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 achievement/trophy.

Characteristics
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 hit Blackjack automatically wins. If one receives 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 dealer follows the same rules as the player character, with the exception of certain rules dictating when they must receive an additional card.
 * The commands of these requests being "hit" for receiving an additional card or "stay," which is refusing an additional card.
 * A Blackjack payout of 3 to 2 means the player character receives 3 chips for every 2 chips they wagered.
 * The game is dealt from multiple decks, which are shuffled after every hand by the dealer.
 * The possible bets are 1-10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 125, 150, 175 and 200.


 * House rules
 * Each casino has its own rules regarding Blackjack payouts and when the dealer must hit or stay.
 * Casino-specific rules can be seen on the card table felts at each casino.
 * Dealer must draw to 16, and stand on all 17s: At each casino, if the dealer has a total of less than 17, they continue to 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.


 * Advanced rules
 * The player character may not purchase insurance.
 * Early surrender is not offered.
 * Blackjack payouts and surrendered bets are rounded up.
 * The player character can double down on any starting hand.
 * The player character may only split identical card values, and may not split Queen-King.
 * The player character may only split into two hands.
 * A card is dealt with the second hand of a split before the player character is allowed to act on the first.
 * The player character may only double the first of two split hands.
 * The player character may draw to the second of two split hands before drawing to the first.

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 received 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. 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.

Appearances
Blackjack can only be played in Fallout: New Vegas as is mentioned only 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  file header.

Bugs
At Gommorah and Vikki & 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.