TVBET Blackjack

Introduction

What I call "TVBET Blackjack" could loosely be described as a blackjack variant by TVBET, a provider of live dealer games for Internet casinos. They call the game just "blackjack," I wanted to differentiate it from conventional blackjack, thus the name "TVBET Blackjack.

The game is pits a single player hand against the dealer. Both draw until 17 or more. Players may wager on the winning outcome of the hand and various other proposition bets.

Rules

1. The game is played with a single 52-card deck.
2. All cards are scored as in conventional blackjack, as follows:
   • 2 to 10 = Pip value
   • Face cards = 10 points
   • Aces = 1 or 11 points
3. The following is a list of bets available and what they pay (on a "for one" basis):
   • Player wins — Pays 2.3
   • Dealer wins — Pays 1.93
   • Tie — Pays 10
   • Player wins with blackjack — Pays 20
   • Dealer wins with blackjack — Pays 29
   • Either side wins with blackjack — Pays 12
   • Either side busts — Pays 2.01
   • Neither side busts — Pays 1.8
   • Winning side has two cards — Pays 3.1
   • Winning side has three cards — Pays 4.13
4. After betting is closed, the dealer shall deal two cards to the player hand and one to the dealer hand.
5. If the player hand has a blackjack, then the dealer shall deal a single card to the dealer hand, if a blackjack is possible in that hand, for the possibility of a blackjack tie.
6. If the player hand is not a blackjack, then the dealer shall deal cards to the player hand until that total is 17 or more. This includes standing on a soft 17.
7. If the player busted, then the dealer hand shall automatically win. No further cards shall be dealt to the dealer hand, even if the dealer had a 10 or ace up.
8. If the player hand didn't bust and the winning outcome isn't obvious, then the dealer shall offer players to make new wagers with adjusted odds.
9. After the second round of betting is closed, the dealer shall deal cards to the dealer hand until that hand has 17 or more points.
10. If the dealer hand busts, then the the player hand shall win.
11. Otherwise, if neither hand busted and neither had a blackjack, then the higher hand shall win.

Here are some additional comments on the various bets:

• Player wins — The bet shall win if the player hand wins in any way. This bet shall lose in the event of a tie.
• Dealer wins — The bet shall win if the dealer hand wins in any way. This bet shall lose in the event of a tie.
• Tie — This bet wins in the event of any tie.
• Player wins with blackjack — Note that this bet loses in the event of a blackjack tie.
• Dealer wins with blackjack — Note that this bet loses in the event of a blackjack tie.
• Either side wins with blackjack — This bet also loses on a blackjack tie, as neither side won.
• Either side busts — Note the dealer hand will not draw any cards if the player hand is a blackjack.
• Neither side busts — Note the dealer hand will not draw any cards if the player hand is a blackjack.
• Winning side has two cards — This bet loses in the event of a tie. The dealer hand does not draw if the player busts.
• Winning side has three cards — This bet loses in the event of a tie. The dealer hand does not draw if the player busts.

In case you are wondering why a dealer blackjack pays much more than a player blackjack, it is because the dealer will not play out his hand, even if a blackjack is possible, if the player busts.

Analysis

The following table shows the results of a random simulation of 3,363,000,000 rounds played. The right column shows the best bet is on either side to bust at a return of 95.09%.

I looked at the mid-state odds of six hands where it was offered. The returns ranged from 94.3% to 95.1%, with a mean of 94.9%.

A press release about this game mentioned there are supposed to be bets on the total points in the winning hand. However, I could find no such bets.

As long as I had to analyze the bets on 2 and 3 cards in the winning hand, here is a table showing all possibilities of 9 or less. When the player hand busts, I count it as a one-card win, since the dealer hand got one card only.

Internal Links

TVBet has a very similar game called 21 Bet.

Written by: Michael Shackleford