Xblackjack is a MOTIF/OLIT based tool constructed to get you ready for the casino. It was inspired by a book called "Beat the Dealer" by Edward O. Thorp, Ph.D. of UCLA. A number of important statistics are maintained for display, and used by the program to implement Thorp's "Complete Point System" (high-low system). Beginners can learn a basic strategy which doesn't require counting. The best strategy employs a simple card counting technique which can be used to distinguish favorable situations. Avid players can learn to compute Thorp's high-low index, which takes the number of unseen cards into account. The index is used by the program to suggest a bet, indicate when you should buy insurance, and whether you should stand or hit, etc. You can test the strategy using a slider to control "autoplay mode". Pressing the message button below the playing area provides hints; the current count, index and strategy table are revealed. To build and run: vi Imakefile xmkmf make World xrdb -merge XBlackjack.ad xblackjack to install: make install install.man This version includes changes from GUX (Guy Renard) grenard@elrond.stg.trw.com, which make placing a bet under OLIT easier. I allows you to vary the number of decks and starting bankroll through resources (see XBlackjack.ad). It's hardcoded to play Reno rules; you can double down on 10 or 11 only, and dealer hits soft 17. In addition to incorporating the patches that appeared on export: xblackjack-2.0.patch1 xblackjack-2.0.patch2 this version includes some OLIT specific changes contributed by Guy Renard (grenard@elrond.stg.trw.com), which make the bet scale easier to use: "Now a person can see what they are about to bet before releasing the select button. I think the deal button is still useful since There is still no way to simply click on the slider and get the default bet" (introduced in patch2). Most lint errors and warnings generated compiling under IRIX have been fixed in this version. Alain Brossard (brossard@siisun.epfl.ch) caught an XtAddCallback in AddCallbacks() that needed an additional NULL argument (client_data) to compile using gcc on a sun4. Please direct comments, suggestions, and patches to: --------------------- o --------------------------------------------- Kirk Erickson <( Silicon Graphics Inc., Mountain View, CA kirke@sgi.com [\. uunet!sgi!kirke