Poker Machine

Poker Machine turns your Atari into a flashy Las Vegas slot-type draw poker machine. You get the real feel of poker and you can win up to 50 times your bet, if your hand is good enough. This BASIC program works on all 8-bit Ataris with 48K memory and disk.

If you ever felt like trying your luck in a poker game but nobody else was interested in parting with their hard-earned dough, then you'll enjoy the Poker Machine. Try your luck with a make-believe stake to win or lose a few phantom dollars.

Type in Listing 1, POKER.BAS, and SAVE a copy before you RUN it. If you have trouble typing the special characters in lines 11, 19000 and 25070, don't type them in. Listing 2 will create them for you. Type in Listing 2, check it with TYPO II and SAVE a copy to disk. When RUN, Listing 2 creates these hard-to-type lines, and stores them in a disk file called D:LINES.LST.
To merge the two programs, type LOAD "D:POKER.BAS" and then ENTER "D:LINES.LST". Remember to SAVE the completed program before you RUN it.

PLAYING POKER

Press the [SPACEBAR] for the number of quarters you want to begin gambling with and then press [START].

A flashing prompt asks for your wager, which you enter by pressing the [SPACEBAR] once for each quarter you want to bet. You can bet as many as eight quarters on each hand. Press [D] for your cards to be dealt. If you're lucky enough to be dealt a pat hand-where you don't need to replace any cards-press [S] for Stand, and your winnings will be tallied. If you want to draw any cards, press keys [1] through [5] for the card or cards to discard. It's all right to throw them all away and try for a whole new hand.

If you mistakenly throw away a card you wanted to keep, press [C] for Cancel to restore the original hand. When you are done discarding press [D] to get a new deal of the cards.

Helpful onscreen prompts will aid you throughout the game. Winnings are based on the amount of your bet according to the following odds:

Pair of Aces     1 to 1
Two Pair         2 to l
Three of a Kind  3 to 1
Straight         5 to 1
Flush            8 to 1
Full House      10 to 1
Four of a Kind  25 to 1  
Straight Flush  50 to 1

With a starting stake of 20 quarters, I have won nearly 200 quarters. I hope this game will improve your poker playing skills and help you win many pots from your friends.

PROGRAM TAKE-APART

10-12        Variable declaration and initialization
800-852      Analyzes hand
900-920      Gives number values to face cards
950-970      Sorts hand from low to high
19000-19120  Puts M/L shuffling routine into Page 6
20040        Calls that routine
20540        Copies ROM character set into RAM, starting at location J
25090        Redefines character set
25110        Uses character set

Joe McManus, a recent computer science graduate and current programming job seeker, is a member of a top-40 band in Pennsylvania.

IF YOU'D ENJOY SEEING MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE, CIRCLE 204 ON THE READER SERVICE CARD.

Listing 1:POKER.BAS Download

Listing 2: LINES.BAS (not needed)