Fallout: New Vegas has plenty of side quests and minigames to keep you occupied. Yet some of them can be extremely hard to complete and are necessary to access certain areas by winning keys. One of these is the blackjack game found in casinos, which also provides the courier with a way to complete the Double Down challenge. This minigame is also quite in-depth, requiring you to have good knowledge of real-world blackjack to succeed. Anyone who has played the classic casino game blackjack online should be familiar with the basic premise. Some rules are specific to the casinos found in the Mojave Wasteland, which will be covered below.
The aim is to get your hand as close to 21 without going over or to get a total that is closer to 21 than that of the dealer. Blackjack is when a total of 21 is hit directly by getting an ace, which has a value of one or eleven, and a face card with a value of ten. If a player has blackjack, they win the round automatically. If both the dealer and player have blackjack, it is a tie. This is known as a push. Anyone who wins with blackjack also gets a bonus on top of their wager.
Each casino has different maximum winnings. By gambling in the various games, you accumulate winnings. Depending on how much you get, you will qualify for a small, medium, or large reward.
The game starts with both the player and dealer receiving two cards. The player can place a bet ranging from 1 to 200. They then have several options.
- Hit – The players get a third card. If they go over 21 they are bust and have lost.
- Stay – The player stays with what they have. The dealer will then draw or stand depending on the rules of the casino you are playing at (see below) If the player is on a starting hand, they have several more choices.
- Surrender – They lose the round but get half their bet back
- Double Down – The player will double their bet and receive an extra card. The game is decided on this three-card hand. They don’t have the option to hit again and receive a fourth.
- Split – If the player has two cards in their starting hand that are not kings or queens, they can split. The player doubles their bet and the cards are split in two, with each receiving a new card to go with it. This now acts as two separate hands. The player can choose to hit and switch between them but must stay with both at the same time. They can only double down on the first of two hands that are split.
There are seven casinos in the Mojave wasteland but Sunset Sarsparilla Headquarters does not allow blackjack. Of the other six, each has its own house rules. You will find them written on the felt of the table when you start a game. Below is an outline of the casinos in Fallout: New Vegas, and their rules.
- Atomic Wrangler Blackjack pays six to five. The dealer must draw a card up to the value of 16 and stand on 17.
- Gomorrah Blackjack pays three to two. The dealer must hit when they get a 17 that has an ace in the hand, known as a soft 17.
- The Tops Blackjack pays three to two. The dealer must draw a card up to the value of 16 and stand on 17.
- Ultra Luxe Blackjack pays three to two. The dealer must draw a card up to the value of 16 and stand on 17.
- Viki and Vance Casino Blackjack pays three to two. The dealer must hit when they get a 17 that has an ace, known as a soft 17.
- Sierra Madre Casino Blackjack pays three to two. The dealer must draw a card up to the value of 16 and stand on 17.
The luck statistic will impact your chances at the blackjack table and tip the odds in your favor. If you have six or fewer when it comes to luck, then the percentage chance of getting a blackjack is between 0.3% and 5%. As a player’s luck goes up, this increases and conversely decreases when it is lower. When a positive luck statistic of ten is reached, the player will get a “Feeling Lucky” indicator when their statistic impacts the game.
A game is won when you achieve the maximum winnings of the given casino. These vary from 2500 at the Vikki and Vance casino to larger sums like 15000 at the Ultra-Luxe. When you earn a percentage of the maximum winnings, you will qualify for a reward. 25% is a small reward, 50% is a big reward, and 100% is a large reward. Once you hit the maximum, you will be banned from gambling in that casino.
If you skip one of these levels, perhaps by winning a huge amount on other games, such as slots, you will not get the reward for the level jumped. Whenever a courier gets a reward, they will be kicked out of any gambling minigame they are playing.
