Disclaimer: Party Poker has yet to launch in Pennsylvania. This review is based on the Party Poker NJ site. In the meantime try out PokerStars PA!
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There was a time when Party Poker was the world’s favorite online poker room. Then in 2006, the US passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and Party Poker left the American market. For a few years, the company looked like it had lost its way. Then, GVC Holdings bought PartyGaming and brought vigorish management to the iconic brand.
Now Party Poker is one of the leading global online poker rooms and soon, PA poker players will also be able to enjoy some of the best poker games available online.
GVC Holdings struck a long-term deal with MGM, which owns the Valley Forge Casino in Pennsylvania.
The deal involves a joint venture called Roar Digital. Each company has poured $100 million in startup funding. Wherever Roar can operate online poker, it will be Party Poker that provides it.
Party Poker will likely bring almost its entire product to PA via its mobile poker app. Apple and Android users who like to play on the go will applaud this offering.
The aim of the game is to beat the dealer. A hand that has a value closer to 21 than the dealer's hand is a winner. You can also win if the dealer's hand goes over 21 (bust). Be careful though because if your hand goes above 21 you will lose automatically.
To place a bet, select your chip value from the slider and then click directly on the table in front of your seat. You have a limited amount of time from the start of a game to place a bet.
If a game is already in progress you will need to wait for it to complete before you can play.
When the game begins all players will be dealt two Common-cards face up. These cards will be used by all participating players as the initial cards of their hands. The dealer will get two cards as well, although one will be face down. The cards in the Dealer’s hand will be common cards for all players.
Card Values- The cards all assume their face value with the exception of any court or picture cards (Jacks, Queens and Kings) which all value 10, and Aces which value either 1 or 11 depending on which will give the player the best hand. If the first two cards dealt to you total 21 (e.g. an Ace and a 10) you have Blackjack. A Blackjack pays 3 to 2 on the player's original stake; unless the dealer and player both have a Blackjack, in which case, the result will push. Other wins pay at 1 to 1. Note that a Blackjack, where the initial two cards are an Ace and a card with a value of ten, beats a sum of 21 that was accumulated through Hits, Double or after Split.
All Players act during the limited amount of time on the Player’s Common Blackjack-Hand simultaneously and make their decisions independently. For example, if the first two player’s cards are King and 6 (thus a total of 16) one player might choose to double, another player might choose to stand and yet another player might hit. The dealer keeps on drawing player cards, just as long as all players have played their hands. The possible decisions are as follows below:;
Note: If a pair of Aces is split, only one card can be dealt to each hand. Reaching 21 after splitting is not Blackjack as the cards are not the first two dealt, and therefore only pays 1 to 1.
If the Dealer's face up card is an Ace, the Players are offered the following:
A slow network connection or slow device performance may hinder the player from selecting a choice on time. When no choice is selected, the default selection is a 'Stand', 'No' for insurance and 'Playing one hand' for Split.
Once the players have all performed, the dealer will turn over the card that is faced down. If the value of the hand is below 16, the dealer must deal another card. The dealer will continue taking cards until the value of dealer‘s cards is at least 17. When the dealer’s card value is between 17 and 21, no more cards are drawn. All players with a hand closer to 21 than the dealer’s, win the round. If the player's hand is the same value as the dealer's, the hand is a push or a tie, and the player keeps his stake. If the dealer gets busted, all players get paid unless they were busted themselves.
In the event that all players get busted, the dealer won’t deal cards to the dealer’s hand and will open dealer’s face down card. In this case all players lose the round.
This version of Blackjack is played with eight decks of cards, cut in the middle. The dealer shuffles the cards at the end of the round in which the dealer hits the red card that cut the deck (at approximately half way through).
The game follows the rules below:
Applicable Blackjack Rules Casinos Offering
Number of decks used | Eight |
Dealer hit or stand on soft 17 (Ace,6) | Stand |
Can player double after split | Yes |
Player can double on | Any two Cards |
Player can hit split aces | No |
Entire player bet lost vs Dealer BJ | Yes |
Late surrender allowed | No |
Blackjack pays | 3 to 2 |
This Blackjack game includes two optional side bets – Perfect Pairs and 21+3 and sometimes an Ante. Side bets can only be placed in addition to a main Blackjack bet. The side bet winnings are independent of the outcome of the regular Blackjack game.
