Blackjack World Championship

The first Blackjack World Championship for Palm


Rules and Instructions

1. Blackjack World Championship is an ongoing computer blackjack
tournament played on Palm OS powered devices (Palm Pilot, Visor, etc).
The $10,000 cash first prize goes to the player with the highest score.
The second, third, fourth and fifth prizes will go to the additional runner-ups. In case of a tie a computerized random drawing will be held.
 
2. There are no registration fees and you don't have to pay for the software.
 
3. Each person is limited to one account. Using multiple accounts will result in the immediate disqualification of the player.
 
4. Each player starts the game with $500 of play money (the score resets back to $500 at the beginning of each month). A player can enter his score (using the Money Code) on our website as often as he wishes. Entering a score is his official entry into the competition. We verify that the score entered by the players is his real score (cash) with the Money Code that appears after pressing the 'Real $$$' button at the lower left of the main screen. Any attempt to enter a fake or nonexistent Money Code will result in the immediate disqualification of the player.
 
5. Each competition cycle lasts from the 1st of each month through the last day of each month midnight (Central Standard Time-US). There's a new Blackjack World Champion every month. The Money Code changes every month and the score resets to $500 at the beginning of each month.
 
6. The current list of prizes is listed on the front page of our website: blackjackchamp.com
 
7. The use of computer aided betting devices, fraudulent software use or betting practices resulting from the alteration/disassembly of computer source code is against the rules and will lead to immediate disqualification.
 
8. Family members and employees of AC&G Software, Hypervision, their 
sponsors, advertisers and/or contractors are ineligible to win.
 
9. The game is played with a single deck of cards. Doubling down is allowed on any 2 cards and the dealer must stop on all 17's. Also, doubling down is not allowed after splitting and splitting is allowed only once.
 
10. Bets vary from $5 to $25.
 
11. Rules are subject to change without prior announcements.


Installation

Unzip the 'bjchamp.prc' file and HotSync it to your Palm Computing device (Pro, Palm III, Palm IIIc, Palm IIIxe, Palm V, Palm Vx, Palm VII, Palm m100, Visor series).
If you have trouble installing Blackjack World Championship, you can find help in the documentation that came with your Palm OS device. You can also send email to support@BlackjackChamp.com with questions.


Playing the Game

The interface of the game is very straightforward. 
* Upon entering the game, there are three main buttons in the lower part of the screen: 
1. 'Real $$$': Pressing this button will open a screen that shows the the current Score of the player ($515, for example) and the Score's corresponding Money Code that needs to be entered on our site (www.blackjackchamp.com) in order to enter the competition. Each Score has a specific Money Code that corresponds to it. Upon verification of the Money Code (see Rules and Instructions above), the player will be entered into the competition.
2. 'Deal': This button starts the game - cards are dealt to the player and to the dealer.
3. 'Beam': Press this button to beam the game to your friends, family etc.

* In the middle part of the main screen there is a 'Bet' dropdown dialog that changes the current bet ($5-25).

* Deck % - nn the middle part of the main screen is the current percentage of the cards
  that are left in the deck. Deck %75 = 52 (cards)*75% =  39 cards left. The deck will be shuffled if less than 39% of the    deck cards are left.

* The upper right corner of the screen contains a sponsor button that contains details about the specific version's sponsor.

Before starting the game (pressing 'Deal'), select the desired Bet by pressing on the arrow next to 'Bet'. Upon pressing 'Deal', the Player and the Dealer both receive 2 cards as their initial hands. From there, play the game according to the cards received.

The interface of the game is very straightforward. 
* Upon entering the game, there are three main buttons in the lower part of the screen: 
1. 'Real $$$': Pressing this button will open a screen that shows the current Score of the player ($515, for example) and   the Score's corresponding Money Code that needs to be entered on our site (www.blackjackchamp.com) in order                to enter the competition. Each Score has a specific Money Code that corresponds to it. Upon verification of                the Money Code (see Rules and Instructions above), the player will be entered into the competition.
2. 'Deal': This button starts the game - cards are dealt to the player and to the dealer.
3. 'Beam': Press this button to beam the game to your friends, family etc.

