Mulligan 21

Blackjack Variations > Mulligan 21

Mulligan 21 is a new blackjack game that is now spread at Angel of the Winds Casino in Arlington, Washington. It is dealt similar to a standard blackjack game. Players and the dealer are dealt two cards. The dealer receives one card face-up. A player blackjack automatically wins. It is paid even money before the dealer checks his hole card for a blackjack. A dealer blackjack beats all players that do not have a natural blackjack.

The special rule for players allows a drawn face card to be discarded. For example, if a player was dealt a hard 14 and drew a jack, queen or king, he could refuse that card and accept the next card off the top of the deck. A 10 card must be kept. This advantage may be used once per hand. The face card does not have to bust the player to be refused. For example, a player that is dealt 6 and receives a face card could decide to discard it and hope for a smaller card. The same is true if a player doubles down on a soft hand and does not want the face card that does not improve his hand.

In addition to receiving even money on blackjack, there is one more rule that is not friendly to players. The dealer pushes on all 17’s and does not hit on soft 17. The hand is a push regardless of whether the dealer would have won the hand or not. This can be beneficial to a player that stayed on 16 and the dealer drew out. This rule benefits the house more than players.

Lucky Stiff Bonus Bet

Mulligan 21 offers an optional side bet referred to as Lucky Stiff. A player that receives 66, 77 or 88 on the first two cards automatically wins 7-1, regardless of the results of the hand. These are referred to as “Stiff Pairs”. A natural blackjack receives even money instantly.

A player that starts the hand with a two-card 12-16 has an opportunity to win 5-1. This occurs when the player wins the hand either through beating the dealer with a better hand or the dealer busting. The Lucky Stiff side bet pushes when the player pushes the dealer, including when the house makes a 17.