Rules (Page 3 of 4)

ROUND 3 -- Featuring The Final Risk: To start the round, we add CY$750 to each player's score.  As in Round 2, the order of control is determined by who finished Round 2 in third place, then in second place and finally the lead.  Tie-breakers for control are the same as in Round 2.

The true or false board displays four categories in this round.  In Round 3, each category always has four questions and each question in the round is always worth CY$750.

After each player has had a turn at the true or false board, one of the following games of chance is played...

• Duel of the Dice: The hostess and dealer each roll a pair of dice.  Before they roll, the players determine if the hostess or dealer  will come up with the higher total rolled.  A correct prediction pays off at 1-to-1 but this game of chance will end in a push if both sides tie.  That said, players are allowed to wager on a "tie" option that pays 11-to-1 (i.e. a CY$750 wager on "tie" could return a payoff of CY$9000).

• Over/Under: Players bet on the outcome of one roll of a pair of dice. Before the dice are rolled, the players bet on whether the value of the roll will be equal to 7, higher than 7 ("Over") or lower than 7 ("Under"). Then the dice are rolled. Correct predictions pay off at even money odds except if a player bet on the number 7; those correct wagers pay off at 5-to-1 odds (i.e. a CY$750 wager on 7 could return a payoff of CY$4500).

• Snowman (formerly Crazy 8): Players wager if the first card from the top of a new 52-card deck is higher than an 8, lower than an 8 or an 8, also known as "the snowman". Correct wagers pay at even money odds. However, if the player bets on the number 8, the payoff is 12-to-1 if the dealer turns up a snowman (i.e. a CY$750 wager on the number 8 could return a payoff of CY$9750).

• Sweet 16 (formerly Lights Out): Squares numbered 1 through 16 are displayed in a four-by-four grid. Eight of the numbers will randomly disappear.  Before eight numbers disappear, the players select three numbers they predict will remain on the board and place a wager. If a player matches one number that stays on the board, the payoff is 1-to-1. If a player matches two numbers, the payoff is 3-to-1. Should all three of the player's predictions remain up after eight others disappear, the payoff is 5-to-1. Should all three of the player's predictions disappear, (s)he posts a net loss of the amount of the wager.

• Top Card: This is our version of roulette -- except we use playing cards instead of a wheel.  Players make a prediction of one of these three components of the top card of a new 54-card deck (including Jokers): the suit, the suit's color or the card's rank.  A correct prediction on...

• the color (red or black) of the suit of the top card pays off at 1-to-1.
• the suit (Spades, Hearts, Clubs or Diamonds) of the top card pays off at 3-to-1.
• the rank (Ace through 2) of the top card pays off at 12-to-1.

...each player can only bet on one option (in other words, a player couldn't bet CY$750 on "Spades" and another CY$750 on "black").  Should a player make an incorrect prediction or if the top card is one of the two Jokers in the deck, (s)he posts a net loss of the amount of the wager.

• Total Up: The top five cards of a 52-card deck are placed face down on the board. Before the cards turned face up, the players bet on one of the four total categories (odds are in parentheses)...

  • 6-20 (20-to-1)

  • 21-30 (5-to-1)

  • 31-40 (1-to-1)

  • 41-50 (3-to-1)

  ...then, the cards are turned face up and we total up the value of the five cards (Aces are worth 1 point in this case; face cards are worth 10 points each). A player wins the bet if (s)he correctly predicts the winning total category (i.e. if all the cards are face cards, "41-50" is the winning category since the five face cards equal 50 points).

• Triple Play: Before the dealer rolls three dice, each player bets on a number between 1 and 6 inclusive. Then the dice are rolled. If a player's selected number matches one of the dice cubes, the payoff is 1-to-1. If a player's selected number matches two of the dice cubes, the payoff is 2-to-1. If a player's selected number matches all three dice cubes, the payoff is 3-to-1.

...in all the above games, minimum bet is CY$750 in CY$50 increments and the maximum bet is "all in".


The player with the lowest score is eliminated from further play and keeps all of his/her cyber-cash with the minimum guarantee of CY$250. The others advance to The Big Risk round.

 

HEAD-TO-HEAD PLAYOFF -- a.k.a The Big Risk Round  Each of the two remaining players each play one hand of single deck blackjack against the dealer.  Before any cards are dealt, the remaining contestants play two questions from the category unselected in Round 3. 

