I invented one card game that is possibly the easiest to understand and funnest to play out of all the comparing card games belonging to the Finnish 27 family. The name of the game is 21-24-27.
The game is played using a 6 deck shoe. Each deck is composed of thirteen ranks of each of four French suits, and two jokers. Total number of cards in each deck is equal to 54. 54 divided by 2 equals 27. For that reason, I consider this deck composition to be the Standard Deck Composition for comparing card games belonging to the Finnish 27 family.
Each playing card bares Finnish style of indicia. Indicia are markings signifying rank and suit of any given playing card. Finnish style of indicia represent the suit of each playing card with markings selected from a group of markings consisting of the four French suits. The four French suits are spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds. With the exception of the Jokers, the Finnish style of indicia represents the rank of each playing card with markings consisting of numerals. The numerals are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. The ranks are King, Queen, Jack, and Ace are signified by the numbers 13, 12, 11, and 1 respectively. Jokers bare no numerical markings.
Each playing card has a numerical value. Numerals printed on a playing card represent the numerical value of the playing card. Aces can be both high and low. High aces have a numerical value of 14. Low aces has a numerical value of 1. Players count an ace as a high ace whenever doing so would not cause the player’s hand total to exceed a numerical value of 27. A soft hand is hand that does includes a high ace. Players count an ace as a low ace whenever counting the ace as a high ace would cause the player’s hand total to exceed a numerical value of 27. A hard hand is a hand that does not include a high ace. Jokers have a numerical value of zero. All other playing cards, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2, have numerical values corresponding to their numeric markings. Accordingly, the numerical values of the playing cards in a 21-24-27 game correspond to the ranks of the playing cards in a poker game.
21-24-27 is essentially a two player game. One of the players acts as the dealer. For the player, the object of the game is to win a game wager. The player wins a game wager by correctly betting that the outcome of the game will be the player’s hand wins.
Agreeing upon the predetermined set of game rules specified for the game is the first step to playing a game of 21-24-27. The next step is for the player to make a game wager. The player must make a game wager that is within posted table limits. The dealer deals two initial hands. The two initial hands consist of a player’s initial hand and a dealer’s initial hand. Each dealer’s initial hand consists of two playing cards. Each player’s initial hand consists of at least two playing cards. All playing cards are dealt face up.
A hand consisting of an Ace and a King is called a Finnish 27 hand. The Ace and King in a Finnish 27 hand may be dealt in any order and may bare any suit markings. The Finnish 27 hand is a predetermined-winning-complete hand. If a player is dealt a Finnish 27 hand, and if the dealer is not dealt a Finnish 27 hand, then the player wins the game. All the dealer could accomplish by playing the dealer’s hand is make a dealer’s hand that has a lower value than the player’s Finnish 27 hand. Accordingly, the dealer does not play the dealer’s hand. Conversely, if the dealer is dealt a Finnish 27 hand, and if the player is not dealt a Finnish 27 hand, then the dealer wins the game. All the player could make accomplish by playing the player’s hand is make a player’s hand with a lower value than the dealer’s Finnish 27 hand. Accordingly, the player does not play the player’s hand. If both players are dealt Finnish 27 hands, then the outcome of the game is a stalemate. If neither player is dealt a Finnish 27 hand, then the players take turns playing their hands. The player acts first.
Like all comparing card games belonging to the Finnish 27 family of table-card games, 21-24-27 is a target-numerical sum game. The target numerical sum game is a game wherein; playing cards have numerical values and players take turns attempting to acquire a hand of playing cards with a numerical sum value of as close to a target value as is possible. In the case of 21-24-27, the target hand value is 27. In Blackjack, the target hand value is 21, and in Baccarat the target hand value is 9.
If the optional rules do not force the player to play the player’s hand a certain way, then the dealer consults with the player for a decision on how to play the player’s hand. The player chooses from a group of two options consisting of stand and hit. If the player stands, then the player’s hand is complete. If the player hits, then the dealer adds one additional card to the player’s hand. If the player’s hand total exceeds 27, then the player loses the game. If the player loses the game, then the dealer collects the player’s game wager.
If the player does not lose the game with a player’s hand total of greater than 27, then, after the player stands, the dealer plays the dealer’s hand. Both cards in the dealer’s initial hand are dealt face up and therefore exposed to view by all players. The dealer plays the dealer’s hand according to a predetermined strategy. For that reason, it possible for the players to know how the dealer will play the dealer’s hand, before the player has even taken the player’s turn. The predetermined strategy specifies a target numerical sum value for the dealer’s hard hands, and a target numerical sum value for the dealer’s soft hands. If the dealer’s hand total is less than the specified target, then upon the dealer’s turn to play the dealer’s hand the dealer must hit. If the dealer’s hand total is at least equal to the specified target, then upon the dealer’s turn to play the dealer must stand. The game rules for 21-24-27 specify a target of 21 for the dealer’s hard hands, and a target of 24 for the dealer’s soft hands. Accordingly, the name 21-24-27 refers to the targets specified for the play of the dealer’s hand, 21 and 24, and the target specified for the target numerical sum game, 27.
