New Table Games and Stephen Au-Yeung

I love it when I can find a site about gambling that isn’t overtly promotional. Not long ago, I came across a site called New Table Games run by Stephen Au-Yeung, and what a treat that was.

If you’ve never heard of Stephen Au-Yeung, this post will get you up to speed.

I’ve also tried to provide an overview of a representative number of games of various table game families, although New Table Games has multiple variations of each.

Who Are Stephen Au-Yeung, Derek Webb, and Geoff Hall?

Stephen Au-Yeung, Derek Webb, and Geoff Hall describe themselves as the top three legends of “New Table Games.” Au-Yeung is the copyright holder listed on the website, though, and he’s arguably the most important figure at the company.

Stephen Au-Yeung’s biggest claim to fame is his creation of Casino Hold’em in 2000. It’s a casino game version of Texas Hold’em where the house banks the action, and it’s played throughout the world, online and off.

Derek Webb is best known for inventing Three-Card Poker, which has been called the most successful new table game in the casinos. He sold his company to Galaxy Gaming and is now more or less retired. But he’s active on Au-Yeung’s website.

Geoff Hall is the third big casino game inventor on the site, and he’s best-known for inventing Blackjack Switch. But he’s developed a number of other blackjack variants that are growing in popularity, including Free Bet Blackjack, Zappit, and Zombie Blackjack.

Socially Distanced Roulette (Roulette 18)

One of the recent games promoted on the New Table Games site is Roulette-18, which they bill as the first socially-distanced roulette in land-based casinos. Roulette-18 features 19 numbers and has a house edge of 5.26%.

The roulette wheel for Roulette-18 is numbered zero through 18, so it has 19 numbers on it instead of 38. The layout for the game is able to use a smaller table, enabling the casino to socially distance players while offering many of the same betting options with the same house edge.

You can still make straight bets, split bets, street bets, etc.

The game is available online, but it has different payouts than you’re used to:

A straight bet, instead of paying off at 35 to 1, pays off at 17 to 1. A split bet pays off at 8 to 1, and a street bet pays off at 5 to 1. You can also make a corner bet which pays off at 7 to 2 odds. A line bet pays off at 2 to 1.

The even money bets (high or low, odd or even, or red or black) still pay off at even money, but you only lose half the money when the ball lands on 0.

Raise ‘Em Poker – An Example of a Progressive Table Game

Most of the time when you think of progressive jackpots, you think of slots and video poker.

But table games with progressive jackpots have been growing more popular over the last few years, too.

Raise ‘Em Poker is a great example of such a game from New Table Games.

Here’s how it works:

Instead of trying to beat the house or the other players at the table, you just bet on the strength of your hand, which is made up of three hole cards and two community cards. Like a video poker game or some other poker-based table games, Raise ‘Em Poker pays off based on a pay table:

• Royal flush pays 250 to 1
• Straight flush pays 50 to 1
• Full house pays 12 to 1
• Flush pays 10 to 1
• Straight pays 8 to 1
• Three of a kind pays 3 to 1
• Two pairs pays 2 to 1
• A pair of 10s or better pays even money

The progressive jackpot in the game is a separate side bet, and it pays off according to the following pay table:

• Royal flush or straight flush pays off the top jackpot
• Four of a kind pays off the 2nd tier jackpot
• Full house pays off the 3rd tier jackpot
• A flush pays off at 50 to 1
• A straight pays off at 10 to 1

The house edge for the main game is 2.96% if you play with a mathematically optimal strategy, but the payoff on the side bet changes as the jackpot grows. The bigger the jackpot is, the lower the house edge becomes.

Lucky Draw Baccarat Combines Baccarat and Blackjack

Another interesting table game variation from New Table Games is called Lucky Draw Baccarat. The intent behind the game is to combine baccarat with blackjack.

In traditional real money baccarat, you bet on the banker or the player hand, and no matter how many players are at the table, you only have those two hands.

But in Lucky Draw Baccarat, each player gets a hand to play against the dealer. And as in blackjack, you get to decide whether or not to hit or stand. (In traditional baccarat, those maneuvers are determined by the prescribed rules.)

Basically, the move to hit a total in Lucky Draw Baccarat is the same as doubling down in blackjack. In other words, if you want to hit, you must put up a 2nd bet equal to your first bet. Also, you’re not allowed to take additional cards after that.

The strategy for the game is simple enough; it’s just based on your total. Generally, you’ll always stand on a total of 6 or higher, and you’ll always hit a total of 3 or less.

If you have a total of 3 or 4, you’ll only stand if the dealer shows a 9.

If you have a total of 5, you’ll only stand if the dealer shows an 8 or 9.

If you follow this strategy, Lucky Draw Blackjack has a house edge of 3.34%.

Unlimited Blackjack Auto-Splits or Unlimited-21 Stadium-Blackjack

Unlimited Blackjack Auto-Splits is a variation of online live-dealer blackjack which can be played by an unlimited number of players at once.

How does the casino pull this off?

For one thing, you don’t get your own hand. Every player gets the same hand to start.

But you do get to make your own decisions about how to play said hand.

Also, the cards don’t get drawn until all the players have made their decisions. You can’t get an edge by waiting to see what cards come out before you make your decision.

Here’s the other catch:

It’s called “auto-split” for a reason. If you have any pair other than 4s, 5s, 9s, or 10s, you automatically split. You don’t get to choose. You DO get to choose whether you want to play one or both hands after the splitting is done.

This game has already been adopted by several well-known online casinos in the United States, including Borgata, Caesars, Golden Nugget, and MGM.

New Side Bets From New Table Games

One of the other specialties of New Table Games is to create new side bets for existing table games.

Here’s a good example:

One of their side bets is called Double Barrel Bonus. It’s a pair of blackjack side bets.

The first side bet is called 10-20 Bonus-Blackjack. This side bet wins any time your first two cards total either 10 or 20. It pays off based on the way your total is made up – for example, if you get a pair of 5s, it pays off at 22 to 1. Other totals of 10 pay off at 10 to 1, while a total of 20 pays off at 3 to 1.

The house edge for this bet drops based on the number of decks in play. It’s well over 5% even in the best scenario, though.

The 2nd side bet is called Perfect-11 Bonus-Blackjack. It wins when your first two cards are a blackjack or if your first two cards add up to 11. It also pays off based on a pay table, but it’s a simple one. A suited 11 pays off at 21 to 1, while an unsuited 11 pays off at 10 to 1. A blackjack pays off at 5 to 1.

The house edge for this bet is around 6%, which makes it a pretty awful bet compared to a standard blackjack bet.

Keep in mind that this is a side bet. You still play out the rest of your hand as normal, and it pays off as normal, too.

Conclusion

New Table Games is the brainchild of Stephen Au-Yeung, and it’s a great example of what you might want to do if you’re hoping to break into the “casino game inventor” niche.

You’ll notice that most of the new games offered by the site aren’t new games at all; they’re just twists on existing games.

That’s probably the route to go if you want to invent a new casino game, too.