Studio II Home TV Programmer TV Casino I Blackjack Instructions This Studio II Home TV Programmer cartridge contains an entertaining, challenging Blackjack game for 1 or 2 players. Cartridge 18V600 RCA [p. 1] How to Play Blackjack --------------------- (See pg. 7 for Rules, pg. 9 for Strategy) 1. Insert the cartridge into the Studio II Console. Press CLEAR key. 2. For 1-player game, press Key 1 on Keyboard A. For 2-player game, press Key 2 on Keyboard A. Game is played using both keyboards for 2-player game, and Keyboard B for single player game. [Figure 1. Shows console with four pointers to keys. Key 1 for 1-player game Key 2 for 2-player game Press Clear Press 0 to cut (either keyboard for 2-player game)] [p. 2] 3. The "200" representing the stakes will appear at the bottom corners of the TV screen as shown in Figure 2. The stake will appear only on the right side in the single-player game. [Figure 2. Shows screen with "CUT" in the center and "200" in the lower left and right corners. The left one has a pointer saying "Player A stake (will not appear in 1-player game)". The right one has a pointer saying "Player B stake".] 4. The word "CUT" will also appear on the screen. Whenever "CUT" appears at various times throughout the game, the dealer has shuffled the cards and is asking the player to cut. Cut cards by pressing Key 0. 5. After the cut is made, the word "BET" will appear. Each player enters a bet from $1 to $10 by pressing the appropriate key, 1 through 9 for $1 through $9 or by pressing key "0" for a $10 bet (see Fig. 4). The amount of the bet will be displayed next to the stakes as shown in Figure 4. The stakes will be reduced by the amount of the bet. [p. 3] [Figure 3. Shows a keyboard. The top three rows of keys are labelled "$1-$9 bet". The bottom key is labelled "$10 bet". At the bottom, it says "1-player game, use Keyboard B. 2-player game, use both keyboards."] [Figure 4. Shows the screen with "BET" in the center. In place of the 200's from figure 2 are 195 and 190, respectively. Half a line above them and towards the center are "5" and "10". These are labelled "Player A bet" and "Player B bet", respectively.] 6. After bets are entered, two cards will be dealt to each player and to the dealer-with the dealer's second card face down. 7. Following the deal, the word "HIT" will appear on the screen. The bet display will flicker to indicate the player's turn, with player B going first. Note: If a player draws a natural (ace and 10-point card), the player automatically wins and [p. 4] the turn will go to the next player or the dealer. The player has three choices: Hit - Press Key 1 for each hit. Player may be dealt up to 5 additional cards. Double - To double down, press Key 2. The amount of bet will be doubled, and player will be hit with just one more card. Turn will pass to next player or to dealer. Stand - Press Key 0. Turn will pass to next player or to dealer. Note: If the card you draw puts your point total over 21, you "bust" and lose your bet. [Figure 5. Shows keyboard with key 1 labelled "Hit", key 2 labelled "Double", and key 0 labelled "Stand (Pass)".] [p. 5] [Figure 6. Screen with two cards at top center, "J" and blank labelled "Dealer's hand". "HIT" in center. Two cards on left, "8" and "K", labelled "Player A's hand (does not appear in 1-player game.)" with "159" below the cards and "4" just to the right of that. Two cards on right, "10" and "K", labelled "Player B's hand" with "177" below the cards and "9" just to the left of that. Figure is labelled "Typical Display Following Deal".] 8. After players have completed their turns the dealer will show the face-down card, and play out the hand (unless the players have busted, and the dealer has already won). The dealer will draw additional cards as necessary, but will stand on any card count of 17 or higher, with one exception; the dealer will draw on a "soft" 17, where an ace is used as 11 points in the hand. 9. If you win, a "W" appears in place of your bet, and you will be paid off by an amount equal to your bet. If you win with a natural Blackjack, you receive an amount twice your bet. If your card-count is the same as the dealer's, you tie, and get back your bet. A "T" will appear in place of your bet. If you bust, or have a lower card count than the dealer, you lose your bet. [p. 6] For example, if a player has $200, bet $10 and wins, his payoff will be $10, so his stake will end up being $210. However if the hand is won with a natural 21, the payoff is $20, and the stake would increase to $220. 10. After the hand is completed, the word "BET" will again appear on the screen. Players place their bet and a new hand will be dealt. Play can continue until players lose their stakes, or break the bank by increasing stakes to $999.00. [Figure 7. Screen with four cards, 2, 7, 4, and 4, at top center. BET in center. Left player with 7 and K; 163 as stake; and "T" to side. Right player with 10, 3, and 7; 186 stake; and "W" to side. Labelled 'Typical display after a hand is completed. The dealer, with 17 points, tied Player A. Player B won with 20 points. When the word "BET" appears, players should bet to start a new hand.'] [p. 7] Rules ----- Studio II Blackjack (Blackjack is also known as "Twenty-One") is quite similar to "Las Vegas" versions of the game. One or two persons play against a dealer, which is actually