After both players play their hands, the players determine the outcome of the game by comparing hand values. The hand closest to 27 without going over wins, and ties are a stalemate. After the players determine the outcome of the game, the dealer resolves the game wager. If the outcome of the game is player’s hand wins, then the dealer pays the player 1:1 odds on the game wager. If the outcome of the game is dealer’s hand wins, then the dealer collects the game wager. If the outcome of the game is a stalemate, then the dealer returns the game wager to the player.
The rules for 21-24-27 that I published include optional rules. The optional rules force the player to play the player’s hand a certain way under certain circumstances. The effect of these forced plays is to minimize the amount to time the dealer must spend consulting with the player for a decision on how to play the player’s hand. Thereby, game play is made faster. Upon the dealer’s turn to play the dealer’s hand, the dealer will either stand or hit. The dealer plays the dealer’s hand in accord with a predetermined strategy. For that reason, it is possible to know whether the dealer will hit or stand. If the dealer’s initial hand is a hard hand, and if the dealer’s initial hand total is less than 21, then the dealer will hit. If the dealer’s initial hand is a hard hand, and if the dealer’s initial hand total is at least equal to 21, then the dealer will stand. If the dealer’s initial hand is a soft hand, and if the dealer’s initial hand total is less than 24, then the dealer will hit. If the dealer’s initial hand is a soft hand, and if the dealer’s initial hand value is at least equal to 24, then the dealer will stand.
If the dealer will hit, then the optional rules force the player to play the player’s hand a certain way under the following circumstances. If the player’s hand is a hard hand, and if the player’s hand total is less than 15, then the optional rules force the player to hit. If the player’s hand is a hard hand, and if the player’s hand total is a hand total selected from a group consisting of 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, or 24, then the dealer will consult with the player for a decision on how to play the player’s hand. If the player’s hand is a hard hand, and if the player’s hand total is at least equal to 25, then the optional rules force the player to stand. If the player’s hand is a soft hand, and if the player’s hand total is less than 23, then the optional rules force the player to hit. If the player’s hand is a soft hand, and if the player’s hand total is a hand total selected from a group consisting of 23, 24, 25, and 26, then the dealer will consult with the player for a decision on how to play the player’s hand. If the player’s hand is a soft hand and if the player’s hand total is equal to 27, then the optional rules force the player to stand.
If the dealer will stand, then the optional rules force the player to play the player’s hand a certain way under the following circumstances. If the player’s hand total is less than the dealer’s hand total, then the optional rules force the player to hit. If the player’s hand total is at least equal to the dealer’s hand total, then the optional rules force the player to stand.
The game rules for 21-24-27 yield the House an edge of as little as 1.0%. Accordingly, each ten dollar bet would cost a player about a dime on average. That is true in the long run, if the player consistently uses Basic Strategy to make decisions on how to play the player’s hand. Basic strategy is the strategy for the play of the player’s hand that loses the least amount of money to the host in the long run with strictly average luck. If a player doesn’t use Basic Strategy to make decisions on how to play the player’s hand, then in theory the house edge is greater than 1.0%. In practice, players who use Basic Strategy to make decisions on how to play the player’s hand are guaranteed to be losers in the long run with strictly average luck. For that reason, I don’t use Basic Strategy to make decisions on how to play the player’s hand.
I believe in continuous spiritual communion between soul and spirit. For that reason, I use my intuition and judgment to make decisions on how to play the player’s hand. If a player’s intuition and judgment are good, then the player could make a lot of money playing 21-24-27. And in that event, the host should ban the player from playing the game.
Optionally rules for 21-24-27 may specify that the dealer’s use a continuous shuffling machine to shuffle cards between games. If the dealer does employ a continuous shuffling machine, then the cards removed from the shoe and dealt to the players during the game have no effect on the house edge in succeeding games. Optionally, the rules for 21-24-27 may specify that the dealer uses a cut card or a count of the number of games played to determine when to manually shuffle the playing cards. In that event, the playing cards removed from the shoe and dealt to players during a game go into a discard pile at the conclusion of the game. The playing cards remaining to be dealt at the start of the next game have a different composition than the playing cards remaining to be dealt at the start of the previous game. The different composition alters the house edge. Accordingly the cards removed from the shoe and dealt to the players during the game have effect on the house edge in succeeding games.
The effect on the house edge of removal of playing cards to the discard pile is called the effect of removal. The effect of removal is the basis of all card counting systems. Card counting systems assign integer values to each playing card. The integer values roughly correspond to the effect on the house edge caused by the removal of each playing card to the discard pile. Advantage players use a combination of a card counting system, betting strategy, and basic strategy in an attempt to turn the odds in favor of the player. The card counting system tells the advantage player who the cards remaining to be dealt favor. When the cards remaining to be dealt favor the player, then the player raises the bet. When the cards remaining to be dealt favor the dealer, then the player bets the table minimum or leaves the table. In 21-24-27, the effect of removal of playing cards to the discard pile is so small, that the game is virtually impervious to such advantage players. For that reason, the host need not guard against attacks by such advantage players. Host casinos can offer patrons the opportunity to play 21-24-27, and do so with a reduced risk of liability and lower operating costs. People can play 21-24-27 for free right now by clicking on the following link: Play 21-24-27 right now.
Finnish 27 