DR. WONG'S JACKS+ VIDEO POKER
Real Casino Action
(c) Copyright 1992, Villa Crespo Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Villa Crespo Software, Inc. -- 1725 McGovern Street -- Highland Park, IL
60035
Telephone: (708) 433-0500
Video poker is now the most popular casino slot game in America.
Find out why with this realistic computer simulation. The pace is fast,
the challenge is fun, and, for the serious player, tutor advice and hand
analysis are always available.
OBJECT OF THE GAME
The object of VIDEO POKER is to assemble a hand of five cards
forming the most valuable combination possible. You are initially dealt
five cards. You may hold or discard any or all of these cards, after
which the dealer replaces those you have discarded. If you then have a
pair of jacks or better, you win.
Poker hands rank as follows, from most to least valuable:
Royal Flush 10, J, Q, K, A, all of the same suit
Straight Flush Five cards in a row (by rank), all of the same suit
4 of a Kind Four cards of the same rank
Full House Three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank
Flush Five cards of the same suit
Straight Five cards in a row, of any suit
3 of a Kind Three cards of the same rank
Two pair Two cards of one rank and two cards of another rank
Pair Two cards of the same rank
QUICK START INSTRUCTIONS
To play JACKS+ VIDEO POKER without any special options, boot up
the game and then, from the title screen, press any key. Select the
number of coins you wish to wager by pressing the up and down arrow
keys. Then press [F2] to have the computer deal. You may
automatically bet the maximum (5 coins) by pressing [F3], in which
case the computer will automatically deal.
The computer will deal you five cards. Select the cards you wish to hold
by pressing their corresponding number keys [1] - [5]. If you change
your mind, you can discard a held card by pressing its number again.
To ask for advice from the computer tutor, press [F7]. To see a
statistical analysis of your hand, press [F6]. (The statistical tables will
be
explained later.)
Once you have decided which cards to hold, press [ENTER] to draw.
The computer will now replace your discards. If you have a winning
hand, the result of your hand will be highlighted in the payoff schedule
and you will be paid the amount won.
To play another hand, press the Up arrow or the [F3] (maximum coins)
key. When you are done playing, press [F10] to cash out.
You can keep track of your winnings by consulting the "Credit" table to
the left of the cards. It displays your Initial payroll (which will be 1000
coins), your Current payroll, coins Paid by the computer on this hand,
Coins In (wagered) on this hand, and the number of Hands Played.
THE TUTOR
After any deal you can ask the computer tutor for advice by pressing
[F7]. The cards you should hold will then be marked.
Toggle the Advice key, [F6], to select a Tutor option. You have three
choices: "Ask" will deactivate the tutor (it will only give advice if you
ask
for it); "Warn" will warn you if you are about to make an ill-advised play;
"Show" will automatically show you which cards to hold. The Tolerance
settings will be explained in the Analysis section.
ANALYSIS
JACKS+ VIDEO POKER features a powerful statistical calculator that
figures out all the possible permutations of a hand and how much each
will pay out. The computer tutor uses this information to tell you what
your best possible play is.
After you have been dealt a hand, but before you discard any cards,
press [F6] for Analyze. The top half of the analyzer screen is an expected
return chart showing up to 10 sets of held cards with the expected
return for the current hand. Whenever you change the held cards for
the given hand and return to the analyzer screen, another line is shown
in the expected return chart.
Two types of analysis are available. Press [F8] for Q-REF to see the
Quick Reference Analysis, which shows the expected return for all 32
possible held-card combinations for a dealt hand.
Press [F9] for Detail to see the possible winning hands from the
currently held cards, as well as the Expected Return from them.
Click on the uppermost down arrow in the Analysis window. The
display will now show all 32 possible hands that could result and their
likely payouts, in descending order of payouts. Use the up and down
arrow keys to scroll between hands.
Here's an example. Betting 5 coins, you have been dealt a hand with
two 9s, a Queen, a 5, and a 3. The tutor advises you to hold the 9s.
The Analysis window shows the average payout on deals with two 9s
held is 4.1184. This means that you would win, on average, a little
more than 4 coins back for each 5 bet on hands with a pair of 9s.
Tolerance
The statistics used in the Analysis window are the same as those used
by the tutor to advise you on profitable play. If the tutor is set to Warn,
it
will warn you whenever you are about to make something other than
what it considers the best play, even if that play is only slightly better
than the one you have chosen. However, you can set the computer to
notify you of big errors but not bother you about small errors. This is
the function of the Tolerance Level.
You can set the Tolerance Level to define the minimum mistake about
which you want to be notified. The Tolerance Level is given as
percentage points of deviation from the best play. For example, if the
cards you hold have an expected return of 88.6% of the amount of
your bet, and the best play has an expected return of 91.0%, the
difference is 2.4%. If the Tolerance Level is 2 or less, the tutor will
notify
you that the expected return for the hand can be improved by holding
different cards. If the Tolerance Level is 3 or more, the tutor will not
notify you of the error.
Press [F4] for Options and then [F6] for Tolerance Level. Tolerance is
automatically set at 3 percent, which means that the tutor will accept
plays that are 3% less profitable than the optimum play. You can use
the up and down arrow keys or type in the appropriate number to
change tolerance to anything from 0% (the tutor won't accept anything
less than the optimum play) to 100% (the tutor will accept anything).
Press [ENTER] to register the new Tolerance level.
GENERAL FEATURES
Help
For Help from almost anywhere in JACKS+ VIDEO POKER, press [F1].
Use the up and down arrows to scroll through the Help screen. Press
[F10] to leave the Help screen.
Boss Key
[From the keyboard only.] Press B to clear the screen. Press B again to
save the session as LASTGAME and exit to DOS. Press any other key to
resume the session wherever you left off.
Leaving the Game
[From the keyboard only.] Press [ESC] to leave the game. You will be
given three choices:
[F1] QUIT: Return to DOS without saving the session.
[F2] OOPS!: Return to the session.
[F3] SAVE & QUIT: Save the session and return to DOS.
OPTIONS
Press [F4] to see the Options menu.
[F2] PROCEED: After changing or reviewing options, return to the
game.
[F3] LOAD GAME: Load the last session.
[F4] DOUBLE DOWN: Toggle the Double Down option. Here's how it
works:
After you win a hand, a pop-up window asks you if you want to double
down. Press the [F2] NO key to keep your winnings and go on to the
next hand.
If you press [F1] YES, the machine deals five cards. The first card, dealt
face up, is the dealer's. Select one of the four other cards by pressing
[2], [3], [4], or [5]. If your card is lower than the dealer's, you lose
your
winnings. If your card is equal to the dealer's, you neither win nor lose
and get another opportunity to double down. If your card is higher than
the dealer's, your winnings are double. You can double down until you
lose or press [F2] NO.
[F5] INITIAL CREDITS: Change the number of coins with which you
start the game.
[F6] TOLERANCE LEVEL: See above.
[F7] SOUND: Toggle between these sound options:
CASINO: All sounds.
GAME: All sounds except casino background.
WARN: Warns you when keystrokes are invalid.
NONE: No sound.
[F8] ANIMATION: Toggle animation on and off.
** END OF FILE **
