Lucky Stiff Blackjack

Paradigm

The Caribbean Casino is located in the North of Kirkland, Washington. It welcomes its players in a tropical atmosphere. Several table games are available in this establishment: Poker, Lucky Stiff Blackjack. We have your answer with Lucky Stiff Blackjack, an exciting new optional wager. It's played just like classic blackjack, but with an optional secondary wager to cover those pesky 'stiff' hands. Mulligan 21 offers an optional side bet referred to as Lucky Stiff. A player that receives 66, 77 or 88 on the first two cards automatically wins 7-1, regardless of the results of the hand. These are referred to as “Stiff Pairs”. A natural blackjack.

I am pleased to announce that Lucky Stiff Blackjack, a companion bet for regular blackjack, went live at 7 Cedars Casino in Sequim, WA on 5/15/13.
Lucky Stiff was conceived and developed by the Forum's very own 'Lucky.' The latest version, and the one in play at 7 Cedars, is a result of our collaborative effort to modify and tweak the pay table of the previous version.
Details of the game can be found here:
http://www.paradigmtablegames.com/lucky_stiff.html
Lucky Stiff is a side wager that is focused on the player being initially dealt a hard 12 through 16, although the side bet also wins even money on any natural blackjack.
If the player is initially dealt a 'Stiff Pair', a pair of 6's, 7's or 8's, the player instantly wins 10-1. Any natural Blackjack also instantly wins even money and the side bet is paid regardless of the dealer's hand.
If the player is not initially dealt a hard 12-16 or a blackjack, the side bet loses immediately.
Players dealt an unpaired hard 12-16 still have action on their Lucky Stiff wager and will be paid 5-1 on their side bet if their final BJ hand ends up beating the dealer's hand. Players can stand or hit in their attempts to beat the dealer and should employ basic strategy in all but the rarest of hands. If the player's main BJ wager is a push, the Lucky Stiff wager pushes as well. If the player busts or loses their BJ hand to the dealer after starting with a hard 12-16, their Lucky Stiff wager loses as well.
The rules of normal blackjack apply to the regular blackjack game on which Lucky Stiff is added as a side bet.
The house edge on Lucky Stiff varies with the number of decks in play, but under most circumstances, is right at 4%. The win rate of Lucky Stiff is just under 18%; the push rate is just over 1%.
The 'qualification rate' of Lucky Stiff is 43%. This means that 43% of initial two card blackjack hands are a either a stiff hand or natural blackjack. So a player is either immediately paid or still has a chance to win their Lucky Stiff side bet on 43% of their initial two card hands.
We welcome comments on Lucky Stiff Blackjack.

Paigowdan

The win rate of 18% is rewarding, and the 'in the game participation' rate of 43% also is good.
Two chances to win (in two stages) I think is a good gimmick or mechanism, a good draw to players.
It does seem a little countable with key cards, via the BJ and the 6's, 7's, and 8's, but since they must be pairs, the effect is diluted; if it is, an HE adjustment can protect it (a la Lucky Ladies).
Good luck with it! Lucky Stiff Blackjack

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes - Henry David Thoreau. Like Dealers' uniforms - Dan.

McDemon

Well done on getting it in somewhere. Example, If I receive 13 on my first 2 cards, what happens? Do I get paid out on my Lucky Stiff bet? Or do I have to hope the dealer busts or I am higher than the dealer?

Lucky

Yes, because of the stiff pair payouts (66, 77, 88), we had Charles Mousseau do an AP analysis, which concluded that the bet was only 1/100th as vulnerable as the main BJ bet. And as you pointed out, even that small risk can be easily mitigated by adjusting the HE, limiting the side bet to an amount no greater than the main bet, or placing a flat limit on the side bet. Lucky stiff blackjack

Thanks for the well wishes!

'Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.' -- Winston Churchill

Lucky

Attn: McDemon
You win and are paid 5:1 if you win the main BJ bet. You are free to hit or stand to beat the dealer, and employing basic BJ strategy is almost always the correct way to play.

'Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.' -- Winston Churchill

Lucky Stiff Blackjack Games

McDemon

Attn: McDemon
You win and are paid 5:1 if you win the main BJ bet. You are free to hit or stand to beat the dealer, and employing basic BJ strategy is almost always the correct way to play.

Right, so a 13 would effectively mean your bet is still in play, it qualifies and you receive a payout of 5 to 1 if the dealer busts or you beat him. Anything else you lose. Bet the dealers going to love you!

Controversial sometimes, brutally honest..Always

Lucky

I hope so; the bet was designed to be dealer-friendly.

Lucky Stiff Blackjack

'Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.' -- Winston Churchill

Lucky

Correction: You also push on player-dealer ties.

'Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.' -- Winston Churchill

McDemon

Correction: You also push on player-dealer ties.

Lucky Stiff Blackjack Card Game

Good luck with that, I think you are addressing a fertile area of BJ

Controversial sometimes, brutally honest..Always

Lucky Stiff Blackjack Game

Paradigm

Lucky Stiff Blackjack Poker

We hope so....the frequent action/payout with a reasonable house edge is the niche we are going for, we will find out how it is working after getting some first month performance data