Black Jack

Black Jack is a card game that is commonly referred to as "21".

As the latter name implies, the object of the game is to get as close to 21 as possible without going over 21. But the Black Jack rules in effect at Casino Marienlyst differ slightly from the ordinary rules for 21.

Black Jack is played at a semicircular table seating seven players. These seated players are called "boxholders". Boxholders make the decisions after the game has started. All other players stand behind the boxholders. They play together with a boxholder, but may not make any decisions themselves.

Even if only four boxholders are playing, you can choose to play with a boxholder instead of becoming a boxholder yourself. This is obviously an ideal opportunity for novices to learn something about the game without actively participating.

A two-ringed circle and two or more single circles are printed on the table in front of every seat. These circles are collectively referred to as a "box". The boxholder places his bet in the two-ringed circle. Persons playing with the boxholder place their cash chips - which are used in Black Jack - in the single circles.

The Game

In Black Jack everyone plays against the bank, i.e. the dealer. The dealer keeps the cards in a container called a shoe. Face cards are worth 10 points. An ace is worth 1 or 11 points while cards numbered 2 to 10 are counted at face value.

Note that not all combinations of 21 are equally valuable. If the first two cards are an ace and a 10 or another face card, you have Black Jack, which is the highest you can get. Black Jack is always worth more than any other combination of 21.

But just because a player holds Black Jack does not mean he has won. Because, as you can read below, this depends on the dealer's hand.

After all players have placed their bets, the dealer deals the cards. The first person to receive a card is the boxholder at the extreme left of the dealer. The last person to receive a card is the dealer himself.

The dealer lays the cards face up on the table. After this, each boxholder gets one more card.

The dealer now asks the boxholders in turn if they want another card or if they want to "stand". This is repeated until the player stands or goes over 21, thereby losing.

If a player goes over 21 points, the cards and bets in the losing player's box are removed immediately, because even if the dealer also happens to exceed 21, the player still loses. If a boxholder gets 21 points from three sevens, everyone playing in the box gets a drink of their choice from the bar. The three sevens continue in the game and can therefore win again. Please remember that only the boxholder is allowed to make the decisions. The guests who have placed bets in the box may not influence the boxholder in any way whatsoever. In addition, the boxholder should always state his decision orally, i.e. he may neither rap lightly on the table nor shake his head, but must say the word "card" or "stand". Because also in the case of Black Jack, we do everything in our power to make sure that misunderstandings do not arise.

After all the boxholders have had their turn, the dealer draws his second card. There are fixed rules that determine whether the dealer should draw a third card or whether he should stand.

If the dealer has 16 points or less, he must draw another card. At 17 points or above, the dealer must stand.

After this is the payoff.

If a player has Black Jack, he and anyone else who placed a bet in his box receive a payoff of 1½ to 1. So if the bet was 100 DKK, the payoff is 150 DKK.

But if the dealer also has Black Jack, the game ends in a stand-off. The players who placed bets in the Black Jack box can remove the bet, change it or choose to keep playing with the same bet.

The is also true if the boxholder and the dealer end in a stand-off, i.e. the same number of points, that is not Black Jack. If the boxholder's count is closer to 21 than the dealer's, the payoff to the winner and his co-players is 1 to 1.

Insurance, doubles and splits

If the dealer's first card is an ace, the players take insurance against the dealer getting Black Jack. In this situation, a player must place an amount equal to half his wager in the Insurance field after the dealer says "Insurance, please".

If the dealer gets Black Jack, the players wins double the insurance amount. In other words, he neither wins nor loses, since he loses his bet to the dealer.

If the dealer doesn't get Black Jack, the player loses the insurance money.

After receiving his first two cards, the boxholder can decide to double or split, if he doesn't stand or draw an extra card that is. The dealer does not have these two options.

If the first two cards in a box add up to 9, 10 or 11, the boxholder can double his bet. If he decides to do so, he may only receive one more card. The boxholder's co-players can choose to follow him and double their bets, but they are not obligated to do so.

If the first cards dealt to the boxholder have the same value, such as two 4's or two face cards, he can choose to split the cards. This means that the game continues on two separate hands, and he must double his bet, so the same amount as the original bet is now wagered on each of the two hands. In other words, if a player bets 100 DKK and draws two 8's, he can choose to split them and bet 100 DKK on each card.