Blackjack

Blackjack is a card game playable in any of the six working casinos in the Mojave Wasteland. Playing ten hands of blackjack grants the Courier the Double Down challenge and also the achievement/trophy. The challenge will not show up in the Pip-Boy until at least one hand of blackjack has been played.

Characteristics and terminology

The goal of blackjack is to have one's cards add up to 21 without exceeding it, which if so, is referred to as "going bust." One is competing against the casino, or the dealer, referred to as "the house." A blackjack is a hand that consists of an ace and a 10-point card, being a 10 or any face card, which add up to 21.

The game begins by each individual being given, or dealt, two cards. One card is hidden, face down, from the other player, while the other is laid face up and visible to all. If one of the players receives a blackjack, the others' second card will be revealed to determine if they also received a blackjack. If not, the one who hits blackjack automatically wins. If one receives a blackjack, they will also receive a bonus payout on top of normal wagered winnings. If both the dealer and the player character receive blackjack, it is a tie, called a "push" and each player keeps their bet, breaking even, referred to as a "wash."

Rules

All casinos in New Vegas use the following rules:

• The player and dealer initially receive 2 cards. The game continues until the player either decides to "stay" or their hand goes over a value of 21.
• The game is dealt from multiple decks, which are shuffled after every hand by the dealer.
• The possible bets are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 125, 150, 175 and 200.
• The player may "hit" to receive an additional card to their hand. If the player's hand goes over a value of 21, they lose.
• The player may "stay." The dealer will then draw cards or stand based on the house rules. If the player's hand has more value than the dealer's hand, or the dealer's hand goes over a value of 21, then the player wins.
• The player may never purchase "insurance" in New Vegas, unlike most real-life blackjack rulesets.
• The player may "surrender" on any starting hand. The player will instantly lose but will receive half their bet back, rounded up.
• The player may "double down" on any starting hand. The player will double their bet and receive an additional card. The dealer will then draw their cards and the result of the game will be decided; the player cannot "hit" after doubling down.
• The player may "split" on a starting hand with two identical card values, but may not split queens or kings. The player will double their bet and their hand will be separated into two with a new card being dealt to both, creating two new hands. The hands can be switched between to be individually "hit," but the player must "stay" both at the same time. If one hand goes over 21, the player may continue with the other hand. The player may only "double down" with the first of two split hands.

House rules

Each casino has different rules regarding blackjack payouts and when the dealer must draw or stand. These casino-specific rules can be seen on the card table felts at each casino. They can also be seen in the table below for quick reference.

• A blackjack payout of 3 to 2: A blackjack occurs when the player receives a 21 with the first two cards. The player character receives 3 chips for every 2 chips they wagered, rounded up. A blackjack obtained after the starting hand/with more than two cards remains a normal payout.
• A blackjack payout of 6 to 5: Same as above but the player character only receives 6 chips for every 5 chips they wagered.
• Dealer must draw to 16, and stand on all 17s: At each casino, if the dealer has a total of less than 17, they hit. If the dealer has a total of 17 or higher, the dealer stays.
• Dealer must hit soft 17: A "soft" hand is a hand that involves an ace. An ace can be worth either 1 or 11, which is decided by the player that receives the ace. A soft 17 is any hand where the ace is used as an 11 since there is still a choice on what the ace can be. This is in contrast to a "hard" 17 that means the ace has to be a 1 in order to prevent a bust.

Casinos

Name	Location	House rules
Atomic Wrangler	Freeside	Blackjack pays 6 to 5. Dealer must draw to 16, and stand on all 17s.
Gomorrah	The Strip	Blackjack pays 3 to 2. Dealer must hit soft 17.
The Tops	The Strip	Blackjack pays 3 to 2. Dealer must draw to 16, and stand on all 17s.
Ultra-Luxe	The Strip	Blackjack pays 3 to 2. Dealer must draw to 16, and stand on all 17s.
Vikki and Vance Casino	Primm	Blackjack pays 3 to 2. Dealer must hit soft 17.
Sierra Madre Casino	Sierra Madre	Blackjack pays 3 to 2. Dealer must draw to 16, and stand on all 17s.

Effect of Luck statistic

Barring variations from Luck, the most favorable odds are found at the Tops, Ultra-Luxe and Sierra Madre Casino & Resort. The least favorable odds are found at the Atomic Wrangler, as a result of the low blackjack payout.

Given neutral Luck (6 or less), a blackjack will occur between 0.3-5% of the time and the odds still favor the house by a margin of approximately 1.0%. These odds are lower at both Gomorrah and Vikki and Vance Casinos, and even more so at the Atomic Wrangler. Each game is equivalent to a coin flip.

Starting with a Luck of 7, the odds shift in the player character's favor. With a Luck of 8, a player character can play sub-optimally by not surrendering or doubling down on appropriate hands, or choose to play in a riskier fashion and still be successful. With a Luck of 10, the player character will be statistically more likely to win each hand or reach the casino's house limit over time by a wider margin, and will receive a notice that they are "Feeling Lucky" when their stat impacted the current hand.

Conversely, with low Luck, the game will be strongly rigged against the player character. The dealer will hit blackjack far more often, and the statement "You feel unlucky" will appear whenever the game has rigged the hand against them.

Notes

• Only the dealer and player character hands are shown, even if other gambling non-player characters are present at the table.
• When the dealer is passing out the cards, their first card is dealt from the middle.
• If one tries to subvert the system by loading after a loss, the dealer will take a minute to "change out the deck" before they can continue playing.
• If playing with a full screen aspect ratio, the HUD displaying the current bet, chips, and earnings will cover up the cards, making play difficult.
• The 3 of Hearts in Gomorrah is missing a heart.
• The dealer will sometimes deal cards even when no one is sitting at the card table.
• In Fallout, the Vault Dweller can play blackjack on a first floor terminal in the Mariposa Military Base in an attempt to hack the computer. If successful, they can disable all the force fields on that level.

Appearances

Blackjack can only be played in Fallout: New Vegas, but is mentioned in Fallout.

Behind the scenes

• James Garcia created the 3D model for the blackjack table.
• Jonathan Burke created the menu for the blackjack game per the black_jack_menu.xml file header.

Bugs

• PC Playstation 3 Xbox 360 At the Gomorrah and Vikki and Vance Casinos, the dealer will hit any 17 containing an ace on tables where they must hit soft 17, even if it is not a soft 17. For example, a king, a six and an ace.^[verified]
• PC At the Ultra-Luxe, when entering a blackjack game, all audio except for the ambient background noise will go silent. The blackjack game can be played normally until the player decides to leave or is supposed to get their first lucky streak. At which point, the camera will point towards the player character as if they were to do the animation of leaving the table's chair but will instead be soft-locked. There is no known fix for this, except for reloading a save.^{[verification needed]}

Gallery

Vikki and Vance Casino

Atomic Wrangler Casino

Blackjack table render

As depicted in Double Down

References

Non-game