Review how to play

"Hey, hey! You don't remember how to play blackjack? Did we get the wrong person for the job after all?" Lucky Betty questioned, flying a few circles around Robin's head with a concerned expression on her fanged face.

"I know how to play blackjack. I was just worried maybe you two forgot!" Robin protested, catching Betty by her tail, pinching it between two fingers. She brought the restless demon to rest alongside her shoulder angel. "Besides, the version we'll be playing is a little different than normal, so it wouldn't hurt to go over the rules."

"Exactly right. Ever since the Ten Commandments, it has been proven that writing rules down, committing them to memory, is the most effective means to make sure said rules are obeyed."

"Oh yeah? How's that working out? I think if the Ten Commandments were so damn effective, we wouldn't have so many karmic cuties to go after," Betty retorted, pulling her tail back into her own hands and glaring at Robin. "Here's my new rule: don't touch the tail, Robbie-Baby!"

Basics:

The goal of blackjack is for the player(s) at the table, your opponent, to get as close as possible to a hand value of twenty-one without going over.

In ordinary blackjack, cards are dealt around the table one at a time with a turned over card for players to use for strategy. Here, the opponent's hand will instead be dealt out first until they choose to stand, then, the dealer will turnover cards for herself. As the dealer, you'll win under any of the following conditions: if the opponent goes over 21 and busts or if the player has a lower hand than yours when scored. Note that the dealer must stand between 17-21, and the dealer may also bust.

The loser of a round surrenders one of their Pile, or available collateral to bet with. Stronger opponents may have a larger Pile. The default Pile is 3, which are wagered in this order--> outer clothes, bra, panties. Pile goes to the center of the table, not to one's own Pile, so you will not gain Pile from winning a round-- the opponent will only lose it. Once either the opponent's pile or the dealer's equals 0, the game is over and karmic punishment begins.

Card values:

One through ten are valued as numbered. Jack, queen, and king are all valued at ten. In normal blackjack, an ace is valued as both a one and an eleven, with the better number chosen when the round is over. For the purpose of this version of the game, you, the dealer, will need to choose the value when the card is flipped. Opponents will choose one or eleven based on fundamentals of blackjack.

Abilities:

In game, you can use abilities at various moments by spending either Devil Power or Angel Power, which can be acquired either by winning matches or by spending Karmic Points in the shop. You can change the value of cards, redraw your whole hand, or save yourself in the event of failure.

The opponent will also have unique abilities. The number of abilities and strength of abilities will grow as you proceed through a given campaign.

Strategy:

The basic rule of blackjack is to always assume the next card dealt will be a ten, since ten, jack, queen, and king all count ten. Even in this modified version of blackjack, that rule of thumb will still come in handy. Consider this before deciding whether to use one of your powers. If you need more power facing a strong opponent, you can gain more by retrying an easier opponent. Even if you lose, you'll still get Karmic Points, so defeating strong opponents can be a matter of perseverance.

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