Ace-Deuce-Jack
Ace-Deuce-Jack is an extremely simple gambling game that was popular during World War II. In Ace-Deuce-Jack, the players are simply betting whether three randomly-selected cards will be an ace, a 2, or a jack. That’s it; it’s all blind luck. There’s no skill involved at all.
It should be noted that the house edge on Ace-Deuce-Jack is just a shade over 10%. As a result, the players are at a significant disadvantage to the banker. If you’re going to play Ace-Deuce-Jack with your friends, we recommend not playing with real money.
Object of Ace-Deuce-Jack
The object of Ace-Deuce-Jack is to win money on bets that three randomly-selected cards will not be an ace, a 2, or a jack.
Setup
You will need one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. As always, we heartily recommend Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards for any card game you want to play. You’ll also need something to bet with, such as poker chips, buttons, beans, or some other similar counters.
Any player may shuffle and deal one card, face up, to each player. Whoever gets the highest card becomes the first banker. The banker declares the acceptable maximum and minimum bets that they will allow for the following hand.
Game play
The banker begins the hand by shuffling the deck and placing it face down. They then cut the deck twice, forming three piles of cards. Each player then decides how much they would like to bet and places that amount in front of them.
After all players have fixed their bet, the banker turns over each pile of cards. If any of the three exposed cards on the bottom of the piles are an ace, a jack, or a 2, the banker wins and collects all bets. If all three cards are of other ranks, the banker pays each player out at even money.
Rotate the bank after a predetermined number of hands. To maximize the fairness of the game, each player should have an equal opportunity to bank.
