The Complete Encyclopedia of Games 3/GAMES1000V3_d2.iso/card/prog57/tommys21.doc

Text File | 1994-04-19 | 13KB | 311 lines

TOMMY'S TWENTY-ONE (C) COPYRIGHT 1986 BY TOMMY'S TOYS
P. O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CATALOG #86-037-1A

***NOTE: TO QUIT THE PROGRAM HIT FUNCTION KEY F7.***

INSTRUCTIONS:

TOMMY'S TWENTY-ONE IS A BLACKJACK PLAYING PROGRAM PITTING YOU AGAINST THE
COMPUTER, WHO ACTS AS DEALER AND BANKER LIKE IN SOME WARM CASINOS IN NEVADA.
FAIR WARNING: THE DEALER IS A REAL WISECRACKER AND THE LONGER YOU PLAY, THE
MORE HIS EVER-PRESENT MARTINI GETS SIPPED.

THE FOLLOWING CLOSELY-RELATED VERSIONS OF BLACKJACK ARE IMPLEMENTED BY THIS
PROGRAM:

    1. BLACKJACK (AMERICAN TWENTY-ONE)
    2. SEVEN AND ONE-HALF (FLAPJACK OR ITALIAN PONTOON)
    3. NINE (MACAO)
    4. PONTOON (BRITISH TWENTY-ONE)

OTHER VARIANTS ARE IMPLEMENTED BY THE FOLLOWING TOMMY'S TOYS:
    1. BACCARAT AND CHEMIN DE FER: TOMMY'S TUXEDO (CAT. #55).
    2. RED DOG OR SLIPPERY SAM: TOMMY'S RED DOG (CAT. #104).
    3. FARMER: TOMMY'S SPACE FARMER (CAT. #109).

YOUR POT:
YOU INITIALLY START OUT EVEN.  DURING PLAY YOU CAN WIN MONEY (GET AHEAD) OR
LOSE MONEY (GET BEHIND).  WHEN YOU EXIT THE PROGRAM YOUR POT IS SAVED ON
DISK; WHEN YOU RESTART THE PROGRAM IT IS AUTOMATICALLY RESTORED.  TO CLEAR
YOUR POT AND GET A FRESH START, JUST DELETE THE FILE TOMMYS21.SCR.

SWITCHING GAMES:
YOU CAN SWITCH GAME TYPES IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAME BY HITTING THE ESC KEY FOR
YOUR PLAY.  YOUR POT IS AUTOMATICALLY CONVERTED FROM DOLLARS TO POUNDS AT THE
EXCHANGE RATE OF 1.5 DOLLARS TO THE POUND.

THE DECK:
IN BLACKJACK, PONTOON AND MACAO, THE STANDARD DECK OF 52 IS USED.
IN FLAPJACK, THE DECK OF 40 (8'S, 9'S, AND 10'S REMOVED) IS USED.

DECKS IN PLAY:
YOU SELECT THE NUMBER OF DECKS (FROM 1 TO 19) TO BE SHUFFLED AND PUT IN THE
SHOE.

INITIAL SHUFFLE:
A NEW DECK IS IN STRAIGHT ORDER LIKE WHEN YOU FIRST BUY IT: YOU SELECT
WHETHER YOU WANT A NEW DECK EACH TIME OR JUST WANT TO KEEP USING THE SAME
DECK OVER, GETTING MORE MIXED UP EACH TIME.  THERE ARE 1-7 SHUFFLES THEN A
CUT.

REFSHUFFLING:
THE CARDS ARE GATHERED AND RESHUFFLED WHEN THERE ARE N CARDS REMAINING IN THE
DECK; AT PROGRAM STARTUP YOU SELECT N (1..SHOESIZE), OR TYPE "E" IF YOU WANT
THEM RESHUFFLED ON EVERY PLAY.  NOTE: IT IS CUSTOMARY TO RESHUFFLE AFTER EACH
PLAY IN PONTOON.

CURRENCY:
IN PONTOON, ALL CURRENCY IS ENGLISH POUNDS.  IN THE OTHER GAMES, U.S. DOLLARS
ARE USED.  IN WHAT FOLLOWS, "DOLLARS" WILL MEAN EITHER DOLLARS OR POUNDS,
DEPENDING ON GAME TYPE.

