21 Pro: Blackjack - Sponsored

Since this is a gambling app I think it’s important to note that, between Vegas, Atlantic City, and FullTilt.com, I’ve done my fair share of gambling. Granted, I may not be an expert, but I’ve played more than enough hands of blackjack to know what should be included to make this kind of gaming experience fun and realistic.

With that said, 21 Pro: Blackjack can be summed up with just four letters:

OMFG!

Avalinx LLC has clearly gone to great pains in faithfully recreating an actual, properly-run Vegas blackjack table (all the way down to the dealer’s card shoe!), and they’ve also built this game to appeal to everyone from total beginners to serious gamblers.

In fact, I’ll even go as far as saying that 21 Pro: Blackjack is so complete that it could literally take you from being 100% clueless to being a fairly respectable player within a few hours (or less?) and you’ll have a good time doing it.

I could probably write an entire book about this app, but I’ll spare you the long-winded explanations and give you the laundry list of info and features included in 21 Pro: Blackjack:

• History of the game (2+ screens of info)
• Rules & Terminology (8+ screens)
• Game Variations (3+ screens)
• Basic Strategy (1 screen)
• Basic Strategy Chart
• Card Counting basics (8 screens)
• Preferences to toggle on/off certain game options such as splitting and number of decks in the shoe
• Options to change tablecloth colors, card backs, and sound effects
• Gameplay: Split cards
• Gameplay: Double
• Gameplay: Surrender
• Gameplay: Buy Insurance
• Gameplay: Ask Dealer for advice
• Gameplay: View Card Counting Tables
• Gameplay: Rebet previous amount

This app is a lot of fun as a standalone game, but I can see two truly practical uses for it:

1. Prepare to play at a casino for real money
2. Practice card counting

If you’re planning a trip to an actual casino with the intention of hitting the tables, you absolutely have to get 21 Pro: Blackjack. Even if you’re not testing out a “system”, even if your wife/girlfriend already knows how to play, you need this to help you get into the gambling mindset and remind you just how easy it is to lose!

As far as card counting goes, all I know is that people write entire books on the subject. This app has some info on the KO and Hi-Lo systems that it uses, but if you’re serious about counting cards you probably want to make a trip to the library and study up before a real casino robs you of your entire bankroll. Still, I’m sure this app could serve as a great learning tool if you’re trying to develop some card-counting skills.

As complete as 21 Pro: Blackjack is, I can think of three improvements that would make it kick even more ass: a global high score (bankroll) board, the ability to play multiple hands, and multiplayer ability.

Global scoreboards are always great for bragging and this one could maybe get divided by average bet amount so the $5/hand weenies don’t feel left out, but playing multiple hands would be really sweet. Blackjack isn’t a game where you compete with others… your only enemies are the Dealer and people who play like total jackasses… but multiple hands would help quite a bit in learning to count cards, and sometimes it’s just more fun to play this way.

Multiplayer ability sounds really hard to implement, but if Avalinx could pull it off it would be amazing.

21 Pro: Blackjack’s sponsored version is exactly the same as the $4.99 version except for the ads that show up before games and in between shuffles, so get whichever one suits you. (Comments in the App Store indicate that you need to have an internet connection to play the sponsored version because of the ads, so keep that in mind if you’re going the cheap route.)

I haven’t played any other iPhone blackjack games yet, but I have a hard time imagining anything better than this.

(About the video below… there is no music in 21 Pro: Blackjack, just some nicely-done sound effects)