Raving Table Games Show 2014
Introduction
Every year around November, Raving Consulting puts on their Cutting Edge Table Games Conference. Not only can you check out a slew of new table games, but you can attend sessions on the business of managing and protecting table games.
Raving always kindly invites me to the showcase, which I am writing about here. These are the new table games the inventors and owners are eager to get exposure for. In this report about the showcase, I am only covering games I didn't previously write about in my blog entry about the table games at the 2014 Global Gaming Expo. This mainly includes the games by Galaxy Gaming, ShuffleMaster, Lucky Lucky and Full Color Games.
In addition to this blog entry, I did video interviews of the owners of several of the games. These interviews are currently being edited and will be available for viewing soon. So, look forward to that! Let me apologize in advance that I had a broken front tooth in these interviews and look like the average patron at the old Western hotel/casino.
That said, I'd like to introduce you to the new games of the 2014 Raving show.
Pick 'Em Blackjack
I'm going to start with this game because it won the award for best game at the show. The idea is nice and simple. The player can play blackjack as usual and/or may forsake his cards in lieu of a pat total of 17, 18, or 19. Of course, the higher totals pay less if they win, as follows:
- 17 bet pays 2 to 1.
- 18 bet pays 1 to 1.
- 19 bet pays 1 to 2.
This game is by the same guys who created Instant 18 bet. Instant 18 is the same thing, but with the option only on 18. This version was also at the show, but because it has been around for a while, I am not featuring it here as a "new game."
The handsome guys behind this game are not only very nice but sharply dressed. My congratulations for winning the best game award!
I welcome you to watch my interview about the game.
See their rack card for more information.
4 Card Split
This game was dealt by my favorite dealer in Vegas, Angela Wyman, who is also my student in my gambling videos, so both she and the game got plenty of attention at the show. She did a great job explaining the rules, which are as follows:
- Player makes two equal Ante bets and a Blind bet that must be at least as much as one of the Ante bets.
- The dealer gives each player and himself four cards. One of the dealer cards is dealt face up, the rest face down.
- The dealer immediately pays the Blind bet according to the poker value of the player's four cards.
- In addition, any three-card poker hand among player's four cards having a flush or better will win an instant bonus and these three cards are removed right-away from the play.
- The player will separate his four cards into two hands. They can be split either 2/2 or 3/1 between the two hands.
- The player will then decide to either raise or fold each hand. If the player raises, then he must make a Raise bet equal to his Ante bet.
- The dealer will supplement any remaining hands with more cards so that each hand has three cards. For example, if the player split his cards into a three-card hand and a one-card hand, then the dealer would leave the three card hand alone, because it already has three cards, and give two more cards to the one-card hand.
- The dealer will turn over his three down cards and make his best three-card poker hand.
- Player hands will be compared against the dealer hand.
- The dealer needs at least a queen high to open, otherwise Ante bets will be automatically returned.
- If the player beats the dealer then the Ante will pay one to one and the Raise bet according to a pay table table starting at a flush or better.
Here is some additional information about the game:
- Rack card (PDF).
- Sample hands (PDF).
In addition, I made a brief video of the game at the show, which my assistant Heather is working to edit. So, look forward to that!
Game by eTable Games.
Caribbean Blackjack
Not to be confused with Caribbean 21, Caribbean Blackjack is another game to combine blackjack with poker. In this one, the player makes three bets, two blackjack bets and one on the 5-Card Bonus. The dealer then deals the initial two cards to both of the blackjack hands and one dummy card. The two blackjack hands play out like conventional blackjack. The 5-Card Bonus bet pays according to the poker value of the four initial cards to the blackjack hands and the one dummy card. The greater the poker value, the more it wins. A single deck is used to be in line with conventional poker odds.
I welcome you to watch my interview about the game.
See their rack card for more information. By CRE8TV Games.
Ultimate Race 31
This is a fairly simple and unique game idea. The player plays against the dealer to get to 31 points in fewer cards. Cards are scored as in blackjack. After seeing his first two cards, the player may raise his Ante bet or fold. There is also a Pitlane Bonus side bet, based on just the player's cards. The rule card says the basic strategy is to fold if the first two cards total 9 or less.
