game
Fan Tan Rules – Card Game
Fan Tan, which Hoyle’s Rules of Games indicates may have been named after a Chinese gambling game, is also known as Stops or Sevens.
Players
3 to 8 players. Probably best with 4 or 5 players.
Deck
Standard 52-card deck. King is high; Ace is low.
Goal
To be the first player to get rid of all his cards.
Setup
Shuffle the deck and choose a dealer, who deals the entire deck out. Some players may receive one card more than others. This will even out over several hands.
Gameplay
A key rule in Fan Tan is that each player must play if they can. Breaking or even simply forgetting this rule can ruin the game.
The 7s are always playable.
The player to the left of the dealer plays first and play continues in a clockwise direction. If he has a 7, he must play it; otherwise, he must pass. When a 7 is played, it’s laid in the middle of the table because it forms a foundation for other cards to be played on.
Once a 7 is played, the 6 and 8 of the same suit are playable. Place the 6 to one side of the 7 and the 8 to the other. Future plays are made on these cards, always in sequential order. On the 6s, the sequence is 5-4-3-2-A. On the 8s, the sequence is 9-10-J-Q-K.
Winning
The first player to play all of his cards wins the hand.
The House Edge in Blackjack Continuous Shuffling Machine
The continuous shufflers have no benefits for the player and has been dubbed the "uncomfortable shoes". It eliminates card counting for the skilled player and will also have a major disadvantage for the basic strategy player. It speeds up the game!
When the CSM was first introduced many players felt it would probably increase the house edge. As it turns out this is not entirely true. Michael Shackleford, The Wizard of Odds did a mathematical analysis of the Continuous Shuffling Machines and found that there was a very slight reduction in the house edge.
In a four deck game the edge is 0.034 percent and in an eight deck game is tis0.014 percent. Before you get excited about a slight reduction in the house edge you have to realize that when the casino uses a CSM the speed of the games is increased by about 20 percent. The basic strategy player stands to lose more in the long run because they are exposing more money to the house edge.
As a player I feel it’s a treat to visit a casino that offers double and single deck games. I would hate to see these games eliminated altogether. Even a multi deck shoe game is preferable to the Continuous Shuffling Machines. The best way you can let the casinos know this is by refusing to play Blackjack at the casinos that use a CSM for their Blackjack games.
Super Fun 21 and Blackjack
Super Fun 21 is a variation of Blackjack but the rules are very different and the in Nevada the game can not be called Blackjack. However, many novice players sit down at a Super Fun 21 game and mistakenly think they are playing a single deck game of Blackjack.
The mechanics of the game and the play is the same as a regular game of Blackjack but there are several rule variations that make the game unique.
- The game is played with a single deck but some casinos use two decks.
- The dealer hits a soft 17.
- Players may double down on any number of cards.
- Players may split pairs up to four times, including aces.
- Players may take late surrender on any number of cards, even after hitting, splitting or doubling down.
- A player hand totaling 20 or less made with six or more cards automatically wins. (except after doubling down.)
- A player hand totaling 21 made with five cards or more (except after doubling) pays 2 to 1.
- A player natural blackjack always wins even if the dealer has one.
Even Money Blackjack
The biggest rule variation for Super Fun 21 is that all natural blackjacks pay even money instead of the usual 3 to 2 found in most games. The only exception is a blackjack in diamonds which pays 2 to 1. This means that you can expect to be paid even money for 15 out of every 16 natural blackjacks.
House Edge
With most natural blackjacks paying even money and the dealer hitting soft 17 the house edge for the single deck game is 1.16 percent. The double deck game has a house edge of 1.30 percent. This is almost as high as the bad Blackjack games that pay $6 to $5 for a natural blackjack. Super Fun 21 is considered one of the new novelty game and most serious Blackjack players will avoid this game.
How to Count Cards in Blackjack
Point Values
The Low cards: two, three, four, five and six are assigned a value of plus one. These low cards are valuable to the dealer who must take a hit if the total of their hand is under 17. They are less likely to bust if the deck had more low cards in it.
The High cards:Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace are assigned value of minus one. These high cards favor the player When the deck contains a large number of tens and aces it increases the players chances of drawing a pat hand (17 or higher) or getting a natural blackjack. A deck containing high cards also increases the probability of the dealer busting if they must take a hit.
The Neutral cards: seven, eight and nine have no value and are not counted. If you count 52 card deck using these values the total will be zero. There are an equal number of high and low cards and this is why the Hi Lo system is known as a balanced system.
