really, actually fixed player and dealer totals; problem was in msg argument for winner, loser and tie helpers - since totals already stored via calculate_total(session[:player_cards]) didn't need to session in msg arg.
made a small change for heroku test
secured rubygems.org; stated pry gem in gemfile
removed require 'pry'
fixed player hit or stand logic; added redirect to '/bet' when game is over and player chooses to play again