Casino Strategy Pack

Copyright © 2003, 2004 LDW Software, LLC
 
 
Table of Contents:

General Information
Paigow Poker
Video Poker Teacher
EZ Blackjack
License Information


 
 

General Information

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Color/BW devices
OS 5.0 compatible

INSTALLATION

To install some or all of the games, simply double-click the corresponding icons for the games you wish to install, or drag the files to your desktop software. The files are:
vpt.prc : Video Poker Teacher
ezbj.prc : EZ Blackjack
pp.prc : Pocket Paigow

If you wish to use all three, install all of them. Otherwise just install the components that you wish.

SUPPORT

If you have questions or comments please visit our web site www.ldw.com for more information.

If you have technical questions please visit our support page at www.ldw.com/support

REGISTRATION

This is a trial version, with limited functionality and/or features that expire. Please help support quality software!
Registering this product is fast and easy. Just visit:
www.LDW.com.

 
     
 

Pocket Paigow

HOW TO PLAY

Pocket PaiGow is based on the casino card game, Pai Gow Poker. The object of the game is to take a 7-card hand, and split it into 2 separate hands: a 5-card 'high' hand, and a 2-card 'low' hand. The hands are valued according to poker rules. If both of your hands beat both of the dealer's hands, you win.

The steps to play Pocket Paigow are as follows:

In the betting phase, click on the chips to place bets, and click on clear to start again.

If you are out of money, or want to change limits, go to the drop down menus.

When you are done betting, click 'deal'.

After the cards are dealt, click on the 2 cards that you want to make your 'low' hand.

The remaining 5 cards will become your 'high' hand.

In the registered version, you can click '?' and the dealer will advice you on your hands.

Note that your high hand must beat your low hand, or you will lose automatically.

When you are done, click 'done'.

The dealer will split his cards, and the result will be displayed.

Note that the house takes a 5% commission on winnings.

Click 'done' during the results screen, and you are ready to start again!

GRAFFITI SHORTCUTS
  • graffiti stroke 'c' Get Cash
  • graffiti stroke 't' Change Tables
  • graffiti stroke 'p' Prefs
  • graffiti stroke 's' Stats


RELEASE HISTORY

Release v 1.4
  • OS 5 compatible
  • Various small bugs fixed

Release v 1.3
  • Pocket PaiGow now tracks game statistics
  • Game menu or graffiti shortcut 's' to view
  • Added "Player wins ties" option to simulate correct odds as 'the bank'. I plan to improve this.
  • Player can now have his/her hand automatically sorted (descending rank)
  • Larger cash amount available in 'Get Cash' menu
  • Bets are now returned if application is exited during betting phase
  • Graphics fixes
Release v 1.2
  • Dealer AI has been tuned. Dealer now plays a stronger game, emulating Atlantic City rules
  • Added a Cash Reset button to get rid of spare change or to reset cash in general
  • Added some new comments from the dealer, depending on trends in the game
  • Fixed some minor inconsistencies with buttons lighting up
  • Added animation for dealer revealing his cards
 
 

Video Poker Teacher

HOW TO PLAY

Video Poker Teacher is a video poker game that can help you learn correct basic strategy(*) when playing "Jacks or Better" video poker machines in a casino. It's also an entertaining stand-alone video poker game for your Palm OS Handheld. If both of your hands beat both of the dealer's hands, you win.

The steps to play Video Poker Teacher are as follows:

To buy credits, click the buttons at the top of the machine indicating how much money you wish to insert. If these buttons are dimmed, you will need to visit the Cashier in the 'game' menu.

When you have credits, the Bet One and/or Bet Max buttons will light up. You can bet up to five credits.

Press the 'deal' button to deal the first five cards, if you did not use Bet Max.

When you see your cards, click the ones you want to keep, and click 'deal' to draw the others.

You can click the 'teach' button to see the correct play in each situation.

If passive learning is enabled in the preferences, you will be warned if you made an incorrect play, and allowed to rechose.

After the draw you are payed according to the Payout Table (viewable by clicking the top-right button on the machine).

You can change the value of the credits in the 'game' menu. You can also get more cash from the cashier. Note that if you change machines with bets in play, you will lose them.

GRAFFITI SHORTCUTS
  • graffiti stroke 'c' Get Cash
  • graffiti stroke 'p' Prefs
  • graffiti stroke 's' Change stakes


(*) This game is optimized for full pay 'Jacks or Better'. Expected return using this strategy is 99.46%. Jacks or Better basic strategy is courtesy of The Wizard of Odds. Please visit "thewizardofodds.com" for details.

