Morello Blackjack

The Morello is an old hotel with a card table in ten of its rooms, from the night porter's desk to the roof garden. Every room has its own dealer and one house rule the floor below never heard of, and the key to the next room is handed over when you meet the goal of the one you are in.

Blackjack with a coach, ten rooms and tables for 2 to 4 friends. No real money: chips have no value and cannot be bought or cashed out. For adults.

Blackjack is played against the dealer. Pictures count 10, an ace counts 1 or 11, every other card its number. You and the dealer each get two cards; one of the dealer's is face down. Get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. Tap chips to build your bet and press Deal. Then choose: Hit takes another card, Stand keeps your total, Double doubles the bet for exactly one more card, Split turns a pair into two hands with a bet each, and Surrender, where the table allows it, gives up the hand for half the bet. A total written 7/17 is soft: the ace still counts 11 and can drop to 1. Over 21 is a bust and loses at once. When you are done the dealer turns the hole card and draws to 17. An ace and a ten-value card on the first two cards is a blackjack and pays 3 to 2. When the dealer shows an ace you may take insurance, a side bet of half your bet that pays 2 to 1 if the hole card is a ten. The shoe holds one to eight decks; when the cut card comes out it is shuffled before the next hand. Career: ten rooms of the Morello hotel, each with one new rule and a goal, from a single-deck table to a dealer with no hole card, decks without tens, both dealer cards face up, a seven-second clock, a five-card rule and a high table. Clearing a room opens the next. The coach (the lamp button) marks the book move for your hand, says why in one line, and after the hand tells you whether your decisions matched. The chart button shows the full strategy chart for the table's rules. Free table: pick the decks and the dealer's rules and play 20 hands. Drills: 20 quick questions on hard totals, soft totals or pairs, scored for accuracy. The daily shoe is the same for every player. To play friends online, press Play with a friend, pick 2 to 4 players and 10 or 20 hands, and send the link; everyone bets at the same time, then the seats play in turn, and the biggest stack wins. Keys: H hit, S stand, D double, P split, R surrender, 1 to 4 add chips, Enter deals. No real money is involved: the chips have no value and cannot be bought or cashed out. The game is intended for adults.