13-Horse Jack

Overview

13-Horse Jack is a hybrid amusement game combining single-deck Blackjack with a parimutuel-style Horse Race. Each card rank maps to a numbered horse (Ace = 1, 2–10 = face value, Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13). The dealer's hand determines the official race finishing order; the dealer's first card is the winning horse. Players compete against the dealer in Blackjack while simultaneously wagering on horse bet outcomes derived from their own cards.

Card → Horse Mapping

Blackjack Rules

1. Single deck. Dealer deals two cards to the player and builds a full hand for themselves.
2. Dealer's first card is shown face-up before the betting phase. Dealer's remaining cards are revealed one at a time during the reveal phase.
3. Dealer must draw until reaching a hard 17 or higher (hits soft 17).
4. Blackjack (Ace + 10-value card) pays 1:1 (even money). Auto-resolved via "Collect Blackjack" button.
5. Hit — draw one additional card.
6. Stand — end your turn with current total.
7. Double Down — available on hard totals of 9, 10, or 11 only. Doubles the main bet; exactly one card is dealt; player auto-stands.
8. Split — available when the first two cards share the same rank value (Kings and Queens each count as 13 and 12 respectively; K-Q does not split). Creates two separate hands, each with its own bet equal to the original. Split Aces receive one card each and auto-stand.
9. Player busts (exceeds 21) — main bet lost immediately.
10. Ties (push) — main bet returned.
11. Auto-stand is triggered when the player reaches exactly 21.

First Card Match Bonus

If the player's first dealt card matches the dealer's first card (the winning horse) in rank, the player receives a bonus equal to 2× the main bet in addition to the standard blackjack result. This bonus is applied automatically at resolution. Theoretical frequency: 5.8824% per hand (verified at 5.8911% over 10,000,000 simulated hands).

Horse Bet Types

All horse bets are placed during the betting phase, after the player's initial two cards are dealt. Each bet costs a fixed $5 stake, deducted at placement. The player's card-horses are the ranks of their dealt cards.

Parimutuel net winnings = stake × (1 − 0.18). Loss behavior: stake deducted at placement; resolution adds winnings only.

Progressive Jackpots

Both jackpots grow every hand regardless of bet placement. Jackpot payouts are applied atomically after full dealer reveal. Jackpot reseeds immediately after payout.

Game Modes

Provably Fair — Seeded RNG

All card draws use a mulberry32 seeded pseudo-random number generator. The seed is derived from Date.now() % 1,000,000 at the start of each hand and displayed to the player at hand completion. Jackpot wins display the seed prominently so any hand can be independently verified. The seed resets on bankroll reset.

House Edge & RTP Summary

General Provisions

1. Malfunction voids all pays and plays.
2. All game outcomes are determined by the seeded RNG at the time of deal. No outcome can be altered after the hand seed is generated.
3. Bankroll and jackpot values are session-based and reset on page refresh in the current implementation. Persistent wagering requires a licensed backend deployment.
4. This game is operated as an amusement device under Wyoming Distributed Amusement License No. 0000992 (What'sHot, Inc.).
5. 25% of gross revenue is donated to IMQbd.org.
6. Players must be of legal amusement gaming age in their jurisdiction.
7. Management reserves all rights to modify rules with appropriate notice.