I welcome you to watch my interview about the game.
See their rack card for more information. By OK Gaming.
Casino Cribbage
I love cribbage and think it is well suited for a casino game version. I'm not saying there are enough cribbage players out there to make it a market success, but I admire the attempt.
In this casino version, the player gets four cards and discards one. Then the dealer flips over a community card and discards one of his cards with the knowledge of what the community card is. While that rule cuts in the dealer's favor, the player can stand to win anywhere from even money to 1,000 to 1 according to the points in his hand, if he beats the dealer. Add in a Nobs/Heels (I call it Nobs) side bet for good measure.
See their rack card for more information. Game by funandgames, LLC.
Sheets
Red Dog may have gone the way of the dodo bird, but maybe Sheets will be a better casino version of the game In Between/Acey Duecy. The game owners say another term for this game is Sheets, but I've never heard it called that before.
The game starts with the player making an Ante bet and the dealer dealing two cards face up. The player may then raise up to 10x his Ante bet if he thinks a third card will fall between the first two in rank. Watch out, if it equals one of the original two cards, the player will lose double (ouch!). The game is easy to learn and quite exciting when you get those big spreads.
See their rack card for more information. Game by funandgames, LLC.
Aces Poker Faces
This is another game to follow the fold or raise structure of Three Card Poker. In Aces Poker Faces, the player is betting whether his seven-card hand will have more aces and face cards than the dealer's hand. If both have the same number of such cards, then the poker values are used to break the tie. Dealer needs an ace or better to open. There is also a bonus bet, which I presume is based on the player's cards only.
Game by Aces Poker Faces, Inc.
Riverboat Roulette
The game plays like double-zero roulette, except each number has two colors. One is red/black and the other is one of eight other colors. Some numbers are also white. The bets on the the eight colors win in that color and lose on white. Any other outcome results in a push and the wager staying on the table unless taken down.
An older version of this game can already be found at the Golden Gate in Las Vegas, but the version at Raving is new and improved.
Game by Double Luck Gaming.
Red Flex
Red Flex is a blackjack side bet on how many consecutive red cards will be in the dealer's hand. Card counters don't get your hopes up, for they tell me they recommend the game be played on a continuous shuffler.
Poker or Bust
This game combines the scoring of Three Card Poker with the method of play of blackjack. The player starts with three cards and can keep hitting to try to improve his poker hand. If he goes over 31 points, however, he loses. Then the dealer will automatically take cards until he reaches at least 23 points. The higher hand wins.
There are two bets which must be equal, the Ante and Odds. The Ante bet pays even money on wins and the Odds bet needs a winning flush or better to pay anything but pays up to 10 to 1 on a royal flush.
Five of a Kind Hold 'Em Poker
Certainly one of the longer titles of a game I've seen, but I think the record for the longest game name still belongs to World Poker Tour All-In Hold'em.
Once in a while somebody tries to introduce a new game to the poker room, and this is one of those times. This game differs from poker in that it uses two decks of cards and the players play two hands for two different pots per round. Otherwise, it seems to follow conventional poker rules.
Royal Showdown
This is one of the more unique games at the show. It uses a modified deck of nines to aces only. To start, the player makes an Ante bet and then the dealer will reveal two of his three cards. The player must then move his Ante bet to either the Jack, Queen or King bet. Each one is a wager that the player will have more of that rank than the dealer. So, the player should move the Ante to an unexposed rank. The player may also put down more bets, equal to the Ante, on any other ranks. The player will then get three cards of his own to go against the dealer. The more the player beats the dealer by, the more he wins. There is also a side bet called the Diamond Bonus that pays based on the player's cards only.
For more information, visit RoyalShowdown.com.
Blackjack Bust 'Em
This is a non-raked progressive side bet in blackjack that goes to the player with the highest non-busted total if the dealer busts. The business angle is that player's will be incentivized to go against basic strategy, making more money for the casino via player errors.
