Which game do you like better? Blackjack or poker? Since you are reading a blackjack blog I can probably assume that you are into blackjack and not the other way around. However, though you might prefer blackjack over poker chances are that you also enjoy playing poker. Since both games have their own perks and people know it there are people have been inventing combinations of the two games for sometime now. A perfect example would be one of the most recent developments that took the gambling world by storm – the popular Ultimate Blackjack Tournament. But now there’s another really cool new blackjack/poker combo that will surely catch like wildfire – Ante Up 21.

Ante Up 21 is the creation of Michael Forster and according to him combines the best of both worlds. Ante Up 21 rules is a real mish mash of the two great games. The game starts by having the dealer deal a basic blackjack hand to the players. The players then can choose to bet on the poker outcome of their cards by placing a bet on the “Ante” and “Bet” portions of the game. The rest of the cards are then dealt the blackjack way and the players place their blackjack wagers. After this the player’s best 2 cards are then compared with the dealer’s best 2 cards to determine the winner of the blackjack part of the game. If a player busts or losses the blackjack part of the game he still has a chance to win the poker part by using any 2 of his/her cards to come up with his best poker hand. Of course if even his/her best hand isn’t the best in the table then the player loses again. Just like in poker you’ll need the best poker hand to win the poker pot.

The game might sound a bit confusing but if you already know the basics of both games it is quite easy to get the hang of Ante Up 21. The question is whether it will be easy to become good at it. The game, which will surely offer much fun and excitement, may be easy to learn but is pretty hard to master. To be good at it you of course need to be good at blackjack AND poker. Mastering one of them is difficult enough let alone mastering both. And with the added complication of having to make decisions on the outcome of your hand based on both blackjack and poker principles can be quite nerve wracking. Though this is a fun game you can be sure that it is definitely a “thinking man’s game” as Forster put it. So if you want to keep things simple I suggest you stick with our old yet beloved blackjack. But if you want to add spice in your game and want to exercise your grey matter a bit more then you should definitely opt to play Ante Up 21.