Geoff Hall is the inventor of two blackjack variants: Blackjack Switch and Free Bet Blackjack. His latest variant is Zombie Blackjack which debuted at the Venetian on August 9, 2017.

Just like a Zombie who gets to come back to “life” after death, it is possible for a busted player to rise back and win against the dealer. The gist of this Blackjack variant is if a dealer has a 7 up to Ace as his upcard, and the player’s hand busts, the game is not yet over for the player. He still has a chance to win. The busted bet of the player will be set aside, and see if the dealer busts as the game goes on. If he does, the busted bet will be active again, and win more money even. The “push 22” rule applies here. Basically this means that if the dealer busts with 22, players that have not busted and do not have blackjack will “push”.

Zombie Blackjack changes the basic principle of Blackjack, in a sort of positive way. In a normal game of Blackjack, once a player has a busted hand, the game is over for him. In this variant, a player with a busted hand gets to win more if the dealer busts along with him.
A player can still double down and split on top of the Push 22. With this variant, a player has to learn a whole new set of strategy with regards to the ruling of Push 22.

If a dealer’s upcard is 2 through 6, there is no need to change strategy for Zombie Blackjack. However, it is best to double on 9 versus 6; double on all 11’s and 10’s; hit 12 versus 2 to 4; hit 13 versus 2; and stand on all 14s and up. It is best to double on 17 and 18 versus 5, 6, on soft hands. On all pairs of 4s it is best to hit while opting to double on 5s. All Aces are best split. On 4 to 6 versus 6s and on a pair of 7s versus 2, it is best to split, but split others more so on pairs of 8s. It is best to stick on pairs of 9s versus 2 and 3.

If a dealer’s upcard is 7 and up, doubling down is no longer an advantage. For hard hand, it is best to double down on 11 versus 7(dealer’s); hit everything below 17, hitting hard 17s versus 8 to Ace.

For soft hands, it is best to hit soft 18 versus 8, with the player getting two chances for a better hand. If a player fails to get an Ace to 3, and gets a 10 or a Face instead, he has another hit coming. The odds of improving the hand increase. If the player busts, he still has the chance to get a winning hand.

In pairing, it is best to split 2s and 3s versus dealer 8. Hit pairs of 5s versus 7. Pairs of 6s are best split versus a 7. A bust is no longer costly so creating more hands that could bust is alright. Pair of 7s versus 8 is best split. When pitted against dealer upcards of 7 and up, pair of 9s is best split. Split all pairs of Aces and stand on 20s.

A dealer’s bust is not a concern unless a player sticks on hand or holds a 17 or 18. It is not a winning move to stick to sub 18 hands as a player forfeits his chances of improving his hand. Then again, a player can still win by not hitting when the dealer busts with 22.

Zombie Blackjack seems to be a winner with a 99% payback if the pay is 3 to 2.