
POKER SOLITAIRE RULES
=====================
        
One regular pack is used. Shuffle the pack and deal the first
twenty-five cards one by one, placing them in a 5 x 5 square.
Each card may be placed anywhere within the square. Once
placed, a card cannot be moved. The object of the game is to
make as high a score as possible, counting each row and column
as a Poker hand. Two scoring systems, the American and the
English, are prevalent. The American system follows the
ranking of hands in the game of Poker, while the English
system is based on the relative difficulty of forming the
hands in Poker Solitaire.

        Hand                   American    English

        Royal Flush               100         30
        Straight Flush             75         30
        Four of a Kind             50         16
        Full House                 25         10
        Flush                      20          5
        Straight                   15         12
        Three of a Kind            10          6
        Two Pairs                   5          3
        One Pair                    2          1

A straight is hard to make, for if you play for it you risk
making nothing at all or merely a pair. A full house is easier
(and thus worth less points in the English scoring system),
for you can afford to play for it and make Three of a Kind or
Two Pairs if you fail. Flushes are very easy to make (note
that they are worth less than Three of a Kind in the English
system). The usual strategy is to try for flushes in the
columns and full houses or fours on the rows. You may consider
that you have won the game if you total 200 (American) or 70
(English).

Variations
----------

There are two popular variations, both of them included in
Poker Solitaire 2.0. On Variation No. 1, each card must be
placed vertically, laterally or diagonally adjacent to a card
previously placed. On Variation No. 2, all 25 cards are spread
face up and then placed on the grid. Each variation can be
played using either the American or English scoring system,
thus making for six different games! Variation No. 1 is
obviously the hardest of the three possible modes, since it
places a restriction on where you can put the cards, while
Variation No. 2 is the easiest, since you know beforehand all
25 cards you will be using.


GAME PLAY - MOUSE
=================

The standard game and Variation No. 1 are played much in the
same way, except that on the standard game you can place a
card on any empty square on the grid, while on Variation No. 1
a card must be placed on a square adjacent to a previously
placed card. Variation No. 2 plays a bit differently, and will
be dealt with separately.

Standard Game and Variation No. 1
---------------------------------
  
To turn a card face up, either place the mouse cursor over it
and press the left mouse button, or simply press the right
mouse button. Using the right mouse button has the advantage
that you do not have to place the cursor over the card, thus
avoiding moving back and forth between the 5 x 5 grid and the
Pack area.

Once a card has been turned up, place it on the grid by
placing the mouse cursor where you want to put it, and then
pressing the left mouse button. Note that when you place the
mouse cursor anywhere within the grid it changes from the
standard arrow shape either to a pointing hand (if the top
card of the Pack is face up) or to an hour glass (to indicate
that the top card of the Pack is face down and you must first
turn it face up).

The following commands are available during play, and can be
issued by placing the mouse cursor over the corresponding
'command button' (on the lower right hand corner of the
screen) and pressing the left mouse button:

   HELP: displays a help file. Use the cursor keys (Up and
   Down arrows, Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End) to move
   around the file, and press the [Escape] key when you are
   done viewing it.

   INFO: displays Copyright and Version information.
   Press any mouse button to return to the game after you
   are done viewing the information.

   UNDO: moves the last card placed on the grid back to the
   Pack. Undo can only be used immediately after you place
   the card on the grid; if you turn the top card of the
   Pack face up Undo cannot be used anymore.

   BACK: allows you to choose from five different card
   backs. Choose the design you want by placing the mouse
   cursor over it and pressing the left mouse button, and
   press the right mouse button when done. The currently
   selected card number is displayed in light blue.

   VARIAT: allows you to select which variation you want to
   play. Choose the variation by placing the mouse cursor
   over the number you want and pressing the left mouse
   button, and press the right mouse button when done. The
   currently selected variation is highlighted.

   TOP 10: displays the Top Ten scores. Note that there are
   six different Top Ten lists, one for each
   variation/scoring system combination. Press any mouse
   button to get back to the game after you are done viewing
   the Top Ten scores.

