The Hardware

As promised, the hardware for One Chip Video Poker is very simple.

Part	#	Value	Comments
U1	1	PIC 16F628 (works with F628A, according to readers, though there may be programming conflicts with the fuses.)	The brains of the outfit
LCD1	1	20 x 4 Character w/ HD 44780 or compatible controller	The looks
R1	1	10K resistor	Pullup for U1's RA4 pin
R2	1	10K potentiometer	LCD contrast adjust
C1	1	0.1 μF ceramic capacitor	Power decoupler, put near power / ground pins of U1
S0-S7	8	Momentary contact, normally-open pushbutton switch	Player input

But Wait...

The parts list doesn't include whatever parts you'll need to get a good solid 5V power supply. The power demands of this circuit are pretty minimal; a 78L05 should work fine. I've run it with a 7805, which is overkill; those can push 1.5 amps and the requirement from this circuit is nowhere near that, though I haven't measured what it actually is. I've also used a MAX667 from Maxim, which is a superb choice for a battery-powered version because its “overhead” in terms of dropout and current consumption are very low.

Schematic, HEX, and sources

	Schematic in .PNG format.
Hex file	Burn-n-go.
Source ZIP	For the game only (Includes Hex file). If you're interested in sources for the unit tests, let me know.
	This is my breadboarded version (click thumbnail for larger image). The actual One Chip Poker circuit is entirely on the white breadboard at the bottom of the image, except for the LCD and its contrast-adjust potentiometer.