Thunder Valley Casino Launches Blackjack Switch Game

The Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, Placer County launched a new gaming offering for their players on April 21st, 2011, Blackjack Switch. The game requires blackjack enthusiasts to play two card hands at once, but permits them to switch some cards in between hands. Currently, Thunder Valley offers a single Blackjack Switch table and is the only gaming facility in Northern California allowed to offer the game. The new Vice President of casino gaming operations at Thunder Valley, Dawn Clayton, said that their Blackjack Switch table has been full since they have launch it on their gaming floor. She said that they are very happy that their players love the game. Statistics gathered about the game all over the country support Dawson Clayton's belief about the game. According to the study of Shuffle Master, which finalized a distribution agreement in 1999 with the game's creator, Geoff Hall, Blackjack Switch is one of the most well-known games in the gaming industry, having improved its international installation base to 120 from sixty over the past few months. Blackjack Switch was created due to the frustration of the players on getting 14's, 15's and 16's and not having any opportunity to improve the card hand. That problem pushed Hall into creating a Blackjack variation where players can have two card hands and they could exchange their top cards to create a better card hand. In Blackjack Switch, gamers must pay a buy-in fee for two card hands so if a player pays ten dollars; they are actually buying in for twenty dollars. Once all of the card hands are given out, gamers can exchange the 2nd cards of their two card hands. After the exchange, the usual rules in standard blackjack will apply. In order to give the casino a slight advantage in the game, Hall decided to make blackjack pay even cash. He also place a significant variation in the game; when the casino dealer receives twenty-two-considered a bust card hand in standard blackjack-all gamer wagers are push.

 

01 2011