The first step in learning card counting is to get familiar with the point values of each card. Get a deck of cards and turn them over one at a time while reciting their value. Here is an easy tip to speed things up: Instead of saying “plus one” for low cards, just say, “One” and instead of saying, “Minus one.” for high cards, say, “M-one.” You don’t have to say anything for the neutral cards.
For example you deal:
King (M-one)
9 (say nothing)
6 (one)
The Running Count
Once you have practiced the point values it is time to start keeping the Running Count for the whole deck. This time you will add and subtract the cards as you go along. For example:
1st card = King. The count is: M-one.
2nd card= Ace. The count is: M-two.
3rd card = 9. The count is still: M-two.
4th card = Jack. The count is: M-three.
5th card =5. The count is: M-two.
6th card = 4. The count is M-one.
7th card = 3. The is: Even (You don’t have to see anything.)
8th card = 6. The count is One.
9th card = 7. The count is still: One
When you first start out you should not worry about speed. It will be pretty slow but you should be more concerned with your accuracy. After counting down few hundred decks of cards your speed will increase. A good counter can count a deck in about 20 seconds. As you get faster, turn on some loud music or the television to create some distractions. The downfall of many card counters has been getting distracted in a noisy casino because the practiced in a quiet setting.
The True Count
When you use the Hi Lo system you have to convert the running count into the True count to get a more accurate estimation whether or not you have an advantage. You do this by dividing the running count by the remainder cards yet to be dealt. These days you won’t find many single deck games if any and all, so you will be playing multiple deck games. These can range from two deck to eight decks so you will have to adjust a running count by the number of decks left to be played in order to determine the makeup of the deck.
For example: if you are playing a single deck game and nine low cards came out the deck would definitely be a positive however in a six deck game it would be less because there are still five and ½ decks left to be dealt.
Many players use the half deck estimations for the remaining cards. When you are starting out you can use full decks for your calculations. The way you determine how many decks have been dealt is to look at the discard tray on the table. You will have to practice by getting several decks of cards and piling them on top of each other one deck at a time until you are confident that you can determine the cards in the discard tray. Once you know how many decks have been played you subtract this from the number of deck you started with and you know the number of decks remaining. This is the figure will use to convert the running count to the true count. Here is an example for a six deck game.
You have determined that the running count is 12. You look at that discard tray and see that three decks have been played which means that there are still three deck remaining. You divide the running count of 12 by 3 and you get a true count of four.
Betting
The way you get your advantage with car counting is by betting more when the count is positive and betting the minimum when it is negative. You determine the size of your bets by the true count. Each bet is a unit and it is determined by the size of your base bet. If you were playing at a $5 table one unit would be $5. If you are playing at a $25 table one unit would be $25. The amount of units you bet from minimum to maximum is known as the spread.
When you play a double deck game you can get the advantage by spreading your bets from on unit to six. In a six or eight deck game you will have to spread from one to 12 units. The chart below shows you bet based on the true count.
| Spread Based on Count | ||
| True Count | 2 Decks | 6 Decks |
| 0 or less | 1 unit | 1 unit |
| +1 | 2 units | 2 units |
| +2 | 3 units | 4 units |
| +3 | 4 units | 8 units |
| +4 | 5 units | 10 units |
| +5 or more | 6 units | 12 units |
Whe Card Counting Works in Blackjack
What makes blackjack different from any other casino game is that the house edge is not fixed. The odds of getting a natural blackjack are dependent upon the cards that have already been dealt and the cards remaining in the deck. If an ace is dealt on the first round the odds of drawing another ace has gone down.
In the game of blackjack your probability of winning a hand is dependent upon the mix of the cards remaining in the deck. If the mix of cards remaining in the deck contains high value cards, it is a positive and is favorable for the player. When the deck contains a large number of tens and aces it increases the players chances of drawing a pat hand (17 or higher) or getting a natural blackjack. It also increases the chances that the dealer will bust. Even though the dealer is just as likely to draw a good hand when the deck is positive, the player is getting paid 3 to 2 for a natural blackjack. This is why card counters raise the size of their bets when the deck is rich with high cards. They may also deviate from basic strategy depending on the count.
If the cards remaining in the deck are low value cards, it is negative and it favors the dealer. Card counters usually lower their bets when the count is negative. When the deck is rich in low cards it less likely that the dealer will make a pat hand and it is also makes it less likely that the dealer will busts when he has to draw.