Ante Up 21 Combines Blackjack and Poker in New Table Game

Ante Up 21, a first-of-its-kind, fast-paced, and easy-to-understand combination of the two of the most popular card games in the casino today -- blackjack and poker -- has recently been approved
Ante Up 21 is a new table game that combines blackjack and poker.  by the Nevada Gaming Commission for play throughout the state, and is scheduled to open on Thursday, February 15th, at the Sunset Station Hotel & Casino in Henderson, Nevada.

The rules for Ante Up 21 are as follows. Prior to playing a basic blackjack hand, players have the option to wager on the poker outcome of their completed blackjack hands by placing a bet in the "Ante" and then "Bet" portions of the game. After dealing the cards in true blackjack fashion, and paying the BJ wagers accordingly, the players' best two (2)-card poker hand is then compared with that of the dealers' best two (2) card poker hand and the winner is then determined. Suits and straights don't play. Even if a player "busts" and loses the blackjack portion of the game, the player may use any two (2) of their cards to determine their best, two (2)-card poker hand and still be paid a winner. Standard rules of blackjack apply, and there are only a few simple nuances to the game to quickly grasp beforehand. (You can see the complete Rules of Play at www.AnteUp21.com)

Inventor Michael Forster calls his Ante Up 21 the "best of both worlds," being both an experienced, but often bored, blackjack player and an enthusiastic poker aficionado as well. The idea sprouted from his continual, mental tug-of-war between playing either blackjack or poker. "With Ante Up 21, blackjack is now a thinking man's game," says Forster, "with different strategies to consider and having a heightened level of excitement and satisfaction by playing, really, two games in one."

Sunset Station's Director of Casino Operations, Steve Mann, welcomes back the now officially approved game. Sunset Station hosted the Nevada Gaming Control Board's required live 'beta-testing' period late last year, as only one of the many steps required prior to licensure by the Nevada Gaming Commission. Ante Up 21 is said to be one of the fastest new game approvals in Commission history, due to its overall simplicity and solid mathematical analysis submitted for formal evaluation and review.

Robert Young, Executive Vice President of FYI Gaming, the Los Angeles-based casino table game development and marketing company bringing out the game, said he was excited that Ante Up 21 was approved so quickly as it confirmed his initial hunch when he and Michael first tested the game on a home-made felt with friends and relatives in Los Angeles. "It's really a wonderful story of patience, exploration, and struggle," he says referring to the early stages of the game concept and meandering through the stringent approval process. Young adds, "It's quite a long shot to have a newly minted game prove to be so well-received by those who've played it ... they welcome the renewed excitement in playing one of the oldest games in the casino -- blackjack."