YOUR BET:
TO PLAY, FIRST PLACE YOUR BET OF 1 TO 500 DOLLARS, FOLLOWED BY THE ENTER KEY.
IF YOU WISH TO REPEAT YOUR PREVIOUS BET, JUST HIT THE ENTER KEY.
NOTE: IN PONTOON THE FIRST BET IS MADE AFTER THE FIRST CARD IS DEALT, WHILE
IN THE OTHER GAMES IT IS MADE BEFORE.

INITIAL DEAL:
IN FLAPJACK, THE HOUSE DEALS ONE CARD TO ITSELF AND THEN ONE CARD TO YOU, BOTH
FACE DOWN (YOU CAN SEE IT, THE HOUSE CAN'T).

IN BLACKJACK, THE HOUSE DEALS TWO CARDS TO ITSELF, THE FIRST CARD FACE UP AND
THE SECOND CARD FACE DOWN, THEN TWO TO YOU, BOTH FACE UP.

IN MACAO, THE HOUSE DEALS ONE CARD TO ITSELF AND ONE CARD TO YOU, BOTH FACE
UP.

IN PONTOON, THE HOUSE DEALS ONE CARD TO ITSELF FACE UP, AND ONE CARD TO YOU
FACE DOWN (YOU CAN SEE IT, THE HOUSE CAN'T).

CARD VALUES:
IN BLACKJACK AND PONTOON A FACE CARD IS COUNTED AS 10, AN ACE AS 11 OR 1
(WHICHEVER GIVES BEST SCORE), AND THE OTHER CARDS AS THEIR INDEX VALUES.

IN FLAPJACK, A FACE CARD IS COUNTED AS 0.5, AN ACE AS 1, AND THE OTHER CARDS
AS THEIR INDEX VALUES.

IN MACAO, A FACE CARD OR 10 IS COUNTED AS 0, AN ACE AS 1, AND THE OTHER CARDS
AS THEIR INDEX VALUES.

NATURALS:
IN BLACKJACK, TWO CARDS WHICH TOTAL 21 ARE A NATURAL (IMMEDIATE WINNER).
IN FLAPJACK, A NATURAL ARE TWO CARDS WHICH TOTAL 7.5.
IN MACAO, A NATURAL IS ONE OR MORE CARDS WHICH TOTAL 9.
IN PONTOON, TWO CARDS WHICH TOTAL 21 ARE A PONTOON, WHILE THREE 7'S ARE A
  ROYAL PONTOON AND BEAT ANYTHING.

INITIAL BET SETTLEMENT (MACAO ONLY):
AFTER THE INITIAL CARDS ARE DEALT, THERE IS AN IMMEDIATE SETTLING OF BETS AS
FOLLOWS:

   1. IF YOU WERE DEALT A 9, YOU ARE PAID 3 TIMES YOUR BET.
   2. IF YOU WERE DEALT AN 8, YOU ARE PAID 2 TIMES YOUR BET.
   3. IF YOU WERE DEALT A 7, YOU ARE PAID 1 TIMES YOUR BET.
   4. IF DEALER'S CARD IS 7 OR GREATER AND BEATS YOURS, THEN YOU LOSE THAT
      AMOUNT INSTEAD.
   5. IF DEALER'S CARD TIES YOURS, THEN NEITHER WINS ANYTHING.
   6. IF YOU OR THE DEALER HAVE WON, THE ROUND IS OVER, ELSE PLAY CONTINUES.

YOUR PLAY:
YOU ALWAYS MAKE THE FIRST PLAY.
TO MAKE YOUR PLAY, USE THE FOLLOWING KEYBOARD COMMANDS:

FOR ALL GAMES EXCEPT PONTOON:

    <ENTER> = STAND (YOUR HAND IS COMPLETE AND IT IS THE HOUSE'S TURN).
     H      = HIT (A CARD IS DRAWN AND ADDED TO YOUR HAND).
     S      = SPLIT PAIR AND PLAY AS 2 SEPARATE HANDS.  THIS MUST BE DONE ON
              THE FIRST PLAY, HENCE IT ONLY WORKS WITH BLACKJACK.  SPLIT
              PAIRS MAY NOT BE SPLIT AGAIN BECAUSE OF DISPLAY LIMITATIONS.
              *NOTE: IF YOU SPLIT ACES, THEN YOU ONLY GET ONE ADDITIONAL CARD
              FOR EACH HAND.
     D      = DOUBLE DOWN (DOUBLE YOUR WAGER AND THEN DRAW ONE MORE CARD).
              MUST BE DONE ON FIRST PLAY.