The player with the lower amount of cyber-money gets the first and third questions in the category's stack; the other player gets the second and fourth questions.  In case of any tie, it's broken by position number (Player 1 goes first versus Player 2 or 3; Player 2 goes first versus Player 3).  Each correct answer is worth CY$2000.

Then, each player will be assigned a deck of cards determined by the standings following the questions.  The player in second place will play the blue deck of cards; the leading player plays the red deck of cards.  As before, in case of any tie, it's broken by position number.

 

When a player's turn starts, (s)he must select a letter from The Big Risk board.  The board is made up of ten letters that spell out "THE BIG RISK".  Behind eight of the letters are percentage cards -- two 10% cards, two 25% cards, two 50% cards and two 75% cards -- and the two remaining letters hide cards with the phrase "The Big Risk". 

If the player selects a letter hiding a percentage, his/her minimum bet must be that percentage of the total score (rounded up to the nearest increment of CY$50, if necessary).  If the player draws one of "The Big Risk" cards, the player must wager 100% of his/her score.

If not mandated by "The Big Risk", the player may bet more than the minimum required -- but the player's bet may not exceed his/her score.  Once the bet is made, the dealer distributes a total of four cards. The player's hand starts with the first and third cards from the top of the deck.  The second and fourth cards from the top of the deck will start the dealer's hand -- with the first of the dealer's cards being dealt face down. 

As with any variation of blackjack, each Ace is worth 1 or 11 and each face card is worth 10; otherwise the value of the hand increases by the number on the card.

As the player goes head-to-head with the dealer, the player may only hit or stand (for the sake of simplicity, double downs, splits, insurance bets and surrenders are not allowed).

As long as the player does not bust (have a hand worth more than 21), the dealer will then turn his hole card face up.  The player must draw a card as long as his hand is worth less than 17.  Once the dealer has a hand worth more than 16 (including a soft 17 or more), he must stop drawing cards.

Unless otherwise noted, the payoff for the player is 1-to-1 if...

• the player's non-busting hand is worth more than the dealer's non-busting hand. 
• the player did not bust but the dealer did.
  
• the player's five-card hand totals 21 or less; this is an instant "five-card Charlie" 1-to-1 payoff regardless of the total value of the dealer's hand.
  
• the player's first two cards make a soft 21; for our purposes, any 10 or face card plus an Ace make blackjack for an instant 2-to-1 payoff -- unless the dealer makes blackjack (see below).

The player posts a net loss of the original wager if...

• the player busts.
• the dealer's non-busting hand is worth more than the player's non-busting hand. 

If the hands are worth the same value, the hand ends in a push -- meaning the player does not gain or lose any additional cyber-money.  In the event the player and dealer both have blackjack hands, this is also a push.

Given the above rules, the host may make an executive decision should a...

• player's hand total 21; the host will then go ahead and stand on the player's behalf.
• player have four cards that total less than 12 or make up any "soft" hand; since the next card is guaranteed not to bust, the host will then go ahead and take a hit on the player's behalf -- leading to an instant "five-card Charlie" 1-to-1 payoff.

After each player has had a turn playing blackjack against the dealer, the player with the higher cyber-money score wins the game.  The runner-up is guaranteed at least CY$500 and the winner CY$1000.

TIE-BREAKER: In the event the third or playoff round ends in a tie for the lead, a four-clue puzzle, worth CY$50, serves as the tie-breaker. When a clue is revealed, we'll go to random.org for a number between 1-100.  Then, the players respond with a buzzer number of their own and their answer to the puzzle.

If the tie-breaker involves just two players, the player closer to the actual buzz-in number who gives the right answer wins the tie-breaker and CY$50. If the player closer to the actual buzz-in number gives a wrong answer, the opposing player wins the tie-breaker and CY$50 by default.

If all three players are involved in the tie-breaker, the player closest to the actual buzz-in number who gives the right answer wins the tie-breaker. If the player closest to the actual buzz-in number gives a wrong answer, both of the other players advance to The Big Risk round with an extra CY$50 each. If one player wins a CY$50 tie-breaker with a right answer, the others play a new tie-breaker puzzle using the rules in the above paragraph.

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