While you play, there is a "bar" in the playing field that keeps track of how many 21's you have earned so far. As you earn more 21's, the bar will turn green up to the level of how many 21's have been made so far. The bar is somewhat confusing since each number is preceded by a "+" sign. What this actually indicates is the total number of tokens you will earn based on how many 21's you have made. These numbers are additive, meaning that as you progress up the bar, you'll additionally earn the number of tokens indicated. Here's a table showing the bar level, the number of additive tokens for that level, and the total number of tokens you therefore have earned for that game so far.

Some notes about the above table:

• The "Total" box near the top of the game's playing area gives you a running count of the total number of tokens that you have earned during the current game (NOT the number of 21's you've made)
• For each hand that you bust, your total token count will decrease by 5 (down to a minimum of 0 tokens)
• If you reach 13 21's or above, you get a random jackpot spin.
• If you finish the board (place all 52 cards) before the timer runs out, you will earn an additional 25 tokens.

Assuming that the odds are long against any one person will win the jackpot, we then want to concentrate on the second goal of the game: winning as many tokens as possible. This leads us into our next topic:

Mathematics: How to get all possible 21's

Since the game uses a standard deck of 52 cards, and since the game follows blackjack rules for card values (tens and face cards have a value of 10 and aces have a value of either 1 or 11), we can use this information to figure out how to get the most number of 21's in a game.

There are 16 ten-values in the deck (four 10's, four jacks, four queens, and four kings) and of course exactly four aces. As a basic rule, you can only get 18 21's if you (a) use each ace with a single ten-value card, and you (b) combine 2-card totals of 11 for the other 12 ten-value cards. (using two-card 11 totals is VERY important in this game)

As an example of this, you could combine the ten-value cards as follows:

The table above is only an example, and shows only one way that you can use all 16 ten-value cards to make 16 21's.

Note that if we follow the above table for a single game, we have not used any 5's or 6's, and that we have used 44 cards out of the total 52 cards in the deck. Therefore, in the example above, we would have be left with exactly 8 cards: the four 5's, and the four 6's.

Using the remaining four 5's and four 6's, we can make 1 more 21 (5-5-5-6) for a total of 17 21's, and we are now left with four cards: one 5 and three 6's. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make our 18th 21 out of these four cards.

So how do we make 18 21's? We can figure this out by assuming that we use all 16 ten-values as demonstrated in the table above, then closely examine our remaining 8 cards and try to figure out how to make two additional 21's out of our remaining 8 cards.

In the specific example above, we were left with four 5's and four 6's, and we were able to make one additional 21. The interesting thing to note about these remaining 8 cards is that they make a total value of 44 (5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 44). Thus if there were some way to combine these remaining 8 cards into two more 21's, we would be left with a 2 (but we don't have a 2 left in this example).

If you're following this so far, you're probably already catching on to the following tips:

Advanced tips for making 18 21's

When to Start a New Game Using the "New Game" button

Near the upper right area of the playing field, there is one button that allows you to terminate the current game and begin a new game. This is similar to the "New Game" button in poppit in that since the button is included, it should be thought of as a "feature" rather than as a way to "cheat".

Also, note that if you click the "New Game" button, currently you are awarded the tokens you have earned so far in the game. So clicking this button doesn't cause you to lose any of the tokens you've earned in your current game.

If you've followed everything on this page so far, and you've decided that for you personally it's imporant to always try to make 18 21's in each game, I do suggest making liberal use of the "New Game" button. The question is, how can you decide when it's appropriate to do so?

The answer to this question is not cut-and-dried, but here are a few guidelines that I usually follow to determine whether it's time to begin a new game:

• If you start the game with 8 ten-value cards, it's likely to be a bad game and it's time to start a new one
• Similarly, if you find at any point in the game that several columns total exactly 20, it will be difficult to earn very many more 21's so it's a good time to start a new game
• If you've already had to bust a couple columns, this is also a good time to consider starting over
• If you have a couple columns that already have 4 cards in them and don't total 21 yet, consider starting a new game

When to Start a New Game (advanced)

As I've gained more experience in this game, I find that I use the new game button more and more frequently:

• If I've placed 8 cards and haven't gotten a 21 yet
• If I've placed 8 cards and haven't seen a 10 yet
• As soon as I'm forced to bust even a single column

The only exception to the above is when I'm VERY close to the jackpot spin (like within 1 or 2 21's of 13 21's).

Updates and new Features

Over the years, the Turbo21 game has been updated and improved with new features added. These features are:

• Bonus Round: After every fourth game you win, you will automatically enter into a bonus round.  In the bonus round, you are presented with four groups of three cards each and you are asked to select (by clicking it with your mouse) which one of the four card groupings total 21.  Note that each card grouping contains one "10-value" card and no aces, so you just need to sort of train your mind to look for the two non-10-value cards that equal 11.  You earn 20 tokens for each correct mouse click.  Typically you can select approximately 16 to 20 21's here (if you're fast!) so you can earn between 320 and 400 tokens or even more. One cool thing about the bonus round is that it trains your brain to look for and parse cards that equal 11 (or 21) which will help you in the main game.  Tip: you can get more 21's in the bonus round by concentrating on one of the four areas for each selection round.  If it's a 21, click on it immediately, and only look at the other areas if the area you're concentrating on does not contain a 21.
  
  
• Power-ups: Every couple of games or so, a yellow box appears on the 21's bar on the left, usually a few 21's lower than the jackpot spin goal.  If you reach at least that many 21's (usually 10), you will earn the power-up, which takes effect on your next game. There are three different power-ups you can earn:
  • Extra time: as the name implies, you get an extra 10 seconds on the clock.
  • Easy spin: the jackpot spin marker is lowered from 13 21's to 10 21's.
  • Free Peek: This is the most useful power-up.  It lets you see the next TWO cards from the deck instead of just the next card only.
    
    
• Skill levels: you can select to play at level 1, 2, or 3.  As far as I can tell, the only difference between these skill levels is that you are given more time to complete the deck at the lower levels (60 seconds for level 3, 65 seconds for level 2, and 70 seconds for level 1).
  
  
• Other bonus points: along the way while you're playing you also earn some minimal extra bonus points for "turbo 21's". That is, if you play fairly quickly, for every 5 21's you make in a certain amount of time, you'll get an additional 3 tokens.

That's about it! Good luck everyone!