FOR PONTOON:

    <ENTER> = STICK (SAME AS STAND).  THE CATCH IS THAT YOUR CARDS MUST TOTAL
              AT LEAST 16 BEFORE YOU CAN STICK.  (NOTE: IT IS COMMON TO STICK
              AT 17 OR MORE).
     B      = BUY (YOU MUST INCREASE YOUR BET, MINIMUM INCREASE IS $1, MAXIMUM
              INCREASE IS THE CURRENT AMOUNT OF YOUR BET).  THE DEALER GIVES
              YOU ANOTHER CARD FACE UP.  (NOTE: MOST PLAYERS BET HIGH IF THEY
              ARE GIVEN AN ACE, AND ALMOST AS HIGH IF GIVEN A 10; FOR 6 AND
              LOWER THEY USUALLY BET LOW.)
     T      = TWIST.  THE DEALER GIVES YOU ANOTHER CARD FACE UP.  THE BETS
              ARE NOT INCREASED.  (NOTE: IT IS WISE TO TWIST WHEN YOU HAVE
              12 TO 15 WITHOUT AN ACE, AS THERE ARE 16 CARDS IN THE DECK
              WITH A COUNT OF 10 THAT CAN BUST YOU.  DON'T TRY FOR A 5 CARD
              TRICK UNLESS YOU ALREADY HAVE 3 CARDS WITH A COUNT OF LESS THAN
              16).

     *IMPORTANT*
     ONCE YOU TWIST YOU CANNOT BUY.

     S      = SPLIT PAIR.  AN INITIAL PAIR MAY BE SPLIT AND PLAYED AS 2
              SEPARATE HANDS.  SPLIT PAIRS MAY NOT BE RESPLIT BECAUSE OF
              SCREEN DISPLAY LIMITATIONS.  (NOTE: MOST PLAYERS SPLIT ACES,
              SIXES, SEVENS, AND EIGHTS BECAUSE THOSE CARDS WON'T PUT THEM IN
              THE 12-15 RANGE UPON DRAWING A 10; THEY ALSO SPLIT FOURS BECAUSE
              THE ODDS ARE STILL FAVORABLE FOR AVOIDING THE 12-15 RANGE.)

IT IS NOW THE HOUSE'S PLAY, WHICH IS ALWAYS DONE MECHANICALLY AS THERE IS ONLY
ONE WAY TO DO IT:

IN BLACKJACK THE HOUSE ALWAYS STANDS ON SOFT (I.E., ACES COUNTING 11) 17.
IN FLAPJACK THE HOUSE ALWAYS STANDS ON 7.
IN MACAO THE HOUSE ALWAYS STANDS ON 7.
IN PONTOON THE HOUSE PLAYS TILL IT WINS (WITH 16 OR MORE POINTS) OR BUSTS.

FIVE CARD LIMIT:
IN PONTOON, 5 CARDS WHICH ARE NOT BUST BEATS ANYTHING EXCEPT ANOTHER 5 CARD
TRICK OR A ROYAL PONTOON.

SIX CARD LIMIT:
IN GAMES OTHER THAN PONTOON, NEITHER THE HOUSE NOR THE PLAYER CAN PLAY MORE
THAN 6 CARDS.

WIN ON HIGH SCORE:
FOR ALL GAMES EXCEPT PONTOON:
THE PLAYER THAT HAS THE HIGHEST SCORE NOT GREATER THAN 21 (BLACKJACK) OR 7.5
(FLAPJACK) OR 9 (MACAO) AFTER THE HOUSE'S TURN WINS THE AMOUNT BET FROM THE
OTHER.

