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[UK-21]

Doesn't repeat completely. Just becomes less random. MS claims the RNG is much better in Excel 2003 on.

Interesting. I prefix the RNG call with the" RANDOMIZE" function which. allegedly, then pulls the RN as a derivative of the date/time showing in the system clock. The RNG does come with a health warning though - that it shouldn't be used for security or encryption routines, as it is possible under certain circumstances to predict it. I'm using Excel 2013.

[Norm]

You should only call RANDOMIZE once. If you call it before every RNG call, you are destroying the RNG.

[UK-21]

You should only call RANDOMIZE once. If you call it before every RNG call, you are destroying the RNG.

I've got it inside a loop which continues to call a RN until it jumps out, so it will be called every time. Should I move it outside? Do you have details as to how it works in detail, as I've found precious little apart from advice to use it prior to the RN call.

[Norm]

Pull it out. Randomize is meant to intitialize the RNG. If you call it every time, the RNG has no function. You are basically using the clock, which is about the least random thing in a PC.

[UK-21]

Got it covered. Thanks.

[SiMi]

Hi, PE_Guy

Here's an article about the RNG in versions of Excel that gives you a sense of what you get with Microsoft products.

http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~bdm25/excel-rng.pdf

Here's the abstract from the paper:

"Microsoft attempted to implement the Wichmann–Hill RNG in Excel 2003 and failed; it didnot just produce numbers between zero and unity, it would also produce negative numbers.Microsoft issued a patch that allegedly fixed the problem so that the patched Excel 2003and Excel 2007 now implement the Wichmann–Hill RNG, as least according to Microsoft.We show that whatever RNG it is that Microsoft has implemented in these versions of Excel,it is not the Wichmann–Hill RNG. Microsoft has now failed twice to implement the dozenlines of code that define the Wichmann–Hill RNG.©"

MC Simulations require a strong RNG in order to produce reliable results. Norm's software is ideal for BJ sims: Casino Verite. I have written BJ MC and stats sims in Java for my own use and I use the Mersenne Twister for RNG. It is very fast and seems well-suited for MC sims:

http://www.math.sci.hiroshima-u.ac.j...at/MT/emt.html

Progressive systems simply cannot work. Probability is not intuitive for most people. As a recent business student/graduate (I'm guessing), you might enjoy the challenge of studying it on your own to understand why and how card counting works in theory. There are so many free resources. If your education included extensive math, Peter Griffin's book, "The Theory of BJ" will challenge and enlighten you.

AP Blackjack is fun and it's easy to get sucked into this world once you start. It's a fun journey and you've come to the right place to learn about it. Just be sure you're not a problem gambler before you go too far.

Best of luck to you!
SiMi