Game:

Casino Kid (1989)

Duration: 37:31

3,197 views

24

- Played on original NES console, front loader.
- Uses RNG manipulation (for first few opponents, at least).
- SDA timing; starts on gaining character control, ends on confirming King's final text box.

Casino Kid is back with huge improvements! My original speedrun time was 44 minutes flat (on emulator). That was over a year ago. Since then, I've overhauled the route, added manipulations, and upped the risk. =D

A 35 minute run time is about par for the route. Sub-33 minutes is realistically achievable, but the time can go as low as 30 minutes with crazy luck. Completion percentage for this route is pretty abysmal -- less than 3% or something? So yeah, it's pretty random.

If you're not familiar with the game, it's 5 card draw poker and blackjack. You have to play a certain number of hands against an opponent (10 for blackjack, 9 for poker) before you can go 'all in'. If you wipe out all the opponents, you get to challenge the KING OF CASINO! Good luck, chump.

Keep in mind, there may be some notes on my old run that I don't mention here. Link: https://youtu.be/w0b8qoYcWYU


SHUFFLE MANIPULATION

The start of the run is mostly explained in the notes of my 'Poor Lisa' video: https://youtu.be/u6yEP9aVUPY

Basically you can start the game on the first possible frame from power on and arrive at Lisa's table on a specific frame. The 'talk' action is sync'd with sprite animation, so you only need to time it within 0.25 seconds. Instead of relying on walk timing, I generally time it to the music, just in case my walking goes awry... hence the brief pause in front of Lisa's table.

What happens after Lisa is slightly more complicated. I have plenty of time to get to Martha for the next manipulated shuffle, so I take a detour. My intention is to stop Lloyd from walking down so he doesn't block me on my way out. If I take too long to beat Lisa, the first NPC will get in my way and throw off the timing. If that happens, I can time it manually, but it's not a sure thing.

How can I 'take too long' to beat Lisa? During blackjack, I can hold a button to move through dialog boxes with zero delay. However, if I have to make a menu selection, I must first release the button before the cursor appears. If I'm caught holding the button, there will be a delay. I have to properly time this button action in order to reduce the number of frames lost.

As I approach Martha's table, I have to make a quick turn and talk in order to hit on the right cycle. This will give me a favorable shuffle. An ideal shuffle would allow me to beat her before the reshuffle. It's possible to get a shuffle like that, but I can't seem to manipulate it. Instead, the shuffle I get will allow me to fold all the hands with little delay and still gain money. That's just the first part.

If I'm consistent with my inputs during the first 8 hands, I can manipulate the second shuffle. I can't be perfect enough to get the same shuffle every time, but I can be good enough to get one of about a half dozen shuffles that are beatable. If I mess up the timing, I'll get a virtually random shuffle (not truly random because of the limited RNG). The aim is to get past the first four opponents without facing true randomness.


POKER MANIPULATION

The manipulations for poker are similar to the above. Since a shuffle occurs for every deal, you're looking at a series of shuffles. Also, because of the limited RNG, there are a lot of similar patterns that can appear. It can look pretty silly at times. If you do get a known series of shuffles, the opponent reactions will be the same, as well as bet amounts and arbitrary folds.

NPC walk patterns can affect when I'm able talk to an opponent, so that could change the shuffles. However, if I do things correctly up to this point, I can limit the number of possible shuffles on Joseph. If I mess up inputs on the hands leading up to the final showdown, I botch the manipulation and the rest is essentially random.

The shuffle possibilities on Joseph make him quite trivial. Stephen, on the other hand, is annoying. He could be the hardest opponent to win a showdown hand against, but there are a few tricks. Out of a half dozen possibilities on Stephen, most of the showdown hands are no-contest. He'll draw a strong two pair or 3-of-a-kind and demolish me. If I see it coming, I'll intentionally delay my input to muck the RNG. It seems like the amount of delay affects the deal (or that could just be superstition at this point).

If you find yourself asking whether I won a hand by manipulation or pure luck, welcome to Casino Kid! But seriously, as a rule, I will always disclose if I'm facing a known shuffle. It's not unheard of to get a known shuffle against later opponents, but it's hardly worth memorizing hundreds of shuffles over.


ROUTE NOTES

http://pastebin.com/3bTgQ3Tx


RUN NOTES

http://pastebin.com/ufEbxGqL

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