Perfect Pairs
Perfect Pairs win when the first two cards dealt to a player produce a pair. There are three possible pair types:
Perfect Pair: A pair of the same rank and the same suit. e.g. two Aces of Spades.
Colored Pair: A pair of the same rank and color but a different suit; e.g. 2 of Diamonds + 2 of Hearts.
Mixed Pair: A pair of the same rank with different suit and color; e.g. 10 of Hearts + 10 of Clubs.
Each pair receives a different payout amount.
The 21+3 bet gives you the chance to win if your first two cards plus the dealer’s up-facing card comprise any of the following winning combinations (similar to those in poker):
Suited Trips: An identical threesome; e.g. 3 Queens of Hearts.
Straight Flush: A threesome in numerical sequence and same suit; e.g. 10, Jack and Queen of Diamonds.
Three of a Kind: A threesome with the same value but with different suits; e.g. any 3 Kings that do not all match in suits.
Straight: A threesome in numerical sequence but different suits; e.g. 2 of Spades + 3 of Clubs + 4 of Hearts.
Flush: A threesome with the same suit; e.g. 2, 6 and 10 of Clubs.
Each combination receives a different payout amount.
Ante
In some games you must place a stake in order to receive your hand.
Basic Blackjack | Blackjack | 3:2 |
Player wins | 1:1 | |
Insurance | 2:1 | |
Perfect Pair Side Bet | Perfect Pair | 25:1 |
Colored Pair | 12:1 | |
Mixed Pair | 6:1 | |
21+3 Side Bets | Suited Trips | 100:1 |
Straight Flush | 40:1 | |
Three of a Kind | 25:1 | |
Straight | 10:1 | |
Flush | 5:1 |
Blackjack | 99.79% |
Perfect Pairs | 95.9% |
21+3 | 93.71% |
If there is any error in the game procedure, the game round will be temporarily paused and the shift manager will be notified. Players will be notified by an on-screen pop-up message, to notify the player that the issue is in the process of investigation. If the manager can immediately resolve the error, the game round will continue as normal. If immediate resolution is not possible, the game round will be cancelled and initial bets will be refunded to all players who participated in the game round.
Should a system disconnection occur after a bet was placed on the Blackjack table and before the timer has completed, the bet will not be deducted from the balance. If a disconnection occurs after the bet was finalized and already deducted from the balance, yet before the game results are known, the bet will be processed as usual and the game will proceed with default player choices, such as stand. The balance is updated according to the game results. If after a disconnection, the player reconnects again during the same Blackjack round, the game will follow the disconnected behavior of a default stand.
The Ezugi Live Dealer services are provided via internet, which inevitably may disconnect at times. This poses potential snags to the game flow and user experience.
In order to minimize the impact caused by unexpected disconnections, when a player loses his connectivity to the game server, a reconnect message will be displayed on the screen.
Until the player reconnects to the game server, the game and chat functionality will behave improperly or be completely inactive.
The following error handling rules apply:
•In the event that a disconnection occurs before bets are placed, i.e. before the 'No More Bets' message on the screen, the bet will not be deducted from the balance and the player will not participate in the game round. Once reconnected, please verify your balance and inform your casino operator immediately if there are any issues.
•In the event that a disconnection occurs after a game round begins, i.e. after the 'No More Bets' message on the screen, we do not guarantee that your bet was placed. Please verify with your casino operator to assure the balance is correct.If the bet was placed, the game will proceed as normal and the winnings will be processed according to the game result regardless of the disconnection. Please note the following exceptions:
•If playing on multiple seats games, there is a possibility that only some bets process while others don’t.
•A disconnection message might not be displayed to the player, and all decisions will proceed as the default decision.
•In the event that a client disconnection occurred while playing the game, regardless of the status of the game, please make sure to review your balance after the reconnection and contact your casino operator if there is a problem.
Last modification date: 8/26/2020