Getting back on topic, I did a little work on this game. First I'll do a short version of the rules, highlighting how and how many points are scored.
1. Cards are drawn from a shuffled deck one at a time and placed in 1 of 4 lanes by the player
2. All card values are the same as in Blackjack with the exception of the black Jacks (Js/Jc) which are wild and will clear the row they are placed in regardless of what is already in that row, awarding the player 200 points
3. The goal is to get to 21 as many times as possible, this will clear the lane and award the player 400 points
4. Exceeding 21 will clear the lane and result in a strike, three strikes ends the game
5. Any five cards adding up to 21 or less will score a "5 card" bonus of 600 points and clear the lane, an additional 400 points are awarded if the five cards add up to exactly 21
6. There is a 3 minute time limit, additional points are awarded for how fast the player finishes (pausing is possible, but there are limits on how many times and for how long the player can pause, I wouldn't suggest considering this an opportunity to essentially cheat by counting cards, you will lose)
7. There are additional bonuses for "streaks" (clearing lanes on consecutive moves) 250 points for 2 in a row, 500 for 3 in a row, 750 for 4 in a row. The best possible streak is six, the conditions for this are near impossible (four stack of 11+, the exact 4 cards needed to clear each lane, followed by the 2 black jacks)
8. An opponent plays the deck in the same order, higher total score wins
The best a player can do in this game is clearing a total of 19 stacks, I will display this below. For simplicity "10" represents all 10's, Q's, K's and the red J's, "A" is an Ace which will always be 11 if played optimally, "11" represents a combination of 2 numbered cards that adds up to 11 (2-9 (3x),3-8(3x),4-7(4x),5-6(2x)), "Wild" are the black Jacks.
You have 14 10's, pair those with any combination of 11's/A's for 14 stacks
10+A * 4
10+11 * 10
Use two 5's to make a 15th 10 and pair with an 11
Use a combination 8-2 for a 16th 10 and pair with an 11
Combine 6-6-9 for your 17th stack of 21
Play one black Jack with the leftover 3 for stack 18
Play the final black Jack alone to complete the 19th stack
Obviously this is not possible in most decks, the goal would be to get as close to this as you can. The toughest ones are the 5+5+11 and the 6+6+9 stacks.
Tips:
The streak bonus is derived solely from the order of the deck, do not focus on it
Don't fall for the 600 point "5 card" stack, you will sacrifice too many stacks in the long run and result in a net loss
Don't worry about forming the 11 before playing the 10 (sometimes the order of the deck will dictate 10+7 and the player will wait to find the corresponding 4)
Only bust a stack when it's inevitable
If anybody wants to add to this or modify it, feel free, but please provide mathematical proof if you believe there are more optimal scoring options.
