Contents

Rules Of The Game

Playing The Game

Options

Autoplay

Additional Information

Basic Strategy

High-Low Counting Strategy

View Registration Form

For Help on Help, Press F1


Rules Of The Game

Despite the common belief that the object of this game is to get as close to 21 as possible without exceeding 21, it is not.

The object of this game is to beat the dealer.

The game is played with 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 standard 52-card deck(s).

Each card has a numerical value assigned to it (suits are not important).  2's through 10's are counted at their point value; all face (picture) cards are valued at 10.  The ace can be counted as 1 or 11 at the player's option.

Initially, the player receives two cards.  He determines their value by adding the values of the individual cards together.  If the hand value is 21 (an ace and either a 10 or a face card), the hand is a blackjack, and unless the dealer ties the player with another blackjack, the player wins one and a half of his bet.  With a tie, called a push, no money is exchanged.

If the player does not have a blackjack, he may choose one of the following actions:

Hit	Request one more card from the dealer .

Stand	Indicate that he does not desire any more cards.

Double-down 	Decide to double his original bet.  The player is dealt only one card if he double-downs.

Split	If the first two cards the player receives are of equal value, he may elect to split them and play each as a separate hand.  Each of these two hands are subject to the following special rules:

∗	If the player splits a pair of aces, he is dealt only one additional card for each hand;

∗	if after an additional card is dealt, a player's hand consists of an ace and either a 10 or a face card, it is not considered a blackjack  -- he will lose if the dealer has a blackjack.

Insurance	If the dealer's visible card, called up-card, is an ace, the player is permitted to place an additional separate bet, called insurance.  If the dealer draws a blackjack then the player will be paid the double of his insurance bet,  The insurance bet does not affect the player's original bet and how the hand is played.

The dealer draws last.  He must continue to draw so long as his hand is 16 or less; he must stand when his hand reaches 17 or more.

If the player draws and his hand total exceeds 21,  he "goes busted" -- loses immediately, regardless of the dealer hand value.

The winner is determined by comparing the total value of the player hand with the dealer hand.  If the player has more points than the dealer, he wins; otherwise, he loses.  No money is exchanged if it is a push (tie).


Playing The Game

To start the game, click Game on the menu bar and then select New from the pull-down menu or just depress F2 function key.

Game Control Panel will appear and  you will be presented with seven Bet buttons -- one for each hand.

Click on the Bet Button for each hand you wish to play.  The bet size will increment by the amount selected in Bet Unit Size Option, to a maximum bet of $2,000.  If you accidently bet more than what you intended, you can depress "-" key to adjust your bet.  To bet all hands at once, hold down Ctrl and hit the space bar.

Click on Deal button from the Game Control Panel  or press Enter key when ready to play.

If you did not bet all seven hands, then the computer will auto-magically place bets on the hands that  were indicated to be played by computer in the Options dialog box.

After initial deal, if the dealer's up-card is an ace, the Insurance Bet buttons will appear.  Place your insurance bet by clicking on the Insurance button for each hand you wish to insure.  Press Deal button or hit Enter key when finished.

Hand in play is indicated by the inoffensive blinking of the cards.

Play each hand by selecting available actions from the Game Control Panel or hitting an appropriate key (s -- Stand, h -- Hit, d -- double, p -- Split).

Play will advance to the next hand if your hand total is 21 or after you click on Double or Stand, or "go busted".

When the last hand on the table is played, the final results will be displayed:

BJ	this hand has a blackjack
Win	this hand is a winner
Push	this hand is a tie
Lost	this hand lost
Busted	this hand total exceeded 21
By  double-clicking on any hand  you will open a Status Window that displays this hand wins/losses and some additional information as well.

Title Bar displays Dealer's winnings/losses.

Place your bet for the next hand.


Options

There are several options that the player can set to govern how the game will be played.

To view or modify the options settings, click Options on the menu bar.

The following dialog box will appear:

Please note, that the picture above presents expanded dialog box that is displayed when the Advanced button is clicked.

To learn more about  any of these options, click on the corresponding section of the picture above.


Dealing Speed

Specifies how fast the cards will be dealt.


Show

Specifies what optional information will be displayed:

Points	Display number of points, so gambler does not need to add.
Count	Display on the status bar Running Count and True Count, utilizing the High-Low Counting Strategy.
Advice	Display on the status bar a suggested action that is based on the blackjack Basic Strategy.


Shoe Size

Specifies the number of decks in the shoe.

Note that only three seats are available, if you chose to play with a single deck.


Hands Played By Computer

Specifies which of the hands will be played by the computer.


Use Counting Strategy

Specifies if the computer uses High-Low Counting Strategy.


Autoplay

For an advanced player only.

This innovative feature will allow you to develop and test new blackjack strategies and will become much more sophisticated in future versions.

Click Autoplay  on the menu bar, select Strategy from the pull-down menu, then pick which player and which strategy table (Hard, Soft, or Split) you would like to view or modify, click on the Setup button to view  the Basic Strategy Table dialog.

Make you changes and click on Save button or Cancel.

Click on the Close button of the previous dialog.

To start an autoplay mode, select Autoplay on from the Autoplay menu.

To end, select Autoplay from the same menu.  Autoplay mode will end when all hands are played.


Bet Unit Size

Specifies the amount by which the bet will be incremented.


OK

Records your changes and closes the dialog box.


Cancel

Discards your changes and closes the dialog box.


Advanced

Expands/contracts the dialog box to show/hide additional options.


Basic Strategy

Basic Strategy is a guide to  playing each possible hand.

It was first developed in the early 1960's and further improved over the following years.

It is usually presented in the form of a table where column labels indicate the dealer's up-card (the card you see), and row labels indicate player hands.  The intersection shows an action (stand, hit, double, or split) that should be taken by the player.

For more information see Autoplay.


High-Low Counting Strategy

This is the most popular counting strategy.

All cards in the deck are divided into three categories:

1.	Low Cards -- 2 through 6 -- are valued as +1.

2.	High Cards -- 10, face (picture) cards, and aces -- are valued as -1.

3.	Neutral Cards -- 7, 8, 9 -- are valued as 0.

Keep Running Count by subtracting 1 when High Card is dealt, adding 1 when Low Card is dealt, and repeat count (so you won't forget it) when Neutral Card is dealt.  True Count is determined by dividing the Running Count by the number of the decks remaining in the shoe, counted in half decks.

Positive True Count indicates that the shoe has more High Cards; that is an advantage to the player.

Using True Count you can:

Determine the bet size by multiplying the original bet unit size by the True Count.

Elect to insure you hand when Insurance is available.

.At some cases you may deviate from the Basic Strategy chart knowing that the shoe is full of High Cards.

For more information see one of the dozen books on this subject.


Save

Saves options to disk


Announce Shuffle

Specifies if the Shuffle sign will be shown when the shoe is shuffled.


Print Registration Form
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