Maverick 1. INTRODUCTION You are playing a game of 'Draw Poker' with five big dealers and have between £500 - £5,000 with which to gamble. It is a jackpot game with an ante of £2 before the deal and all raises in any round can be up to a preset limit. The player may set the limit of the raise in the game and evaluation routines are designed to respond to his style of play (within the limits of good strategy). Thus both the bold, flamboyant player and also the cautious and calculating, can enjoy a challenging game. 2. POKER HANDS (in descending order) Royal Straight Flush - A,K,Q,J,10 same suit. Straight Flush - 5 cards, same suit in a run. Four of a Kind - 4 cards same value. Full House - 3 cards of one value and a pair. Flush - 5 cards, same suit Straight - a run of 5 cards e.g.4,5,6,7,8. Three of a Kind - 3 cards, same value Two Pairs - e.g. 2 sixes and 2 fours. One Pair - e.g. 2 sixes. 3. METHOD OF PLAY a. Cut for deal and then five cards are dealt to each of the six players. The deal moves forward each hand and the dealer is indicated by a 'D' beside his name. b. Each player left of the dealer is asked in succession if he wishes to 'open' the betting. If the players wish to stay in the game they will have to 'call' (match the opening bid) or raise the bid. c. The players who now remain in the game exchange some or all of their cards e.g. to exchange the 6 of diamonds, the 7 of spades, Queen of Clubs - KEY 6d7sqc ENTER. d. The player who originally 'opened' up the bidding has the option of starting the betting or 'checking'. The bidding passes in succession to each player left in. The players will either 'call' by matching the previous bid or raise the bid if they wish to continue. 4. THE BIG DEALERS A special point of interest of the program is that each 'opponent' has individual characteristics in play. Factors such as boldness, timidity, stubbornness, tendency to bluff, caution etc. are randomly allocated at the beginning of a session and remain constant during the session. Thus the skilled and observant player may gain an advantage although the level of play of his opponents is still high. The impatient player has the option, if he folds, of going immediately to the next hand, skipping any remaining play of the current hand. 5. PROGRAM OPTIONS There are a number of options in the program which are obtained by keying 'n' to question 'ARE YOU READY FOR ANOTHER HAND'. - Would you like to know how everybody is doing? - Do you want to change the limit? - Trying to peek the winner (this is cheating!) Finally, if you want to leave the poker school, the use of BREAK key will restart the program.