This year's G2E at the Sands Expo and Convention Center was no different. Among the games that will be trying to carve a niche in the coming years are Score Gaming's Three Card Draw poker, which gives players the option of discarding one card and drawing a fourth; Galaxy Gaming's Cajun Stud, a five-card game in which you're playing against a pay table and you may bet up to three times your ante after you see your two cards and after community cards are flipped, and two games in which the object is to make the largest flush - Shuffle Master's Flushes Gone Wild and American Gaming Systems' Chase the Flush.

But as always, there were a few new blackjack variations in the mix, including Mega Blackjack and Toss One 21 from AGS, Trilux Deluxe Blackjack from Shuffle Master and Double Up Blackjack from Score Gaming.

I sat down to sample a few hands of each. Here's how they work:

Put off by the spread of tables that have squeezed blackjack payoffs to 6-5 instead of the traditional 3-2, Mega Blackjack goes the other way, pushing blackjack payoffs up to 3-1. Not only that but players are paid 3-2 on other 21s, even after splitting pairs or doubling down.

There is a tradeoff, of course. You won't get the 3-2 pays on multi-card 21s if the dealer busts with four cards or more. In fact, all player hands still in action push on dealer busts of four-plus cards.

You're still paid on your blackjacks before the dealer plays his hand. However, if you're sitting on 19 and the dealer draws 6-5-4-8 for 23, you don't win the hand; instead it pushes.

There are no hits, stands, double downs or pair splits in this blackjack variation. Instead, you start with four cards and choose three to make up your best blackjack hand.

For example, dealt two 10s, a 4 and a 7, you would play one of the 10s along with 4-7 to make up a 21.

You can get a blackjack that pays 3-2 if you have two 10-value cards and an Ace.

If you can't make up a hand of 21 or less, you bust. So if you're dealt 10-9-8-7, where your lowest possible hand is 24 for 9-8-7, you lose no matter what the dealer has.

The dealer also must make up a three-card hand from four cards and can bust if there is no three-card total of 21 or less.

If the player and dealer have the same three-card total, then the fourth card is used as a tiebreaker. If the fourth card also is tied, the house wins.

That's a minor component of the house edge. As in basic blackjack, the house edge derives from the risk that the player will bust before the dealer plays his hand.

TriLux Deluxe is an optional side bet on your first two cards that can be affected in a good way if the dealer has a blackjack.

Once you have your first two cards, the dealer settles the side bet. It pays 2-1 if you have any 20, 4-1 on two Kings, 6-1 on a suited 20, 10-1 on two suited Queens, Jacks or 10s, 25-1 on two suited Kings and 75-1 on two suited Kings of spades.

The big bonanza comes if the dealer has a blackjack while you have two Kings of spades. That brings a 1,000-1 payoff.

If the dealer does not have a blackjack, you may either collect any TriLux Deluxe winning or have the dealer place any portion of your winnings into a TriLux Deluxe Press circle. That essentially ups the stakes on your blackjack bet. If you beat the dealer, anything in the Press circle pays 1-1, just like your regular blackjack bet. If you lose the hand, you lose anything in the Press circle.

There are hands when you want to double down. Then there are hands where you want to Double Up.

Double Up is a betting option after you see your first two cards. Regular double down options remain in place, but there also is a Double Up option.

To Double Up, you make a bet equal to or less than your blackjack bet. After that, you receive no more cards. Winners are paid even money, just like your main blackjack and double down bets.

Dealt a 20 vs. a dealer's 6, a player would never want to double down, which brings one more card and about a 12-in-13 chance of busting. However, you would want to Double Up, which stops your hand at that 20 with no more cards.

However, if player and dealer hands tie, you lose your Double Up bet. If you tie the dealer after you double down, you push, but the house takes its edge by winning Double Up ties.

Also, any dealer total of 16 stops the game. When the dealer has 16, player 21s are paid even money and all other totals push.

Double Up Blackjack comes with an optional 16 Bonus bet. Those who play it are betting the dealer hand will total 16. Payoffs depend on the number of cards that make up the 16. Pay tables may vary.