   SCORING: allows you to select the desired scoring system,
   American or English. Select by placing the mouse cursor
   over the system you want and pressing the left mouse
   button, and press the right mouse button when done. The
   currently selected scoring system is highlighted,

   CONFIG: brings up the Configuration menu. This allows you
   to customize your copy of Poker Solitaire. The first
   option, 'Mouse', can be set to 'Yes' (always use the
   mouse; this option is ignored if a mouse driver is not
   found when you start Poker Solitaire), 'No' (always use
   the keyboard, even if a mouse driver is present), or
   'Ask' (if a mouse driver is found, asks at the beginning
   of each game whether or not you want to use the mouse).
   The second option, 'Sound', can be set to 'Full' (songs
   and beeps are enabled), 'Partial' (songs disabled, but
   error beeps enabled), or 'Off' (both songs and beeps
   disabled). Finally, the third option, 'Error Messages',
   can be set to 'Yes' (displays a context-sensitive error
   message each time an error occurs), or 'No' (does not
   display the error messages, errors are indicated by beeps
   if Sound is either Full or Partial). To select an option,
   place the mouse cursor over it and press the left mouse
   button. Currently selected options are highlighted. Press
   the right mouse button when done. If you want to
   configure Poker Solitaire to use a variation, scoring
   method, or card back other than the defaults, select the
   desired options BEFORE you issue the Config command. When
   Config saves your configuration, it will save the
   currently selected variation, scoring method, and card
   back. If you are playing from a floppy-disk, do NOT
   write-protect the disk, otherwise Config will not be able
   to write the configuration information.

   NEW: interrupts the current game and starts a new one.
   You are asked to confirm by selecting either 'Yes' or
   'No' from a dialog box. Use the left mouse button to
   enter your selection.

   QUIT: quits Poker Solitaire. You are asked to confirm by
   selecting either 'Yes' or 'No' from a dialog box. Use the
   left mouse button to enter your selection.

Variation No. 2
---------------

Under Variation No. 2, the first 25 cards from the Pack are
placed randomly on the 5 x 5 grid. Your objective is to
re-arrange the cards in order to score the highest possible
number of points. Use the Pack area as a temporary holding
place. For example, to move the card that is currently at
location (1,1) on the grid to location (3,5), first select the
card at (3,5), move it to the Pack, and then select the card
at (1,1) and move it to (3,5). To select a card to be moved,
place the mouse cursor over it and press the left mouse
button. The selected card will be highlighted. To move the
selected card, place the mouse cursor over the location where
you want to move the card to and press the left mouse button
again. If you select a card and decide not to move it, place
the mouse cursor over it and press the left mouse button, and
the card will be de-selected. Note that the right mouse button
automatically selects the card that is temporarily on the Pack
area. So, if you want to select that card, simply press the
right mouse button, without having to place the mouse cursor
over the card. If you want to move a card to the Pack area,
select that card and then press the right mouse button. This
allows you to stay within the grid area all the time, instead
of moving back and forth between the grid and Pack areas.

All commands work as described before, except for UNDO. Since
you can select any card and place it anywhere on the grid,
there is no need for an UNDO command. In its place is the DONE
command. Select DONE when you are satisfied with the way the
cards are arranged on the grid, and the computer will
calculate your score.

GAME PLAY - KEYBOARD
====================

The standard game and Variation No. 1 are played much in the
same way, except that on the standard game you can place a
card on any empty square on the grid, while on Variation No. 1
a card must be placed on a square adjacent to a previously
placed card. Variation No. 2 plays a bit differently, and will
be dealt with separately.

Note that the NumLock option is automatically turned on when
you play using the keyboard. You can then use the numeric
keypad to play. Use 1 - 5 to indicate the row and column
numbers, and 0 to indicate the pack.

Standard Game and Variation No. 1
---------------------------------

To turn the top card of the Pack face up, type 'P' (for Pack).
Once a card has been turned up, place it on the grid by first
typing the row number (1 to 5) and then the column number
(again 1 to 5). The card will then be placed on the desired
location. If you type the wrong row number, press the [Escape]
key to cancel it and start over again.

The following commands are available during play, and can be
issued by typing the highlighted letter from the corresponding
'command button' (on the lower right hand corner of the
screen):

   HELP: displays a help file. Use the cursor keys (Up and
   Down arrows, Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End) to move
   around the file, and press the [Escape] key when you are
   done viewing it.

   INFO: displays Copyright and Version information.
   Press any key to return to the game after you are done
   viewing the information.

   UNDO: moves the last card placed on the grid back to the
   Pack. Undo can only be used immediately after you place
   the card on the grid; if you turn the top card of the
   Pack face up Undo cannot be used anymore.

   BACK: allows you to choose from five different card
   backs. Choose the design you want by pressing the
   corresponding number, and press the [Enter] key
   when done. The currently selected card number is
   displayed in light blue.

   VARIAT: allows you to select which variation you want to
   play. Choose the variation by typing the corresponding
   number, and press the [Enter] key when done. The
   currently selected variation is highlighted.