FOR PONTOON:
IF BOTH THE DEALER AND THE PLAYER BUST, THE BETS ARE WITHDRAWN.  IF DEALER
IS NOT BUST AND THE PLAYER IS, DEALER WINS, AND VICE VERSA.  IF BOTH PLAYERS
ARE NOT BUST, HIGHER HAND WINS, EXCEPT THAT THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS ON A TIE
(THIS IS THE MAIN HOUSE ADVANTAGE).  A WIN WITH A COMMON PONTOON (21) WINS
DOUBLE THE BET.  IF THE PLAYER BEATS THE HOUSE WITH A ROYAL PONTOON HE
COLLECTS TRIPLE THE BET, BUT FOR THE HOUSE A ROYAL PONTOON IS THE SAME AS A
COMMON PONTOON AND THE HOUSE ONLY WINS DOUBLE THE BET.  A WIN WITH A 5 CARD
TRICK WINS DOUBLE THE BET ALSO.

FOR BLACKJACK ONLY:
 NATURAL:        IF THE PLAYER HAS BLACKJACK ON THE INITIAL DEAL, THE HOUSE
                 WILL PAY 1.5 TIMES THE PLAYER'S BET.

FOR BLACKJACK AND FLAPJACK ONLY:
AT GAME START, THE PLAYER CAN CHOOSE THE FOLLOWING WAYS OF HANDLING THE
SITUATION WHERE HE DRAWS 5 CARDS WITHOUT BUSTING.

 5-CARD SURRENDER: THE PLAYER WILL HAVE THE CHOICE OF SURRENDERING HALF HIS
                   BET AND ENDING THE PLAY.

 5-CARD WIN:       THE PLAYER WILL AUTOMATICALLY WIN THE HAND AND WIN 2 TIMES
                   HIS BET.

 GO ON:            IF NEITHER OF THE ABOVE OPTIONS IS SELECTED, THE HAND WILL
                   GO ON, SUBJECT TO THE 6-CARD LIMIT.

FOR BLACKJACK ONLY:
 INSURANCE:      IF THE HOUSE'S FIRST CARD IS AN ACE, YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF
                 BUYING INSURANCE THAT THE HOUSE DOES NOT HAVE BLACKJACK.
                 IF YOU BUY INSURANCE AND THE HOUSE DOES HAVE BLACKJACK,
                 YOU LOSE NOTHING, ELSE YOU FORFEIT HALF YOUR BET AND THE PLAY
                 CONTINUES.

----FUNCTION KEYS------

SOUND EFFECTS:  TO TOGGLE THE SOUND EFFECTS ON AND OFF, HIT FUNCTION KEY F1.

DEMO MODE: TO TOGGLE THE DEMO MODE, HIT FUNCTION KEY F2.  IN DEMO MODE THE
COMPUTER PLAYS YOUR HAND, ALWAYS BETTING $100.  NOTE THAT THE MODE CHANGE DOES
NOT TAKE EFFECT UNTIL AFTER THE CURRENT PLAY IS OVER.

SPEED CONTROL: THE UP AND DOWN ARROWS ON THE NUMERIC KEY PAD CHANGE THE
PROGRAMMED DELAY FOR VIEWING MESSAGES.  THE VALUE OF THE DELAY, IN SECONDS,
IS SHOWN TO THE RIGHT OF THE CLOCK.

"SECRET" PEEKABOO MODE: WHEN IN DEMO MODE, YOU CAN HIT FUNCTION KEY F6 TO
TOGGLE THE PEEKABOO MODE.  IN PEEKABOO MODE, THE COMPUTER PEEKS AT THE TOP
CARD OF THE DECK TO HELP DECIDE YOUR PLAY AND INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF
LOOKING GOOD.

CARDCOUNT MODE: FUNCTION KEY F3 TOGGLES THE CARDCOUNT MODE.  IN CARDCOUNT
MODE THE NUMBER OF EACH OF THE 13 KINDS OF CARDS LEFT IN THE DECK ARE
DISPLAYED BELOW THE PLAY SCREEN IN THE ORDER ACE...KING.  ALSO, THE NUMBER OF
HI (10 OR FACE CARD) AND LO (EVERYTHING ELSE) CARDS, AND THEIR RELATIVE
PERCENTAGES HI/(HI+LO) AND LO/(HI+LO).