 
 

EZ Blackjack

HOW TO PLAY

EZ Blackjack is a blackjack program for Palm OS that is designed to be fast and easy to use, but with the tools and depth that intermediate to advanced blackjack players will appreciate. EZ Blackjack will work as a simple blackjack game, or it can be used to monitor and correct your basic strategy. It will even keep track of the count, if you are an aspiring card-counter. You can learn basic strategy two ways: by clicking the '?' button, you can receive a recommendation at any time on a play. Alternatively, you can use Passive Learning, and the program will allow you to play, and will warn you once each time you make a play that deviates from correct basic strategy.

The steps to play EZ Blackjack are as follows:

You start with $150 dollars. To get more cash, click your cash or use the Get Cash menu option, at any time.

Click on the chips to start betting. When you've bet the minimum amount, click 'deal'.

The player is dealt two cards, and the dealer is dealt two cards (one face up, one face down).

Hit, stand, split or double your hand(s) according to normal blackjack rules and correct basic strategy.

Click '?' at any time for dealer advice

Click 'Count Peek' to see the correct running count (for card counters)

Click 'Strat Table' to see the basic strategy reference

GRAFFITI SHORTCUTS
  • graffiti stroke 'c' Get Cash
  • graffiti stroke 'g' Game Options
  • graffiti stroke 'p' Prefs
  • graffiti stroke 's' Stats


PREFERENCES AND GAME OPTIONS

Get Cash: This menu option brings you to the 'cashier' to get more cash at any time.

Shuffle Up: This menu option will reset the running count and shuffle the deck(s).

Request New Decks: This will bring brand-new decks into play, and shuffle them up automatically.

Statistics: This will show the statistics page with useful information on how you've been doing, such as your win/loss count, and the % of all bets placed that you still retain.

Options: This brings up the Game Options dialog:
  • Dealer Hits on Soft 17 (enable dealer to play slightly stronger)
  • Surrender is Allowed (a rule that increases player advantage. "Late" surrender only.)
  • Insurance (allowed at virtually all casinos)
  • Double After Split (often allowed in Vegas, not allowed in many other places)
  • Include Ace, 2 in running count (a setting for more advanced users. More on this below.)
  • Number of Decks (how many decks are in the dealer's shoe)
  • Penetration (what % of the shoe the dealer deals before shuffling up)


Preferences: This brings up the Preferences dialog:
  • Passive Learning (do you want the game to automatically warn on basic strategy errors?)
  • Sounds
  • Show Standings (displays how much you are up or down)
  • Show % of Cards Left in Shoe (what % of cards remain to be dealt before another shuffle)
  • Show Player Card Total (adds up your current hand for you. Displayed in the bottom right.)


A few words about basic strategy:
Basic Strategy in blackjack is the 'correct play' for any situation based on the player's hand vs. the card that the dealer is showing (the dealer 'up' card). There are many variations with minor differences, but they tend to be quite similar. The one used in this program is optimized for 4 decks or more and is courtesy of The Wizard of Odds (www.thewizardofodds.com), a statistical genius and amazing resource on the web for gambling information and strategy. If you play without using a basic strategy you are probably not getting as good of a long term expectation on your game than you could.

A few words about card counting:
First, if you do not know what card counting is, check out www.thewizardofodds.com for more information about it. In general, card counting is a way of keeping track of which cards have been dealt by the dealer so that you know which cards remain in the deck or shoe. If the deck is 'rich in tens', that is many low cards like 3, 4, 5, 6 have already been dealt, then the basic strategy will tend to work better and it might be appropriate to increase your bets accordingly. If a proportionately large number of tens have already left the game, then the opposite might be true. EZ Blackjack does not attempt to teach card counting, but does track the running count for more advanced players who want to use this. The counting strategy implemented in EZ Blackjack is as follows: 3, 4, 5, 6 add one to the count. 10, J, Q, K subtract one from the count. There is a game options setting to include 2 with the low cards, and Ace with the high cards, because this is another popular variation. To view the count during the game, click 'Count Peek in the toupee of the screen. Click the count again to cover it up, so you can keep track in your head without 'cheating'.

 
 

License Information

 
  This is a legal agreement between you, the end user, and LDW Software, LLC. If you do not wish to accept this agreement, you may not use this software product.

This License permits you to use this software product on any single computer, provided the software is installed on only one device at any time.

The software is owned by LDW Software, LLC. All trademarks and logos are property of LDW Software, LLC and may not be used or reproduced without permission.

You may not rent or lease this software, but you may distribute or copy trial versions of this software with permission of LDW Software, provided the trial versions are distributed intact, unmodified, together with this agreement, and are obtained directly from LDW Software, LLC.

This product is provided without warranty and the user accepts full responsibility for any damages, consequential or otherwise, resulting from its use. In no event will LDW Software, LLC, or any party involved in the development of this software be liable to you for any consequential, incidental or special damages, or for any claim by any third party. LDW Software, LLC and its suppliers' entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be the return of the price paid for this software product, if any.

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble this software.

Written permission must be obtained before distributing either trail or full versions of this software in any form and through any means.