   TOP 10: displays the Top Ten scores. Note that there are
   six different Top Ten lists, one for each variation/
   scoring system combination. Press any key to get back to 
   the game after you are done viewing the Top Ten scores.

   SCORING: allows you to select the desired scoring system,
   American or English. Select by pressing 'A' for American
   or 'E' for English, and press the [Enter] key when done.
   The currently selected scoring system is highlighted,

   CONFIG: brings up the Configuration menu. This allows you
   to customize your copy of Poker Solitaire. The first
   option, 'Mouse', can be set to 'Yes' (always use the
   mouse; this option is ignored if a mouse driver is not
   found when you start Poker Solitaire), 'No' (always use
   the keyboard, even if a mouse driver is present), or
   'Ask' (if a mouse driver is found, asks at the beginning
   of each game whether or not you want to use the mouse).
   The second option, 'Sound', can be set to 'Full' (songs
   and beeps are enabled), 'Partial' (songs disabled, but
   error beeps enabled), or 'Off' (both songs and beeps
   disabled). Finally, the third option, 'Error Messages',
   can be set to 'Yes' (displays a context-sensitive error
   message each time an error occurs), or 'No' (does not
   display the error messages, errors are indicated by beeps
   if Sound is either Full or Partial). You will be prompted
   to enter the desired option for Mouse, Sound and Error
   Messages, in that order. Press either 'Y', 'N' or 'A' for
   Mouse; 'F', 'P' or 'O' for Sound; and 'Y' or 'N' for
   Error Messages. Press the [Enter] key after selecting
   each one. Currently selected options are highlighted. If
   you want to configure Poker Solitaire to use a variation,
   scoring method, or card back other than the defaults,
   select the desired options BEFORE you issue the Config
   command. When Config saves your configuration, it will
   save the currently selected variation, scoring method,
   and card back. If you are playing from a floppy-disk, do
   NOT write-protect the disk, otherwise Config will not be
   able to write the configuration information.

   NEW: interrupts the current game and starts a new one.
   You are asked to confirm by selecting either 'Yes' or
   'No' from a dialog box. Type either 'Y' or 'N' to enter
   your selection.

   QUIT: quits Poker Solitaire. You are asked to confirm by
   selecting either 'Yes' or 'No' from a dialog box. Type
   either 'Y' or 'N' to enter your selection.

Variation No. 2
---------------

Under Variation No. 2, the first 25 cards from the Pack are
placed randomly on the 5 x 5 grid. Your objective is to
re-arrange the cards in order to score the highest possible
number of points. Use the Pack area as a temporary holding
place. For example, to move the card that is currently at
location (1,1) on the grid to location (3,5), first select the
card at (3,5), move it to the Pack, and then select the card
at (1,1) and move it to (3,5). To select a card to be moved,
first type the row and then the column number of the card you
want to select. The selected card will be highlighted. To move
the selected card, first press the row and then the column
number of the location where you want to move the card to. If
you select a card and decide not to move it, select it again
and the card will be de-selected.

All commands work as described before, except for UNDO. Since
you can select any card and place it anywhere on the grid,
there is no need for an UNDO command. In its place is the DONE
command. Select DONE when you are satisfied with the way the
cards are arranged on the grid, and the computer will
calculate your score.

COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS
====================
  
The following command-line options can be specified when you
load Poker Solitaire:

-mouse         selects the mouse as the input device. This
               option is ignored if a mouse driver is not
               found when you load Poker Solitaire.

-nomouse       selects the keyboard as the input device.

-ask           asks whether or not you want to use the mouse.
               This option is ignored if a mouse driver is not
               found when you load Poker Solitaire. [Default]

-fullsound     turns full sound (both songs and error beeps)
               on. [Default]

-partsound     turns partial sound (error beeps, but no songs)
               on.

-nosound       turns both songs and error beeps off.

-english       selects the English scoring system. [Default]

-american      selects the American scoring system.

-var[n]        selects Variation [n], where [n] is a number
               from 0 to 2. [Default is -var0]

-back[n]       selects card back [n], where [n] is a number
               from 1 to 5. [Default is -back1]

-errormsgon    turns error messages on. [Default]

-errormsgoff   turns error messages off.
        
Note that the command-line switches have precedence over the
settings selected through the Config command. So, if you have
Poker Solitaire currently configured to use card back 2 and
the american scoring system, but you load it as

       poker -back5 -english

card back 5 and the english scoring system will be used.
        
< End of Help File >