TUTORING MODE: IN BLACKJACK ONLY, FUNCTION KEY F9 TOGGLES THE TUTORING MODE,
WHICH SUGGESTS THE BEST MOVE BASED ON JASPER'S BLACKJACK STRATEGY (SEE BELOW).

BORDER COLOR (COLOR MONITORS ONLY): PRESSING F10 WILL CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE
SCREEN BORDER.

TO SKIP THE STARTUP MUSIC: HIT THE <ENTER> KEY TWICE INSTEAD OF ONCE WHEN
RUNNING THE PROGRAM FROM DOS.

COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS:
   S    START UP WITH SOUND OFF
   M    FORCE MONO DISPLAY MODE
   C    FORCE COLOR DISPLAY MODE
   *    SKIP STARTUP SHOW

EXAMPLE: >TOMMYS21 MS

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE JASPER BLACKJACK BETTING STRATEGY (FROM "BASIC BETTING: THE MICRO-COMPUTER
EDGE", BY JAMES JASPER, NY: ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, 1982).

FOR BLACKJACK HERE ARE A MINIMAL SET OF RULES THAT, WHEN PLAYED WITHOUT
MISTAKES, REDUCE THE USUAL HOUSE EDGE TO ALMOST NOTHING (THE HOUSE HAS AN
EDGE BECAUSE YOU LOSE WHEN YOU BUST REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE HOUSE WOULD
HAVE GONE BUST ALSO IF IT HAD TO PLAY); CARD COUNTING WOULD INCREASE THE
PLAYER'S CHANCES EVEN MORE.

   1. STAND ON HARD 17 OR HIGHER.
   2. STAND ON 13-16 AGAINST DEALER'S 2-6.
   3. HIT 12-16 AGAINST DEALER'S 7-10 OR ACE.
   4. HIT 12 AGAINST DEALER'S 2-3.
   5. STAND ON 12 AGAINST DEALER'S 4-6.

IF YOUR HAND IS 11 OR LESS WITH FIRST 2 CARDS, DOUBLE DOWN WITH:
   1. 11 VS. DEALER'S ANYTHING,
   2. 10 VS. DEALER'S 2-9,
   3. 9 VS. DEALER'S 4-6,
ELSE HIT.

IF YOU HAVE A SOFT HAND (ONE CONTAINING AN ACE):
   1. IF YOUR FIRST 2 CARDS ARE A2-A7, DOUBLE DOWN AGAINST 4-6.
   2. HIT SOFT 12-17.
   3. STAND ON SOFT 19-21.
   4. STAND ON SOFT 18 AGAINST DEALER'S 7, 8, OR ACE.
   5. HIT SOFT 18 AGAINST DEALER'S 9 OR 10.

SPLITTING PAIRS:
   1. ALWAYS SPLIT ACES AND EIGHTS.
   2. NEVER SPLIT 4S, 5S, OR 10S.
   3. SPLIT 2S AND 3S AGAINST 4-7.
   4. SPLIT 6S AGAINST 4-6.
   5. SPLIT 7S AGAINST 2-7.
   6. SPLIT 9S AGAINST 2-6 OR 8-9.

INSURANCE: NEVER TAKE.

WHEN TO DOUBLE YOUR USUAL BET: WHEN THE NUMBER OF 5S THAT HAVE APPEARED IN
PLAY EXCEED THE NUMBER OF ACES THAT HAVE APPEARED BY 2 (ACES ARE YOUR BEST
FRIEND IN THE DECK, AND FIVES YOUR WORST ENEMY).

5-CARD WIN HELPS PLAYER AGAINST HOUSE SO ALWAYS USE THIS OPTION.

NOTE THAT THIS STRATEGY IS NOT USED BY THE COMPUTER IN THE DEMO MODE, BUT
IT WILL ADVISE BASED ON IT IN THE TUTORING MODE.

----------------------
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ANY U.S. ADDRESS, $3 OUTSIDE U.S. (U.S. DOLLARS ONLY).  IF YOUR PC BORES YOU
WRITE US NOW.

GOOD LUCK!

TOMMY'S TOYS, P.O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.