          Sage Video Poker Simulator (shareware) Version 1.0

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                    Copyright (c) 1997 by Sage Software.
                            All Rights Reserved.

Sage Software
P.O. Box 7223
Huntsville, AL 35807
(205) 830-9364


About Your Sage Video Poker User's Guide

   This manual is only one part of Sage Video Poker's documentation 
   set. The second is the Online Help system.

   This manual is arranged as follows:

   o "About Your Sage Video Poker User's Guide"
      An overview of this manual

   o "System Requirements"
      A list of system requirements.

   o "Installation Procedures"
      Instructions for setting up Sage Video Poker Simulator on your 
      computer.

   o "Online Help"
      Instructions on how to use online Help to find information about 
      tasks and features.

   o "Start Playing"
      Instructions on how to start playing Sage Video Poker Simulator.

   o "Rules of the Game"
      A description of the rules of video poker.


System Requirements

  The minimum software and hardware requirements your computer system needs
  to run Sage Video Poker Simulator successfully are shown in the following 
  list.

  o Windows version 3.1 or later. This program should run with all Windows
    based operating systems including Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, 
    and Windows 95.

  o 1.2 megabyte (MB) of free disk space.

Installation Procedures

  Installing Sage Video Poker Simulator on your computer is simple. To 
  install, follow these steps:

  1. Start the Windows application and select the Program Manager.

  2. Select the run entry from the File menu item.

  3. Insert the Sage Video Poker Simulator disk into the disk drive.

  4. Keyin the letter of the drive that you inserted the disk into followed
     by ":\setup" in the command line field. For example, if the disk is in
     drive "a" you would type:

     a:\setup

     Next, select the OK button on the dialog box. This will cause Sage
     Video Poker Simulator's setup executable to start running.

  5. The setup executable will display a dialog box with a default 
     directory specified in the field. If you want to install the files in 
     another directory, key it in in this field.

  6. Select the Install button on the dialog box and the files will be
     installed. If the specified directory does not exist, it will be 
     created for you.

  7. If no errors have occurred during installation, a dialog box claiming
     successful completion will be displayed when all files have been 
     copied and expanded.

   If the installation was successful, a Sage program group will be created 
   in the Program Manager. This will contain the Sage Video Poker program 
   item. When you double click on this, Sage Video Poker Simulator will 
   begin execution.

Online Help

   Sage Video Poker Simulator's Online Help can be accessed in two different 
   ways once it is running:

   By selecting the Help entry under the Help menu item.
   By selecting the F1 key from the keyboard.

   The Online Help contains information that explains all aspects of this 
   game and describes how to use all its functionality. This should be the 
   user's main source of help.

   Once the Help window is displayed, the buttons near the top help you find
   the information you need. The Contents button displays a list of Help
   topics that Sage Video Poker Simulator provides. The Search button 
   displays a dialog box where you specify a topic to search for. The Back 
   button displays the previously viewed topic. The History button displays 
   a chronological list of all Help topics viewed during your current game
   session.

   If you need to learn how to use Help, press the F1 key on the keyboard
   while the Help window is open.

Start Playing

   Once Sage Video Poker Simulator is installed, start the game by double 
   clicking the left mouse button on the Sage Video Poker program item that 
   was created by the setup executable. After doing this, Sage Video Poker
   Simulator will begin execution by displaying the introduction screen.
   This introduction will show you various poker hands and display the
   types of poker hands that they represent. To stop this introduction and
   go to the main video poker screen simply click the left mouse button.

   Before starting to play you should set the game that you want to play. 
   The default game set is a Draw Poker game with a fairly standard 
   payout table. If you want to change the default game in any way, select 
   the Game Definition option under the Game menu item. This will display 
   the Game Definition dialog box where all parameters controlling the game 
   can be changed.

   Once all the game parameters are set you are ready to make your first 
   bet to start the game. If you want to make the maximum bet, select the 
   BET MAX button. If you want to make a smaller bet, select the BET ONE 
   button once for each credit that you want to bet. When the bet is 
   placed, the column representing the payouts for the selected bet on the 
   payout table will highlight in red and the number of credits allocated 
   to you will be decremented by the size bet placed.

   If you have made the maximum bet (5 credits) you will automatically be 
   dealt the first five cards. If not, select the DEAL/DRAW button.

   After the initial five cards are dealt, you must determine which cards 
   you want to hold and which cards you want to discard. To hold a card, 
   select the HOLD/CANCEL button under it. The word HOLD should appear 
   directly above the card. If you change your mind and decide to discard 
   the card, select the HOLD/CANCEL button again and the word HOLD should 
   disappear. If you are dealt a good hand and want to hold all the cards, 
   you must select the HOLD/CANCEL button for each of the five cards. 

   Once you have selected the cards that you want to hold, select the 
   DEAL/DRAW button. This will cause the cards that weren`t held to be 
   replaced with new cards from the deck. Even if all cards are held, the 
   DEAL/DRAW button needs to be selected in order for your final hand to be 
   analyzed and paid off if necessary.

   After the last cards have been dealt, the computer analyzes the final 
   hand to find out what, if any, payout it has earned. If it has in fact 
   earned a payout, the type of hand along with its payout are displayed on 
   the screen and your credits are incremented by the appropriate amount. 
   At this time the round is over and the computer awaits your next bet to 
   repeat the process. 

Rules of the Game

   The video poker machine is based on the Five Card Draw poker game. The 
   object of the game is to get a hand that offers the highest payout 
   possible. Different hand types offer different payouts. These payouts 
   are loosely based on the probability of getting the hand. Generally, 
   the rarer the hand is, the higher its payout will be. The payout table 
   which shows the payout for each type of hand is displayed at the top of 
   the video poker screen.

   Here is a list of the different types of poker hands ordered from 
   highest to lowest:

   Royal Flush - A, K, Q, J, 10 all of the same suit.
   Straight Flush - Any five card sequence in the same suit. 
                    (Ex: 8, 9, 10, J, Q and A, 2, 3, 4, 5 of same suit).
   Four of a Kind - All four cards of the same index (Ex: K, K, K, K).
   Full House - Three of a kind combined with a pair (Ex: A, A, A, 5, 5).
   Flush - Any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence.
   Straight - Five cards in sequence, but not in the same suit.
   Three of a Kind - Three cards of the same index.
   Two Pair - Two separate pairs (Ex: 4, 4, Q, Q).
   Pair - Two cards of the same index.

   To begin each round of play the player must make a bet. This bet is 
   taken from the number of credits allocated to the player. After the bet 
   is made, five cards are dealt to the player and are shown on the screen. 
   The player then has the option of holding or discarding as many of these 
   cards as he wants. The cards that he discards are then replaced with new 
   cards from the deck. This new hand represents the player`s final hand. 
   If the hand is good enough to be one of the payout hands, the number of 
   credits allocated to the player will immediately be incremented by the 
   amount specified in the payout table. At this time the machine is 
   waiting for the player to place his next bet to start the process over.


  You are welcome to visit our WEB site at: 
			http://www.best.com/~mcintyre/sage/
