Softdisk Blackjack

Welcome to the Softdisk Casino! Pull up a chair and buy some chips to play cards. In America, you might call it Twenty-one, the French know it as Vingt-et-un and the English have been heard to call it Van John - here the name of the game is Blackjack. Games of this type have been traced back to as early as the eleventh century, but Blackjack gained great popularity in the early 1900s thanks to American soldiers.

The Play

You and four computer opponents play against the dealer. The dealer always plays its hand last, giving players the first chance to bust. This gives the dealer a 5.8% advantage at the outset. The dealer must play by a strict set of rules that require him having a total of 17 or higher. This means the dealer must take a card on a total of 16 or less and cannot draw any more once 17 or more is reached. If the dealer goes over 21, he has busted and all remaining players win. If the dealer has a total of 21 on his first two cards, he has blackjack and all remaining players lose.

Each player with a bet placed is dealt two cards face up from the shoe (the shoe is a box containing cards to be dealt). It starts with six decks (312 cards) and is reshuffled when all cards have been used. The dealer is dealt a face down and a face up card. Each player can then take cards or stand on the hand they have. If a player has a total of 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 on his first two cards, he may double down. This means his bet is doubled and he gets only one more card face down. He can now win twice as much money but can no longer draw. It is usually good to double down when the dealer is showing a low card like a 3, 4 or 5. If a player takes a card and his total goes over 21, he has busted. His cards and bet are immediately removed from the table.

Totals are calculated as follows: aces count as 1 or 11, face cards count as 10 and all other cards count as face value. For example, a 9 and a king count as 19. An ace and a 4 can count as 5 or 15. This is also called a soft 15 because a player can still take a card without busting.

Getting Started

Games are played as Sessions. First, a player must establish a profile by using the CTRL+P option. Here a player can enter their name. Second, a player uses the CTRL+S option. This allows a player to begin or resume a session. Profiles and sessions may seem confusing at first, but allow for many players to have their games saved at the same time.

Betting

A player may bet from $5 to $250, and bets must be an even dollar amount. With the mouse, left-click on the chips at the bottom of the screen to add them to your bet. To remove chips from your bet, right click on the betting pile. You are given 10 seconds to bet, but this time is reset every time you move a chip. Betting from the keyboard is almost as simple. Hitting 1,2, or 3 changes the betting increment to $1, $5 or $25. The < and > keys lower and raise your bet by the current betting increment. The X key maxes your bet and the M key minimizes your bet. When you're ready to play, you may wait for the betting timer to run out or start the deal by hitting D or double-clicking the left mouse button.

The Menu

The Game Menu

The Options Menu

The Help Menu


The Game Menu

NEW SESSION (CTRL+S)

Use this option to enter a session. A session is basically a game of Blackjack. It stores all information specific to the game like your winnings and your preferences. Up to 50 sessions can be stored at once. The session dialog also allows your to start a new log. This means your bank is reset to $250 dollars. Lastly, you can reset game options (like sound preferences) for the session to their defaults.

END SESSION (CTRL+E)

Use this option to end a current session. Your totals and preferences will be stored for later play.

PLAYER PROFILES (CTRL+E)

Use this option to create and modify player profiles. A profile is no more than the name of the player but is important because each session must be able to uniquely identify the player playing. You may add a player, remove a player or change the name of an existing player.

EXIT (ALT+F4)

Use this option to exit the program entirely.


The Options Menu

SOUND EFFECTS PREFERENCES (CTRL+F)

Use this option to customize the following sound features:

Sound Effects Acitve

This option is used to enable or disable use of sound effects during play. While this option is enabled, you can here things like the dealer talking and chips being tossed. This option starts enabled as a default.

Dealer Speech

This option is used to enable or disable the dealer calling the table. While this option is enabled, The dealer calls all hand totals and player actions. Disabling the Sound Effects Active option disables this option also. This option starts enabled as a default.

Playing Effects

This option is used to enable or disable background sounds. While this option is enabled, you will hear cards being dealt and chips being moved. Disabling the Sound Effects Active option disables this option also. This option starts enabled as a default.

DELAY PREFERENCES (CTRL+D)

Use this option to customize the following delay features:

Wait for Dealer to Finish Speaking

Normally, nothing happens while the dealer is speaking. Disabling this option will let the game continue even if the dealer is still talking. This can speed up game play tremendously. Turning off dealer speech has the same effect. This option starts enabled as a default.

Normal Delay

Between each game action, like dealing each card, there can be a slight delay. This option sets this delay at 1/2 of a second. This option starts enabled as a default.

Short Delay

This option reduces the wait between actions to 1/4 of a second.

No Delay

This option removes any delay between actions.

VISIT THE ATM (CTRL+V)

Use this option to obtain quick cash when the chips are down.


The Help Menu

HELP WITH SOFTDISK BLACKJACK (F1)

Brings up this help file.

ABOUT SOFTDISK BLACKJACK (F9)

Allows the viewing of information about the creative talents behind this program, the program's warranty information and information about Softdisk Publishing. Among this information is technical support phone numbers, mailing addresses and other products and services Softdisk offers.