Siete y Media

Introduction

Siete y Media, meaning Seven and a Half in English, is a table game I noticed in November, 2011, at the Conrad casino in Punta del Este, Uruguay. The object is to have more points than the dealer, without going over 7.5. Siette y Media should not be confused with a closely related game in Italy called Sette y Mezzo.

Rules

1. The game uses 40-card decks, with all eights, nines, and tens removed.
2. Aces count as one point, 2 to 7 according to pip value, and all face cards are half a point.
3. The object is to get more points than the dealer, without going over 7.5.
4. After making a wager, the player and dealer will each receive one card face up.
5. The player's options are to stand or hit. The player may hit as much as he wishes.
6. If the player goes over 7.5 points he busts and automatically loses.
7. After the player has finished, the dealer will draw cards until he has 5 or more points.
8. If the dealer goes over 7.5 points, then any remaining players shall win.
9. If both player and dealer have 7.5 points or less, then the hand with more points shall win.
10. All wins pay even money. A tie shall result in a push.

 

 

Strategy

The following table shows the basic strategy for an 8-deck game.

House Edge

I don't know how many decks the game is typically played with. When I saw the game at the Conrad it was closed at the time. So, here is the house edge for one to eight decks.

 

Written by: Michael Shackleford