Available now at Playtech is the card game Sette e Mezzo (or "Seven and a Half")
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Available now at Playtech is the card game Sette e Mezzo (or "Seven and a Half")
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If your preferred game of choice is Blackjack, but you fancy some lockdown variety you might want to give the Italian card game a try.
As the loading screen explains the game is similar to Blackjack....albeit with several differences (cue LD & another nice explanatory blog :) )
First impressions ..... nice enough looking game,
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Dealer Elena pictured is one of Playtech's longest surviving original dealers who switched en masse 'overnight' to speaking Italian ..... so you shouldn't be surprised to discover the table language is Italian.
But what better opportunity than lockdown to begin learning a new language in the process of playing the game right :cool:
Thanks for the heads up Fester. I'm on it!Quote:
(cue LD & another nice explanatory blog :) )
Nice to have a new traditional card game, rather than another game show.
My thoughts exactly when I played the game,Quote:
Nice to have a new traditional card game, rather than another game show.
....the different deck of cards makes a change also.
Where can I play it Fester?
Tried all the usual suspects...365, Paddies, Betfair etc and couldn't find it.
Thought perhaps it was wrong time of day, but I’ve just checked... it’s live now via William Hill (blackjack tables)
couple more caps to tempt you LD ......while you play another game (ie. hunt the table ;) )
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while LD plays catch up a little more info on some of those differences from blackjack....
Firstly:
> your aim is to beat the dealer's hand without going over 7½ .... anything over is BUST
Obviously that's a lot less than the 21 target we're used to on blackjack and with the normal 52 deck of cards you'd be bust more often than not before the game got started. So....
secondly:
> The cards used in the game are Neapolitan (widely used across southern and central Italy) comprising of 40 cards in a deck.
There are 4 suits;
bastoni = clubs
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spade = swords
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denari = money (/coins)
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coppe = cups
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10 cards in each suit = Ace, 2 to 7, Jack, Cavalier, & King
Neapolitan cards aren't numbered, so you need to count how many of that particular suit are on the cards (2-7)
.
You'll find these cards in play at Sky Casino and Betfred (better for you LD :) )
.... both have the new Sette e Mezzo table.
thirdly:
The face cards (Jack, Cavalier & King) being worth ½ point each in the game ..... hence the goal of scoring 7½ (or as near to without busting)
Ace through to 7 = 1 to 7 points
fourthly:
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... The King of Coins is a wild card.
... It can take the value of ANY card, so long as there’s another card in the hand.
Still haven't had a chance to play.Quote:
your aim is to beat the dealer's hand without going over 7½ .... anything over is BUST
I assume...
- regular win pays even money
- 7+ Jack, Cavalier or King win is your Blackjack equivalent and pays 3:2
What is the lowest value the dealer must draw another card on?
The actual draw process of cards is also a little different than on blackjack, but to answer your questions,
less than 5Quote:
What is the lowest value the dealer must draw another card on?
i.e the dealer stands on 5 or more
> you lose if you Tie on 5
so there’s no point Standing on 5 when his first card (you both receive 1 card initially at the start) is 5 .... & you are automatically then given another card.
Attachment 6545 ... a win for Player - 5½ points vs Dealer standing on 5
No, not correctQuote:
7+ Jack, Cavalier or King win is your Blackjack equivalent and pays 3:2
Sette e Mezzo Royal pays 3:2
a two-card combination including the King of Coins card
Yes, correct (1:1)Quote:
regular win pays even money
TBH I was expecting some reaction to,
along the lines of not so likely as a Blackjack then.Quote:
Sette e Mezzo Royal pays 3:2
a two-card combination including the King of Coins card
Wait though, to explain the gameplay in more detail:
- The game is played as a one-to-many deal table.
- 1 deck of 40 cards in the shoe.
- Shuffled after every round.
- No burn card at the start & no cutting card.
- So you can be sure the King of Coins card is in play every round!
In blackjack it's feasible that a larger than average number of Aces may be spent when you join the game, or be behind the cutting card - something that used to alarm me with bonus cards at Playtech until I drew attention to the practice, etc
At the start of the game you basically have 2 chances to be dealt a King of Coins card. Your first card, and then your second card - if you elect to take another / are given another card automatically (more details later).
Assuming you always take a second card, basic maths gives a probability of just over 5% chance each round of a Sette e Mezzo Royal.
> In reality it will be less often because in you're not going to hit on 7
- and you might be pleasantly surprised by the RTP rate, but I'll save that for later also! :p
So really, the only way you are ever going to get Sette e Mezzo Royal is if your hand begins with a King of Coins (1/40), then you have to land the 7 (1/10).Quote:
because in you're not going to hit on 7
Seems a much tougher route to a 3:2 payout than Blackjack, with 8 Aces and 32 ten/pictures floating around in the shoe.
No, don’t forget that the King of Coins is a wild card - can assume the value of ANY other card.
Royal is a two-card combination that includes King of Coins
In this example the King of Coins was the second card, taking on the value of 7.....
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.... there is a fundamental mistake in my previous maths though, I realised after posting.
The probability is ~0.99% (assuming you never hit on first card 7)
ie. King of Coins dealt first & then a 7 card,
or any other face card & then King of Coins.
(in both these cases you naturally take a second card)
Including Hit on any first card 7 increases the overall probability by another ~0.26%, but of course at the greater risk of Busting....you’re only going to do this if you are a risk taker & Dealer shows 7 also, or else going for the Mano di Poker side bet.
If you are dealt a 7 first card, then the probability of King of Coins next is 2.63% and 31.58% for any face card (when the Dealer doesn’t have a face card) so you might consider it a risk worth taking :confused: .
Ahhh. That's a good rule to remember :DQuote:
No, don’t forget that the King of Coins is a wild card - can assume the value of ANY other card
(if I ever get to play the game)
.... good things come to those who wait :p ... hope you enjoy it eventuallyQuote:
if I ever get to play the game
There is more to take onboard than usual with, new deck of cards, game rules & a specific card rule.
The King of Coins card is ‘interesting‘ in normal play.....with its value changing as the hand develops
eg.
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2 of Cups & King of Coins (takes value 5) = 7 points
[Hit]
2 of Cups & King of Coins (value now 4) & Ace Clubs = 7 points
[Hit]
2 of Cups & King of Coins (this time remains at 4) & Ace Clubs & Cavalier of Swords = 7½ points
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and you might be pleasantly surprised by the RTP rate
I still haven’t covered everything, but here it is anyway,
the quoted theoretical percentage return to player (RTP) is 99.31% on the main game.
Pretty good returning game...assuming you're playing perfect strategy.Quote:
return to player (RTP) is 99.31% on the main game
Not sure that'll be the case for most giving it a go ;)
True that.Quote:
Not sure that'll be the case for most giving it a go
Regarding strategy, if you’re a ‘safety first’ blackjack player you definitely have to be more Cavalier getting nearer to that magical 7½ points.
At the start of the game 50% of the cards are of value 2 or lower!
Shout-out for LD's review of Sette e Mezzo including video action featuring dealer Arta.