Requesting a card or a hit on 17 or above will do two things: it will mark you as a rank amateur and will make other players abandon your table. There are only four cards to improve your hand with a 17, three with an 18, 2 with a 19 and one with a 20. The odds are stacked against you in every case. With 17 as the player's key point, 6 is the corresponding cutoff card for thedealer's exposed card in determining how you play it, with the deuce or 2 beingthe exception to the rule (refer to "The Terror of the Twos") It is importantto remember: everything is relative to the one card the dealer is showing. Ifthe dealer's exposed card is 3-6, the player has a better chance of winning thanif the dealer is showing a 2, 9, 10 (or face card) or ace. Seven and eight fallin the middle.Generally accepted blackjack theory notes that 18.3 represents the calculatedaverage hand needed to win. In other words, a hand with less than a 19 total(you can't get fractions in blackjack), is potentially a losing hand. If thedealer is showing a 7, 8, 9, or 10-value card, you will need to hit if you haveless than a 17.With a total of 17, you are stuck-you can't take a hit, but your chances aren'tgood. The math of the game says you can't take a card to improve your hand, butthe best you can do is hope the dealer has a 5-10 if he/she is showing a seven.With a 10, you tie, or "push." You don't win, but you don't lose. 5-9 makes thedealer hit once more. If the dealer has an 8, 9, or 10-value card exposed, youhave to hope that there is a 4, 5,6, or 7 in the hole. That will make the dealerneed to take a third card as well and this might put his/her hand over the totalof 21, with a busted hand. As there are more 10-value cards than any other, thechances here are not as bad.When you receive a hard 17, 18, 19, or 20, there is nothing to do except sitback and hope that the dealer's hand isn't as good as yours. You merely indicateto the dealer that you don't want a card and want to stand. Obviously, with a21 or blackjack, there's no need to try to improve your position.

Aztec Riches Casino has a nice balance between the bonuses and the competitions and drawings. They are offering a tiered bonus for new players on their first three deposits:

• The initial welcome bonus is a 100% matching bonus with a minimum deposit of $20 and a maximum of $100.
• The second deposit bonus is a 50% matching bonus with a minimum deposit of $20 and a maximum of $500.
• The third deposit bonus is a 25% matching bonus with a minimum deposit of $20 and a maximum of $2000.

Their drawings and competitions are as follows:

• Super Saturday – Cash prize drawing every 30 minutes
• Power Power Poker – Sundays play Jacks or Better Power Poker
• Turbo Charged Tuesdays – Play Five Reel Drive and win.
• Wild Wednesdays – Cash prize drawing every 30 minutes
• Thursday Thunder – Play Thunderstruck Slots and win.
• Blackjack Bonanza – Monthly tournament

The Casino Action group likes to keep some information close to their chest. On the Aztec Rewards page they mention loyalty points and state the following: "The more you play, the more we pay! Bonus points are paid out in units of 1,000. Redeem 1,000 points for $10 or redeem 5,000 points for $50! Our Silver, Gold and Platinum VIP members can redeem their Rewards at a higher rate - meaning more cash every week." This sounds wonderful but means nothing. How do players earn points? Are there games that are better for points than others? I have no idea, and their customer service reps aren't telling. This does not make the rewards program much of an incentive for me to join.

• High Card - This is used when no one at all on the table has any other winning hand such as a pair or better. The winner will be judged on who has the highest card, if 2 or more people have the same high card then they will move onto the 2nd highest card and so on until someone wins. This is also used if in a game some people have the same winning hand. For example, if Cheryl and Nigel were playing and they both revealed a pair of 8's then they would see who had the highest cards.
• Pair - When a player has two cards the same such as two 8's. Ties are broken using the 'High Card'.
• Two Pairs - A hand consisting of two pairs such as two 8's and two 10's. Ties are broken using the 'High Card'.
• Three Of A Kind - Three cards that are the same numberwise. No need for the high card as there is only four of each value per deck.
• Straight - All 5 cards consecutive but not in the same suit. For example, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. If two people have a straight then the highest straight wins. If more than one person has the same straight then they split the pot between them.
• Flush - Any 5 cards of the same suit, the numbers do not matter but if more than one person has a flush then the one containing the highest card wins.
• Full House - Two cards of the same value and three cards of the same value such as 7, 7, Queen, Queen, Queen. The highest wins.
• Four Of A Kind - Four cards of the same numerical value such as four 10's. No need for the high card as there is only four of each value per deck.
• Straight Flush - Five cards of the same suit in numerical order such as 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of hearts. The higher the straight the better.
• Royal Flush - Five cards of the same suit, MUST be 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace.

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