For example, if the pot is big due to no recent dealer busts and a player to act early stands on 19, then a player with a 14 against would be tempted to hit to have hope of getting 20 or 21 points and having hope at the jackpot. To make things fair, the turn to act first rotates around the table, as in poker.
See their rack card for more information. Game by Prostarz Gaming, Inc..
Switch Hands
This is an interesting idea that I'm surprised nobody has done before. It plays like blackjack except the dealer will give each player two hands, one face up and one face down. The player will choose which one to play and the other hand will be discarded. For example, if the face up hand was a 16, then the player would likely switch to the unknown face down hand.
TTo pay for this feature, the player must pay a fee of 20% of the Ante bet. There are some other rules, but it pretty much plays out like blackjack after the player chooses which hand to play.
Game by G.I. Gaming.
Next Step Blackjack
This is blackjack with a side bet bonus round. If the player bets the Next Step side bet and gets a blackjack, then he gets to play the bonus. In the bonus, the player will shake four dice. The closer the total of the dice is to 21, without going over, the more the player wins. The least the player can win is 10 to 1 and it goes up to 1,000 to 1 for 21 points after a suited blackjack in hearts. To increase the win frequency, the player also gets paid 3 to 1 on a dealer blackjack.
Game by Innovative Gaming Concepts, LLC.
Hearts Up Showdown Poker
This game is hard to explain briefly, but I'll try. Each player and the dealer will get five cards. Before that, the player has five bets to choose from, as follows:
- The Pot Bet goes to the player with the best poker hand.
- The Dealer Bet wins if the player beats the dealer.
- The Suit Bet involves the player predicting the suit of each card. If the player wins, he is paid even money up to 100 to 1, depending on how many dealer cards match that suit, if I understand it correctly.
- The Hand Bet pays according to the poker value of the player's hand only.
- The Hearts Up bet pays according to how many hearts are in the player's hand, starting with a push for 2 up to 200 to 1 for five hearts.
Game by INAG.
High Roll Dice
All due credit to this game for trying something new. If forced, the closest thing it could be compared to is Yahtzee. There are nine bets available on the outcome of the roll of ten dice. Choices range from two of a kind to 10 of a kind. After the dealer rolls the dice, he will set aside those dice with the majority face up. In the event of a tie, the higher face is used. Then, the other dice are rolled again, trying to get more of that face.
Each bet pays according to the outcome after both the first roll and second roll, if the player chooses to purchase it. For example, a bet on 5 of a Kind pays 4 to 1 after the first roll and 2 to 1 after the second.
Game by G.I. Gaming.
Change It
I was already familiar with this game, having seen it at the Fremont in Las Vegas. The thrust is the player can pay a fee of half his bet to replace one of his cards in blackjack with the next card in the shoe.
Lucky 13s
I've been skipping over games that were at 2014 Global Gaming Expo, but I'll make an exception for Lucky 13s because they had a lousy location at that show. Plus, the people behind it are super friendly.
This game is like blackjack but uses a deck including 11s, 12s and 13s. The player can hedge with a side bet against the possibility of busting on his first two cards. I'm looking forward to analyzing this one.
For more information, visit lucky13s.com.au.
Match Game
Leave it to me to not remember much about a game when an attractive dealer is behind the table. I don't think they had any literature, so I came home empty handed on the game. As I recall, the player and dealer each will get four cards and the player may bet on how many match.
On a Roll
This is a dice game where the player can bet on the outcome of the shake of five dice. It even comes with the possibility of a bonus round.
I welcome you to watch my interview about the game.
Red Bones
This game could be loosely compared to craps. It uses three dice and the shooter rolls until he gets a total of 10 or 11. There are a whole host of bets to choose from.
I welcome you to watch my interview about the game.
Game by Wynnbig, Inc.
Super Sweep Poker
This game combines elements of Three Card Poker and Catch a Wave. I apologize that I can't remember the specific rules very well. See their rack card for more information.
