Texas Jack

The deal. You get one card, the dealer gets one face down, and one community card hits the middle. Community cards count toward both totals.

When you hit, the dealer reacts at the same moment. If the dealer's total is under 17 they hit as well — and your card lands in the community row, feeding both hands. If the dealer stands, the card is yours alone.

You choose where each card goes. Send it to the board and it counts for both hands — the way to break a dealer sitting on 16. Or take it to your hand, where it's yours alone — but you only get two of those per hand.

Read the dealer. Their card is face down, but the board is public, so their total is always pinned to a range — shown above their hand, along with what they'll do next.

When you stand, the dealer reveals their hand and plays against your final total instead of following a fixed script.

The dealer has one Counter. Once their hand is revealed, they compare it with yours. Pressing creates Pressure and unlocks a wider chase range: Pressure 1 chases a 1–2 point gap, Pressure 2 up to 4, and Pressure 3 can chase any gap or attack a low tie with close public odds. They never see the next card.

Beat the Counter, earn its bounty. Winning after a Pressure 2 Counter adds 50% of the ante; at Pressure 3 the bounty is 100%. More conviction wakes a smarter opponent, but makes its failed challenge worth more.

Press every new read. Each new card state opens one chance to add to the live wager. Use it or draw again — that window expires.

One table goal per hand. Clear the optional tactical objective for a small bonus. It rewards different lines without punishing the hand you want to play.

Press can add up to half your ante across the whole hand. The opening price is strongest, then each new card reopens a smaller offer. Commit early against a wide range for more leverage, or wait for a sharper but smaller bet.

Scout buys a look at the top card of the shoe for a third of your ante. The board already pins the dealer to a range, but nothing on the table tells you what comes next — so it's the one thing you can't work out for yourself. A known card freezes the current Press window; once that card is drawn, the next window opens normally. Scout can only be bought once per hand.

A pat dealer stands aside. Community cards only count for the dealer while they're under 17. Once they're pat, anything that lands on the board is marked yours and counts for you alone.

Bust over 21 and you lose — even when the same community card breaks the dealer too. You went over first.