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- 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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- IBM PC AND COMPATIBLES, INCLUDING A GREAT LINE OF NEAT CARD AND BETTING GAMES.
- WE ARE WAITING TO SEND YOU OUR 5.25 INCH (360KB) OR 3.5 INCH (720KB) DEMO
- DISK, CONTAINING AN ELECTRONIC TOY CATALOG PLUS OTHER GOODIES, FOR ONLY $2 TO
- 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.
-
-