Crazy 21 Released

Crazy 21 is a brand-new card game which has yet to even take off at the time of this game review. However, the future is so bright, some day you can look back and proclaim "I was playing this game before it was even cool."

And if history is any indication, the future is extremely bright. What "Rounders" did for poker, many are expecting the soon-to-be-released movie "21" to do for blackjack. "21" stars Kevin Spacey and is the big-screen adaptation of Ben Mizrich's best-selling book "Bringing Down the House", a story of MIT students who take Vegas for millions of dollars with their sophisticated system of card-counting.

To capitalize on the buzz which is building more each day in anticipation, online game software provider Entertasia recently released the new blackjack game "Crazy 21 ". What makes this game different from standard blackjack is the additional bets you can make, including the Highest Hand Bet, Safe Bet, and 777 Jackpot Bet.

But first, let's quickly review the game of classic blackjack . Unlike poker, each player is competing not against each other but against the dealer. The object of the game is one, to take cards until the sum of the cards in your hand is as close as possible to 21 without going over, and two, to do so while also earning a higher sum than the dealer. Cards from two to ten have a value of their number, face cards have a value of ten, and an ace counts as one or eleven, depending on what is advantageous.

Let us examine the side bets which make Crazy21 special:

Safe Bet: If you think the sum of your first two cards will have a low value between 12 and 16 and will not contain two cards of identical value or an ace, make a Safe Bet. This gives you a shot to win some money even if your initial hand is low.

Highest Hand Bet: If you are playing multiple hands at the same time, you can place a Highest Hand bet on the initial hand which you think will have the greatest value.

777 Jackpot Bet: If you think the first two cards you receive will both be sevens and that your third card will also be a seven, place the 777 Jackpot Bet.

Another twist in Crazy21 is that you can hit or stand without waiting to see what the other players before you do.