Portfolio: Cribbage Casino Game

Casino Cribbage

The idea of a Cribbage based casino game came about after a fun night of playing the board game at home. Because I have played many casino based games, I have an idea about what kind of games are played in a casino. I believe that a cribbage type card game would be a fun and fast paced game that casinos would welcome, given it has a house edge.

The idea of the casino game would be as follows:

• The game does not use the standard crib board
• The game is played using a deck of card and standard crib hands are dealt out
• Points are given out according to the normal cribbage scoring system (See Fig 1)
• To give the house an edge the house is dealt 5 cards while the players are dealt 4*
• A crib card is played in the middle of the table after all players are dealt 4 cards and the dealer dealt 5 cards
• Before the cards are dealt a blind ante is wagered such as to get the players into the action
• Once the players see their cards they may choose to bet more. This extra bet is placed beside their original ante and can be equal to or double in size to their initial bet. **
• Players can touch and see their cards once all cards have been dealt and the crib card is revealed.
• Players then tally up their total points ***
• The dealer then flips over his/her 5 cards, selecting the best 4 card combination and thus discarding the fifth card
• Whoever has the most points in total wins the game
• If a Jack is pulled as the crib card then everyone wins a bonus equal to their ante which is to be paid out before the rest of the game continues.
• In the event of a draw (both the player and the dealer getting the same points) the player is paid out an amount equal to their ante and the additional bet is pushed.

Fig 1: Point scoring system

Bonus Game

Fig 2: Bonus game payouts

• An additional bonus game can also be in action and be entered as a side bet for as little as $1 on a $5 minimum bet table.
• This game would only be in action when a bet is placed on the corresponding betting circle and would work in conjunction with the current game.
• The game would pay out based on certain hand combinations and would pay out more favourably for card combinations using only cards in a players hand vs combinations using the crib card.
• Hand combinations would include Jack draw, small straight (3 cards), Medium straight (4 cards), Large straight (5 cards), Flush, 3 of a kind, 4 of a kind, over 10 points hand, over 20 points hand, Perfect hand.
• The payouts on these hands would be respectful based on the odds of receiving such hand.
• Players are only paid out for the best combination of cards made. ex: players can not be paid out for both a small straight of 10-J-Q and the Jack draw.
• A progressive style jackpot could be used in the bonus game for players who get a perfect hand since the odds of getting a perfect hand are about 1:650000, perhaps greater in a multiplayer casino based game.

* More testing is required in order to determine if this method of dealing cards is fair for both sides

** Testing runs should show if a multiplying factor should be put on either of the two separate bets. eg: Ante pays out 2x pay scale while increased bet slot pays out 1x pay scale.

*** It is suggested that a small computer device sit at each players playing spot. Such device could accept the players 4 card + 1 crib card combination and give a value, in points, of the hand's value.