Blackjack for the Atari 2600 is a video game simulation of the popular card game, blackjack. Players use the paddle controller to place bets of up to 25 chips from an initial stack of 200. The game presents an up card, and the player must decide whether to “hit” (accept another card) or stand. The goal is to break the bank by accumulating a total of 1,000 chips or risk being “busted” by losing everything.
However, there is a glitch in the game’s programming. When a player is selecting their options for the current hand by pressing left or right on the paddle controller, the amount of the player’s next bet is inadvertently modified. This occurs even though the bet amount is defined by a variable that should not be visible until the end of the hand. As a result, players need to be cautious when entering their bets at the start of each hand, making sure not to press the button carelessly to avoid wagering an unintended amount.
(Blackjack was one of the nine Atari 2600 launch game.)