Casino BLACKJACK V1.11 ====================== by Gary Henderson Welcome to my own version of the Game BlackJack,(Often known as 21) which follows the Casino rules. The substance of these rules I have found in a Peter Arnold book called `The Book of Card Games'. I have written BlackJack over the period of a week using AMOS_Pro. I have wanted to write such a game for some time but never managed to get round to it. But with only two weeks to go until I start a Technical Drawing course I used my last free week writing this game(and why not). As I am such a nice guy I will release this game as Public Domain. You may want to know what the main difference is between Casino BlackJack & the normal game. The main difference is that neither players nor dealers can see each others 2nd card. I have programmed this version for 1 Human Player and 1 computer opponent, who plays the part of the dealer. The main idea of the game being to lay a bet and to win this by scoring as near to 21 as possible. Account ------- In the top right corner is a large coin. Next to this is your account and will always show your present balance. Once a bet has been placed the bet will be deducted from your account and put into the Pot untill either you or the Dealer wins the Pot. Your credit limit is set at $2000. Bet --- Below the large coin are three smaller coins these show the present bet you have laid down. The Dealer will always equal this bet, upto a total of $500. The minimum bet is $10 and goes up in stages of $5. When given the option to select `Deal Cards' you may click on the 3 coins with the mouse. The right mouse button raises the bet by $5 and the left mouse button lowers it. If your account is at -$1970 then your credit limit will only allow a bet of $30. As each hand is played the bet will remain the same as that played in the last game(It is up to you to change it). Once the cards are dealt the Bet cannot be changed until before the next Deal. Dealing ======= Once the bets have been placed you can Click on `DEAL CARDS' this will then allow the computer to deal the cards. At this point you can also click in the top left corner and quit the game. This is the only time in the game you can quit. The dealer deals you 2 cards and himself 2 cards. At this point you cannot see the dealers second card and he cannot see your second card. You must now decide how to play your hand. You have only two options you can `STAND', which is often called `STICK'. You may also take another card `DRAW CARD', and this is often known as `TWIST'. This desicion would be made on the basis of your hand. You are trying to score 21 points. Scoring ------- Ace - An ace is worth 11 points but when your total hand is worth more than 21 points then the value of this card will be reduced to 1 point. 2-10 - Any card of any Suit showing a number has the value of that number shown on it. ie The Seven of hearts is worth 7 points. It is not possible to change this value. Picture - All picture cards of any suit are worth 10 points. This value is not changeable. If your hand contains the King of hearts and the 7 of spades then you have a total of 17 points. You may wish to stand at this point. However you can also Draw another Card with the hope that it will be worth 4 or less. An Ace at this stage would have a value of 1 point, giving you 18 points. You can now STAND at this stage forcing the Dealer to try and score equal or more to you. STAND ----- You can Stand at any time regardless of the value of your hand. Unless you bust of course. You can stand by clicking on the `STAND' button under the Pack of cards. DRAW CARD --------- If you wish to have another card Click on the Pack of Cards. Once you STAND you cannot Draw any more Cards. Dealers Hand ------------ Once you stand the Dealer will decide what to do with his hand. This will depend on his hand and what he can see of your hand. Do not forget that at this stage the Dealer cannot see your second card. However simple maths will give him a rough idea. ie. if your 1st card is a picture card and your 3rd is also a picture card then your second card must be an Ace, giving you 21. The dealer will play his hand and when he stands, then both players must reveal their hands. Winning ------- To win you must score more than the Dealer. ie If he has 18 points and you have 19 then you win. This will then give you the pot which is equal to double your bet. You can also win by scoring a BlackJack, this will only win when the Dealer does not have a BlackJack, otherwise by default the Dealer wins. However if your BlackJack is a Pure BlackJack then you would win. If the Dealer scores 21 points with more than 2 cards then your BlackJack wins outright (Even when the Dealer has a five card trick). You can also win by scoring the same as the Dealer but by doing so with a `Five Card Trick'. This However does not win against a Dealer BlackJack. You also win if the Dealer Busts. Losing ------ If both player and Dealer have the same points and you do not have a Five Card Trick then you lose the Bet. This does not apply when both have a BlackJack and yours is a Pure BlackJack. If the Dealer scores more than you then you loose. If both players have equalled valued Five Card Tricks then the player will lose by default. If the Dealer has a BlackJack then regardless what you have, you lose. BlackJack --------- This is the name for a hand where the hand is valued at 21 points but only contains two cards. Only possible with a 10 and an Ace. BlackJack Pure -------------- It is possible to score a BlackJack Pure. This hand is unbeatable. It is a standard BlackJack but scored with the Ace of Spades and the Jack of Spades. If you have this hand then the Dealer cannot beat you even if he himself has a BlackJack. Five Card Trick --------------- A Five Card Trick is a hand of any value which contains Five Cards. If another card is added to the hand then it would be no longer a Five Card Trick. It is possible to have a hand of 11 cards valued at 21 points. The chances of this happening are very slim. Bust ---- A hand is declared bust when its value is more than 21 points, and no Aces can be turned to ones. The Computer will monitor your hand and tell you when you are bust, and turn Aces into Ones when needed. However this viewing of your hand is not used to help the Dealer. When the computer Busts then you win the bet but the Dealer will not reveal to you what is 2nd card was. This makes it harder for you to figure out his tactics. Shuffling --------- After ever hand has been played the dealer collects all cards and shuffles them. This was to make the programming easier but this may change in future version of the game. Card Pack --------- The Card pack is the typical English pack with 52 cards from Ace to King in Four suits. The stupid German Pack is not used! Quiting ------- You can only quit when presented with the `DEAL CARDS' option, quit by clicking in the top left corner of the screen. Honest ------ The computer creates a one in five chance of the Dealer knowing that you have 21 points. This is to equal the instinct used by real dealers in a real Casino. I think this is fair. However that is the only form of cheating in the game by the Dealer. Otherwise he is 100% honest. Or your money back. Okay it's a free PD game but you know what I mean. Requirements ------------ BlackJack should startup without the need for any external programs. You require a minimum of 1Mb, this is because the program itself needs 600k to start. At this time the Program has been tested on the Amiga 1200. History ------- V1.0 - Original Release. 6/6/1994 V1.01 - Added the BlackJack Pure Option. Removed a bug detecting your Five card trick when the Dealer Stands with 2 cards. 7/6/1994 V1.02 - Removed some unused source. Correct error when printing the new account after a win. 8/6/1994 V1.10 - Option now added to play the game with German text, (must be done seeing as I've lived here for the last 5 years). 17/7/1994 V1.11 - Improved the Computers Playing Skills. Fixed bug when player had two Aces as his first 2 cards(Showed total Value as 13). Fixed some other small bugs as well. 31/7/1994 Legal ----- The Rules I have used are based on my reading of them & a mix of the rules I use when playing against friends. I am not responsible if you get addicted to BlackJack and lose money in a Casino or real Bet. Remember this is only a game that you can switch off. When you lose a real Bet for money then you really do lose the money. So remember play this game at your own risk. Gary Henderson 31/7/1994