N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9 § 4620.5

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 36, September 4, 2024

Section 4620.5 - Black Jack

(a) Equipment.

(1) A Black Jack table with up to seven betting spaces on its layout.

(2) One to four decks of 52 cards each, shuffled together and used as one.

(3) A dealing box (optional).

(b) Personnel.

(1) Dealer. The dealer is the person who deals the cards and controls the bank. The dealer never surrenders the deal or the bank.

(2) Assistant. An assistant may be used to assist the dealer in collecting losing bets and paying off winning bets.

(c) Number of players. Up to seven players, each of whom may bet on several hands depending on the betting spaces available.

(d) Value of cards.

(1) Aces count either 1 or 11 at the discretion of the player.

(2) Kings, queens and jacks each have a count of 10.

(3) All other cards are counted at their face value.

(e) The object of the game. A player tries to obtain a higher total card count than the dealer by reaching 21 or as close to 21 as possible without exceeding that count. If the player's total count exceeds 21, the player has "busted" and must turn the player's cards face-up at once. The player has lost his or her bet, and the dealer may take the player's wager. The player, at the player's discretion, may stand or draw one or more cards in an attempt to better the player's count.

(f) Betting.

(1) Before the deal begins, each player must place his or her bet in the betting space directly before the play in full view of the dealer. When a player plays more than one hand at a time, such player must play the hand farthest to his or her right to completion before being permitted to play his or her next hand or hands. The dealer may check the player's bet to see if such bet is within specified limits.

(2) Maximum bet shall be $5 or its equivalent in chips.

(g) The deal. After all players' bets are down, the dealer removes the first card from the dealing box and discards it by placing it aside face-down without showing its face value. This card and other discarded cards are not to be used again until the dealing box is emptied. This is known as "burning" a card or a "burnt" card. All cards used to make a hand are discarded in the same manner. After the first dealt card has been "burnt," the dealer, starting with the player on the dealer's extreme left, begins dealing clockwise giving one card face-up to each player and one face-up to the dealer. The dealer next deals each player, starting with the player on the dealer's extreme left, a second face-up card and one face-down to the dealer. The dealer has the option of dealing one face-down card to each player.

(h) The play. The organization shall have three options in the event of ties between the dealer and the player(s). Option number one allows the organization to honor a "push" or standoff in the case of all ties. Option number two allows the organization to honor a "push" or standoff when the dealer and players have a natural 21 only. The house wins all other ties. Option number three allows the organization to win all ties between the dealer and the player(s). The selection of the option shall be set forth in the license application in schedule 7 of GC-2B. The license shall reflect one of the following options:

Option one: All ties are "pushes."

Option two: "Push" on natural 21 only.

Option three: House wins all ties.

(1) If the dealer's face-up card is a 10-count or an ace, the dealer must look at his face-down (hole) card. If the dealer has a natural 21 (a count of 21 with two cards), the dealer must face it and announce "Twenty-one" or "Black Jack." If the organization has exercised the option that all ties shall constitute wins for the organization, the dealer then wins and collects all bets, including bets from players having a natural 21. If the organization has exercised either option number one or number two, the dealer declares all ties to be "pushes" and no action is taken on these hands. The dealer wins and collects the bets from players not having a natural 21.

(2) When the dealer does not hold a natural 21, the player at the dealer's extreme left plays first. If the player holds a natural 21, the player announces it and faces the player's cards so the dealer can verify the count. If the organization has exercised option number two or option number three, the dealer pays off the winning natural 21 at 2-to-1 odds. If the organization has exercised the option that all ties are "pushes" (standoffs), then the dealer pays off the winning natural 21 at 3-to-2 odds. The dealer then "burns" the two played-out cards.

(3) If the player's two cards total less than 21, the player may elect:

(i) to stay if the player is satisfied with the total count of the player's two cards; or

(ii) to ask for an additional card if the player is not satisfied with the total count. The player can continue to ask for cards until the player is satisfied with the total count of the player's cards. If the player draws a card that puts the player over 21, the player must announce a "bust." The dealer takes the player's wager and cards and "burns" the cards in the discard pile. The play moves to the player's left, clockwise around the table, until all players have played out their hands.

(i) The dealer's turn at play. If all players have "busted," the dealer merely places the dealer's cards in the discard pile and deals a new hand. If any player or players are left, the dealer plays the dealer's hand as follows:

(1) The dealer turns up the dealer's hole card so that all the dealer's cards are exposed.

(2) If the dealer's count is 17, 18, 19 or 20, the dealer must stay.

(3) If the dealer's count is 16 or less, the dealer must draw a card and continue to draw until the dealer's count reaches 17 or more, at which point the dealer must stay. If the dealer holds a "soft" 17, i.e., a 17-count that includes an ace, the dealer must also stay. This also applies to a soft 18, 19 or 20. The dealer stays on 17 and must pull on 16 or less.

(4) If a dealer errs and deals a player a card that the player did not call for, and the card is refused by the player, the card is considered a "dead" card and must be "burnt" and discarded.

(j) Payoffs. At the end of the dealer's play, the dealer starts with the first active player on the dealer's extreme right and moves around the table counterclockwise, paying off players who have a higher count than the dealer with an amount equal to the wager they placed and collecting the player's wagers showing a lesser count. If the dealer's count exceeds 21, the dealer pays off each surviving player an amount equal to the player's wager. If the player and dealer have the same count, the dealer either wins and collects the bet or declares a "push" (standoff), depending upon the option exercised by the organization.

(k) Splitting pairs.

(1) Any two cards that are identical except for suit may be treated as a pair. Also, any two cards each having a value of 10 may be treated as pairs, such as a 10 and jack, jack and queen, or queen and king.

(2) A player who receives two cards forming a pair or considered to be a pair on the initial round may, if the player chooses, separate the two cards and treat each card as the first card dealt in two separate hands. This is called splitting pairs. When pairs are split, the player's original wager is placed on one of these cards and an equal amount must be wagered on the other.

(3) The player is then dealt one face-up card on the face-up card on the player's right, and he or she must play this hand out. If, in drawing to the first face-up card, the player forms a pair again, the player may again split pairs, wagering an amount equal to the player's first card on this third hand. The player may continue to split any further pairs.

(4) When a player splits a pair of aces, the player is only permitted to draw one card to each split ace, giving the player two cards in all.

(5) If a picture card or 10 or ace is part of a split hand and the player makes a two-card count of 21, it is not a natural and the player is paid off at even money.

(6) A player is not permitted to double down on split pairs.

(l) The double down.

(1) A player whose first two cards total either 10 or 11 may elect to double the player's wager and draw one additional card only. This is known as a "double down" or "down for double".

(2) A player, before calling "double down," must double the player's original wager. The player is then dealt a third and final card on the player's two face-up cards.

(m) Insurance betting. Insurance betting. When the dealer's face-up card is an ace, players may make an insurance bet against the dealer's possible natural 21. The dealer, before looking at the dealer's down card, inquires if any player wants insurance. A player who desires insurance places an amount equal to half the player's present wager on the player's own hand. When the insurance wager is made, the dealer looks at the dealer's down card. If such card is a 10-count, the dealer turns it face-up and announces a "natural." The insurance bettor is paid off at the rate of 2-to-1 for the amount of the insurance bet. If the dealer's down card is not a 10-count card, the player loses the player's insurance wager.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 4620.5