Catch a Wave is a table game found at Foxwoods in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
I have yet to see the game myself but I've been asked about it so
many times I could ignore it no longer. If anyone finds this game
outside of Foxwoods I would be interested to know where, especially
if in Nevada.
Rules
The game is played with eight standard decks of cards. Cards are ranked
according to their poker value, except aces are always high. The suit
does not matter. Play starts with the player making a wager. Next
the player and dealer each receive one card, both face up. At this
point the player must either hit or stand. If the player hits he must
indicate whether the next card will be higher or lower than the first
one. If the player hits and his call is incorrect or the are cards
equal in value then the player loses and his wager and cards are immediately
collected. If the player's call is correct he again has the option
to stand or hit. If he hits he again must indicate if the next card
will be higher or lower than the last one. This process repeats until
the player either makes an incorrect call, stands, or successfully
hits six times. If the player does hit correctly six times (catching
a wave) then he automatically is paid 6 to 1 on his original wager.
After all players have taken a turn and assuming at least one bet
is still active the dealer will then play his hand in a similar
manner but according to predetermined rules. The card dealt to the
dealer at the beginning shall be the dealer's first card. If this
first card is 7 or less the dealer must call higher. If the first
card is 8 or more the dealer must call lower. In the event the dealer
calls incorrectly or the cards match all player bets that are still
active win and pay 1 to 1. After this first hit the dealer will
call higher on 4 or less, stand on 5 to 10, and call less on jack
or higher. The dealer will keep repeating this until he either stands
or makes in incorrect call. Unlike the player there is no automatic
win or stop at six cards for the dealer.
If the dealer makes an incorrect call then the player is paid 1
to 1 if he is still in the game. Otherwise if the player and dealer
have both stood then the total number of hits is compared. If the
dealer has more hits then the dealer wins. If the number of hits
is equal to the dealer then the bet is a push. If the player has
more hits then the player wins by a multiple of the difference between
the player's total and the dealer's total. For example if the player
hit 5 times and the dealer 2 times then the player would be paid
3 to 1.
Strategy
The following table shows when the player should stand according
to the dealer's first card and number of prior successful hits.
If the player should not stand then obviously he should call "higher"
with a card lower than the stand range and "lower" with
a card higher than the stand range. For example if the dealer is
showing a 5 and the player has already had 3 successful hits then
the player should stand on 6 to 10. If the table says "none"
then the player should always hit, even with an 8. If the player
should hit an 8 then he should use the cards seen on the table to
determine whether the remaining deck has more high or low cards,
and hit accordingly.
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