Call their bluff

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The smoke hangs heavy in the still air of the Wild West saloon. With an evil glint in his eye Black Jake raises the stakes once more.

Is he bluffing? Can you afford to find out? Just two of the nail biting questions you will ask yourself as you play Poker from Duckworth.

Here is an opportunity to pit your skills against six of the meanest players in a game of five card draw poker.

Instructions on how to play the game are provided within the program, so even if you have never played poker before you will be able to hold your own with the best of them within 10 minutes of loading the game.

Play is simplicity itself. Whenever you are due to make a move a menu of the available choices is displayed. The micro even sorts your cards into the right order.

The dealer deals six hands face down and one for you face up, this being followed by the first round of betting.

Stakes are raised in multiples of eight dollars, with no upper limit. You begin the game with 1,000 dollars. You can stick, throw in your hand or discard up to three cards. Any new cards are dealt and the second round begins. Betting continues until all remaining players have agreed to see each other's hands. At this point the computer announces each hand in turn and pays out the winner.

If you are new to the game you may be unsure of the best move to make, so you can have a quiet word with Moll the barmaid who will make suitable suggestions.

On occasions it can be quite rewarding to bluff your way through a hand. Your opponents are all experienced players and will often do the same thing.

I found Poker to be totally absorbing. Even though the money wasn't real I still got a thrill from collecting a big win.

Steve Brook