PONTOON

-------

Play Pontoon on your Spectrum with this game written for us by C.Taft of Coventry.



This program simulates the game of Pontoon, in which you get to pit your wits

against the computer.



When RUN, you will be dealt a card and asked to place a bet; bets can only be

made up to a certain amount - within 10% of your credit. You will then be

dealt another card and given the option to "stick", "twist" or "buy". This is

done by pressing the appropriate key on the keyboard; ie. the 's' key to

stick, the 't' key to twist and the 'b' key to buy.



Your deal ...



If you've never played Pontoon before, here is a brief resume. You are dealt

a single card, and on that you have to work out how good your hand might be

and place a suitable bet accordingly. You then receive your next card. The

idea of the game is to make your cards up to a value of 21. Kings, Queens and

Jacks are all worth 10 points each, and an Ace can be worth one or 11. With

the two original cards you hold, you must decide either to "stick" which

means you pick up no more cards, "twist" which means you receive another card

(you can receive up to three more cards), or "buy" which means you receive

another card but you buy it from the dealer so that you effectively increase

your bet.



The winner of a hand of Pontoon is the one who gets their cards to total 21

or the nearest to 21. If you get five cards to total 21 or under, then this

is known as a "five card trick" and this hand beats all. Should the computer

and your hand equal the same, it will depend on who is dealing as to who will

win - in the game of Pontoon, this is known as Banker's privilege.



Twist and shout



When you have settled on your final hand and pressed the 's' key to stick

then the computer deals its own hand, decides whether to stick or not and

finally checks its hand against your own. The computer then either takes your

bet if it has won or returns your original bet plus your winnings if you

managed to have the winning hand.



One nice touch in the program is that the computer doesn't just keep dealing

itself cards until it beats your own hand or "goes bust" (which is

Pontoon-talk for holding cards which total more than 21) but actually makes a

decision whether or not to draw another card. This decision is based on the

value of the cards you have stuck on and the amount of cash you have placed

as your bet. Only when the computer has stuck are the cards displayed and the

winner announced.



Variations on a theme



Although there are copious REM statements throughout the program to help you

follow its intricacies, here is a list of the variables used.



AMT  - Amount of credit.

ITME - The Spectrum or player dealing.

ACEI - An Ace has been dealt.

ME   - Value of the player's final hand.

V    - Current value of the cards.

T    - Number of cards dealt.

ODDS - Calculation for the Spectrum to decide whether to stick or not.

Bet  - Amount bet on the initial card.

Buy  - Total amount for bought cards.

Stake- The stake for each game.

S$   - The suit of each card.

R$   - The Jack, Queen or King.