BJack - Blackjack CLI Game

A feature-rich, customizable blackjack game for the terminal built with Crystal.

BJack in action

Features

• 🎮 Full-featured blackjack gameplay with Vegas-style rules
• 🎨 Beautiful terminal UI with ASCII card art and colors
• 💰 Customizable table limits and rules
• 🎲 Multiple side bet options
• 🃏 Support for multiple decks, splits, doubling, surrender and insurance
• ⚙️ Extensive configuration options via command-line arguments

Installation

From Source

You first need to install the Crystal programming language 😅. It's a fun language, try it out 🤷.

git clone https://github.com/rkv0id/bjack.git
cd bjack
shards build --release

The compiled binary will be available at bin/bjack.

Quick Start

# Start with default settings
./bin/bjack

# Start with custom settings
./bin/bjack --cash 500 --minbet 25 --decks 8 --hit-soft17 --surrender

Game Rules

Basic Rules

• Dealer stands on hard 17 and above (configurable to hit on soft 17)
• Blackjack pays 3:2 (configurable)
• Min bet: $10, Max bet: $500 by default (configurable)
• Starting bankroll: $300 by default (configurable)

Some Advanced Features

• Split up to 3 hands (configurable)
• Double down on any two cards
• Insurance when dealer shows an Ace
• Surrender option (when enabled)
• Dealer peeks for blackjack (configurable)

Command-line Options

Option	Description	Default
--cash CASH	Starting bankroll	300
--minbet MIN	Minimum bet	10
--maxbet MAX	Maximum bet	500
--hit-soft17	Dealer hits on soft 17	false
--surrender	Allow surrender	false
--insurance	Allow insurance	false
--max-splits NUM	Maximum splits allowed	3
--double-split	Allow double after split	false
--no-peek	Dealer does not check hole card for blackjack	false
--decks NUM	Number of decks used	6
--side-bets NUM	Number of side bets	3
--pay PAY	Blackjack payout (e.g. 6:5)	3:2

UI Options

Option	Description	Default
--no-colors	Disable colored output	false
--no-ascii	Disable ASCII card art	false
--no-clear	Don't clear screen between rounds	false
--compact	Use compact UI mode	false
--no-single-key	Disable single-key input	false

Available Side Bets

The game randomly selects from the following side bets:

• Mixed Pairs (3:1) - Your two cards are a mixed pair
• Perfect Pairs (10:1) - Your two cards are a perfect pair
• 21+3 (6:1) - Your first two + dealer's upcard form a flush, straight, or three-of-a-kind
• Royal Match (3:1) - Your first two cards are suited
• Super Sevens (3:1) - You have at least one 7
• Lucky Lucky (4:1) - Your two cards plus dealer's upcard total 19-22
• Hard In-Between (4:1) - Dealer's upcard is between your two cards
• Suited Blackjack (20:1) - Your blackjack is suited
• And many more!

Gameplay Control

During gameplay, use the following keys:

• h - Hit
• s - Stand
• d - Double (when available)
• p - Split (when available)
• u - Surrender (when enabled)
• y/n - Yes/No responses

Contributing

I have been thinking of adding a multiplayer mode and a chat room. But too lazy to get to it.

1. Fork it
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b my-new-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add some feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin my-new-feature)
5. Create a new Pull Request

License

This project is available under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more info.

Acknowledgements

• Built with Crystal 💎, a statically-typed, compiled language with Ruby-like syntax