the Studio II computer. The object is for each player to obtain a card hand that will beat the dealer. To do this, the player attempts to get a card count that totals 21, or as close to 21 as possible without "busting" (totaling more than 21). If a player busts, he loses his bet even if the dealer also eventually busts. To win a hand the player's card point count must be higher than the dealer's, or the dealer must have busted after the player has held. Face cards (jacks, queens, kings) are valued at 10 points. Aces can be 1 or 11 points, whichever value provides the best hand. All other cards are worth their actual value; e.g. 2, 3, 4, etc. up to 10. An ace and any 10-point card totals 21, and is called a natural, or "Blackjack". If a player is dealt a natural 21, he is an automatic winner, unless the dealer also draws a natural, which results in a tie. The Cut ------- Two 52-card decks are used. At the start of the game, and whenever the number of cards remaining in the double deck is down to 21 or less, the dealer automatically shuffles the cards and asks for a cut. When the word "CUT" appears on the screen, either player can cut by pressing the "0" key on his keyboard. [p. 8] Betting ------- The players are given an imaginary stake of "$200" at the beginning of the game. Before a hand is dealt, each player must place his bet, which can be from $1 to $10. If the player wins the hand, he is paid an amount equal to his bet (1 to 1). If the player wins with a Blackjack (2-card natural 21), the payoff is two times his bet (2 to 1). A player loses his bet if he "busts" (goes over 21), or has a lower card count than the dealer. When a player has the same card count as the dealer, it is a tie, and the player retains his bet. The Deal -------- At the start of each hand, players are dealt two cards face up, and the dealer is dealt two cards, with the second card face down. Hitting ------- After the deal is complete, each player in turn determines whether he wants additional cards in an attempt to raise his card count as close to 21 as possible. A player can draw up to five additional cards, for a total of seven cards. Doubling -------- A player can "double down" following the deal of the first two cards. The amount of the bet will be doubled and the player will be hit with only one additional card. [p. 9] Dealers Play ------------ After both players have competed their turn, the computer will show the dealer's face-down or "hole" card (if at least one player is still in the game). The computer will then play out the dealer's hand. The dealer will draw a card with a card count of 16 or less, and stand on 17 or higher. There is one exception; the dealer will draw on a "soft" 17, where an ace is used as 11 points in the hand. When the dealer's hand is completed, the computer will determine which hands have won, lost or tied; calculate payoffs and losses, and adjust the player's stakes accordingly. End of Game ----------- The game is over when either player is able to increase his stakes to $999, which breaks the bank, or when both players have lost all their money. Strategy -------- The dealer will continue to draw cards until the card count is 17 or over (except for a "soft" 17, where an ace is used as 11 points). The dealer will always stand on a card count of a "hard" 17 or higher, and will always draw a card on a 16 or less. The players, however, can choose to stand or draw additional cards regardless of their point count. Of course, if the card count is over 21, they bust and lose their bet. Generally, most experienced players will stand if they have a 17 or higher. But they may also stand [p. 10] on a count as low as 14 or 15, depending on what card the dealer is showing (and their own intuition). If the delaer has an ace or a 10 card, it is often best to be more aggressive and make every effort to get closer to 21. The reasoning is that the odds favor the dealer getting a good hand, and the player will lose anyway unleess he has a good hand also. Conversely, if the dealer is showing a low card, most likely he will have to draw several cards and could very will bust. In this case, the player has a good chance to win on a 14, 15, or 16 count and should not take a chance on busting by recklessly taking too may hits. A player can double down after his two cards are dealt, regardless of his card point count. Keep in mind however, that only one additional card is dealt - and the bet is doubled so there is twice as much to lose. Thus a player usually doubles down only with a card count of 10 or 11, so that chances are good that the addition of one more card will bring the count close to 21 without too much worry about busting. [back cover] Note: If the metal contact strips on the cartridge become dirty or discolored, this could affect the cartridge operation. These strips can be cleansed easily by gently rubbing them with a pencil eraser. Remove eraser residue before inserting cartridge. RCA RCA|Distributor and Special Products Division Deptford, NJ 08096 [Typed in by Lee K. Seitz (lkseitz@iquest.com).] -----END INCLUDED TEXT----- -- Lee K. Seitz (lkseitz@iquest.com) (http://iquest.com/~lkseitz/) Dare to be stupid. Do the Donkey Kong. Don't panic! Fnord. Live long and prosper. May the Force be with you. Up, up, and away! DISCLAIMER: No one living or dead shares any opinions expressed here.