the 1/2 wager and then get a new hand? I think I like the Change 21 game better than this, where you pay/lose a half wager whenever you elect to invoke the option for changing one of any of your first two cards. That game has the added feature of allowing regular BJ play on the same table as players simply never make the Change 21 side bet to use the option (you invoke the option after seeing your 1st two cards)
I had the same interesting observation - but it seemed easier just to give the facts as I had found them. Of course since we're seeing prototypes they may still be "patent pending" rather than patented.Quote: ParadigmI am guessing DJ may have a comment or two on the similarities between this Galaxy game and his PFR!
Yes you lose the side-bet and then get a new hand on 14 or 16 - the first hand I played did this! Usually the same core game designers come along, so it's not unusual to see similar threads in other games - I think MrCasinoGames did both games ( http://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/online/16561-zappit-blackjack/ ) - he also has done quite a few Roulette side-bets.
Quote: charliepatrickI think the one you would be interested in comes from Galaxy Gaming and is called Trio-Lette : wager that next three spins form a poker hand where 0's are wild. 000:500/1 Trips:20/1 Run (eg 789):8/1 Duo: 4/1.
Ya think?Quote: ParadigmI am guessing DJ may have a comment or two on the similarities between this Galaxy game and his PFR!
Except, I'm not entirely sure what to say...
It's quite possible you're talking about my Poker For Roulette game. It DOES have 0 and 00 wild, and it originally was five spins which was determined to be too complicated, as well as too long to wait for resolution - although neither should be a problem for online implementations.Quote: charliepatrickI've known of poker style bets using 0 as wild for some time, but I think the other one was US based (i.e. 0 or 00) and used five spins so was more complicated (but easy online).
Plus, Ive been talking about it on WoV for a few years, including this thread when I introduced it 4.5 years ago.
Thanks for the info!