* In the middle part of the screen there are three gameplay indicators:
1. A 'Bet' dropdown dialog that changes the current bet ($5-25).
2. 'Deck %' - percentage of the cards that are left in the deck. 
	      Deck %75 = 52 (cards)*75% = 39 cards left. The deck will be shuffled if it's down to 39% or less.
3. 'Cash' - This is how much you've made so far.

The upper right corner of the screen contains a sponsor button that contains details about the specific version's sponsor.

Before starting the game (pressing 'Deal'), select the desired Bet by pressing on the arrow next to 'Bet'. Upon pressing 'Deal', the Player and the Dealer both receive 2 cards as their initial hands. From there, play the game according to the cards received.


The Rules of Blackjack

It is believed that the Blackjack game originated in France approximately 300 years ago. Since then it has become the most popular casino game worldwide. A player can master the basic rules quickly and fairly easily. The objective in blackjack is to have a hand which totals 21, or beats the dealer's hand by coming as close to 21 as possible without going over, or "busting." If your first two cards are an ace and a ten, that's blackjack or "a natural" 21. Blackjack always beats a hand that totals 21 by adding the values of more than the first two cards. 
A picture card is counted as 10, a card from 2-10 is counted at its face value, and an ace can be counted as either 1 or 11. A "hard hand" is a hand that does not contain an ace or contains an ace that can only be counted as 1 so as not to bust. 


Playing the Game of Blackjack

There are different playing and betting methods:

Hit
You receive another card. For example, if your 2 cards equal 10 you have nothing to lose by requesting another card, since your total could not exceed 21.

Stand
This means that you have decided that your hand is good enough and you don't want to be dealt another card.

Double Down
After you have received your first two cards you have the option to double the initial wager. Once you have chosen to do this, click the "DOUBLE" button and you will be dealt a third card and that's it. Your hand will only consist of these 3 cards.

Split
If you are dealt two cards of identical value you can then split them (i.e. 8,8 or 10,J). You would now be playing two separate hands of one card each. You will now be dealt a second card to one of the hands. After this hand is played out, the second hand will be dealt a second card and continued until that hand is played out. You may only split your hand once and a new wager equal to the initial wager will be placed for each split hand. A split hand resulting in Blackjack pays out at a ratio of 1-1 rather than the normal 3-2. If it is possible to split two cards a button will appear to allow the player to split the cards. Simply click on the "Split" button to facilitate the splitting of the cards.

Insurance
If the dealer's first card is an Ace, there is a possibility of a Blackjack. If you believe the dealer has Blackjack you can buy insurance to protect yourself. If you choose to insure yourself, you have to pay an amount equal to half your wager. If the dealer gets Blackjack, the insurance will pay 2 to 1, which corresponds to your original stake. If you have insured yourself and the dealer does not obtain Blackjack then you lose your insurance but retain your original wager.
Insurance is considered a game of its own within Blackjack, and gives you a chance to protect yourself from the dealer's Blackjack.


Examples:

* Your beginning hand is: Ace, 6. This hand can be either 7 or 17. If you stop there, you'll have 17. Let's say that you   decide to "Hit" and receive a '3'.You now have: Ace, 6, 3. Your total hand is now 20, counting the Ace as 11. Let's   backtrack and assume that you had instead drawn a third card which was an '8'. Your hand is now: Ace, 6, 8 which totals   15. Notice that now the Ace must be counted as only 1 to avoid going over 21.

* If you split a pair of Aces, and then draw a ten-valued card on one of the Aces, this is not a blackjack, but rather a    total of 21. The distinction is important, because a winning blackjack pays the player odds of 3 to 2. A bet of $10 wins    $15 if the player makes a blackjack. A player blackjack beats any dealer total other than a dealer's blackjack, including   a dealer's regular 21. If both a player and the dealer make blackjack, the hand is a tie or push.

* A good example of a doubling down is when you hold a total of 11 (a 5, 6 or a 9, 2) against a dealer's upcard of 6. In   this case, you have a good chance of winning the hand by drawing one additional card, so you might as well increase your   bet in this advantageous situation. You have to place an additional bet next to the original bet. The dealer will deal one  additional card to your hand and you will not be able to take any more cards until the current round has ended.