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I’m not going to go much deeper into the workings of poker here, but apparently royal flush is the best, which is ten, jack, queen, king and ace all in the same suit, then there’s straight flush, which is that again but not in the same suit, four of a kind, full house (three of a kind and a pair), then other flushes and straights, three of a kind, a pair or just the highest card if you’re both desperate. After that, either of you can call, meaning you’re willing to equal the amount the other has put in but not raise it further.Īssuming no one’s dropped out, you can then draw up to five cards to replace any of yours you don’t like the look of, and once you’ve both done that there’s a chance for one more round of betting before you show your grubby little hands then the winner takes it all. If you think you’ve got a better hand or you want to try and bluff her into dropping out without losing any more cash, you can raise your bet, from $5 to a maximum of $25, and each player can do that twice in a round. Choosing to bet lets you put more money into the pot for her to match or drop out, which is your third option at the outset.

However, if she’s already made a bet or raised yours you can’t stay. Stay means do nothing for now and see what Maria does, but if she does the same the hand will get dealt again at the cost of another $5. You then get dealt your five cards, displayed at the bottom of the screen, together with some options. The turn of a card can make the dream come true.” And I refer you to the images you can see all over this page so you can make your own mind about that if you’re not playing the Atari ST version! By the way, credit to the wonderful Atari Mania for the box scan.Īs I know nothing about playing poker, it’s probably worth referring to the instructions next! Right, at the beginning of each hand you have to make a bet of $5, which is done automatically from your initial pot of $100, the same as Maria’s pot. If you can keep your cool and take your chances boldly, your screen will sizzle as MARIA reveals the stunning charms and beauty that have made MARIA a household name and a dream girl of millions across the five continents. Do not let her looks and guile fool you into making rash bets or you will lose all you stand in before you can say MARIA WHITTAKER.

MARIA WHITTAKER invites you to take your seat, clean your screen and settle down to pit your wits and skill against her wiles and charm.

I don’t have the original Spectrum box to hand, but the back of the Atari ST box will probably do… “STRIP POKER has never had such a glamorous challenger. We’re going to leave Suzi and Melissa (although other opponents were also available on expansion disks) and turn our attention back to Maria now. This was a sequel to Strip Poker: A Sizzling Game of Chance by Artworx, which I don’t think ever came to the Spectrum, and likewise their own sequel, Strip Poker II: A Sizzling Game of Chance. Anco already had a bit of form with strip poker games, having previously released Strip Poker II on absolutely everything (right down to Commodore 16) a few months earlier. She eventually got a game of her very own in time for Christmas 1988, Maria’s Christmas Box by Anco Software, who, just a year later, would go on to release my second favourite game of all time, Kick Off on Atari ST! Actually, I think the Spectrum versions of both were done by the same guy, John Mitchell, but we’ll come back to other versions later. Before long, she was the working man’s darling, up there with the likes of Sam Fox and Linda Lusardi, but for us gamers of a certain age she will forever be the, er, face of Palace Software’s fantastic 1987 sword-wielding fighter Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, as well as its 1988 sequel Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax, alongside Wolf from Gladiators. The Maria in question – the one with the Christmas Box – is, of course, English glamour model Maria Whittaker, who shot to fame in the more innocent times of 1985, when her all-natural sixteen year-old 36DD charms were first plastered all over The Sun newspaper. Yeah, I know, if I was that desperate to discover a Spectrum Christmas game I could have picked Special Delivery (which I am quite fond of) or The Official Father Christmas or even Merry Xmas Santa, but a festive strip poker game starring my favourite hottie has got to be way more fun, right? No question, but in case you’re a bit worried about sensitive content, no need – I’ve got no idea about playing cards so she won’t be going that far! And as you’ve probably already noticed, it’s hardly the Amiga version anyway… We’ll come back to all of that later though, but while I will be keeping everything strictly PG, you could always check out our look at Moley Christmas, starring none other than the great Monty Mole, if you are concerned that things might get a bit too fruity!
