How to play
Siebzehn und Vier (“seventeen and four”, which makes 21) is the German home game of twenty-one. It’s played with the short 32-card deck used for Skat, and the picture cards count only 2, 3 and 4. One player holds the bank and the others play against it. Here you sit with three bots, and the bank moves around the table.
The aim is to finish closer to 21 than the banker without going over.
| Card | Counts |
|---|---|
| 7, 8, 9, 10 | face value |
| Jack | 2 |
| Queen | 3 |
| King | 4 |
| Ace | 11 |
There are no 2s to 6s in the deck. The ace always counts 11, so two aces make 22. But two aces are a special hand, called “fire” (Feuer): they count as 21 and win.
A round:
- Press Deal. Everyone gets one card. You see yours; the others stay face down.
- Starting from the player after the banker, each player looks at their card and stakes 10 to 500 credits. Tap chips to build your stake, then press Stake.
- Everyone, the banker too, gets a second card.
- Players take turns to Draw or Stand. Going over 21 loses your stake straight away.
- The banker plays last, then settles with everyone still standing.
The deck is shuffled before every round.
Winning and losing
- Higher total than the banker: the banker pays your stake.
- Same total or lower: you pay the banker. Ties go to the bank.
- Banker goes over 21: the banker pays everyone still standing.
- A natural (21 with your first two cards: an ace and a 10, or two aces) wins double your stake and ends your turn.
- The banker’s natural ends the round at once. Every player pays the banker double, except a player who also has a natural: they pay only their stake.
The bank
The bank stays with one player for up to five rounds, then moves to the next seat. When you’re the banker you play against all three bots at once. You see who stands and who busts, but not the totals of the players still standing. Then you Draw or Stand, and win or pay each of them.
Credits. Only your credits count; the bots never run out. Because a natural pays double, your stake can be at most half your credits. As the banker, the bots’ stakes together can be at most half your credits. A bot that finds nothing left to cover sits the round out.
Strategy
The game is close to even. Ties go to the banker, but players’ naturals pay double. With every seat played by the bots’ rules in two runs of 2 million rounds, the bank kept 0.48% and 0.56% of all money staked against it, about half a percent. That’s a much smaller bank edge than in Ochko, where naturals pay only even money.
Count the small pictures. A King is only 4 and a Jack only 2, so a hand of 10 and King is 14, not 20. Of the 32 cards, sixteen are 7s to 10s, four are aces, and twelve are pictures worth only 2 to 4.
Use the bust chance. On your turn the message says how often one more card would take you over 21. It counts only the cards you can see: your own, and any shown by busted players or naturals. With only 32 cards, every card you see changes the odds a lot.
Stake on your first card. You choose the stake after seeing one card. An ace is the best start: it’s 11 on its own, a 10 makes a natural that pays double, and a second ace makes fire.
The bots play by fixed rules. They stake more on aces and 10s, draw below 16, and as the banker draw to 17.
Where it comes from
Siebzehn und Vier belongs to the twenty-one family, with Vingt-et-un, the Russian Ochko and casino Blackjack. House rules vary: some tables use a full 52-card deck with pictures worth 10, and in the traditional game the banker first puts up a “bank” that the players stake against, up to all of it (“va banque”). Some tables pay fire only even money. Here the deck is the 32-card one, naturals and fire both pay double, and stakes have fixed limits.
If you enjoy Siebzehn und Vier, try Six Bonus Baccarat or Six Card Poker next.
