I think I found a serious flaw in most Counting Systems

[Skyler62]

Thank you Norm. I had never even heard of that book before.

I am kind of shocked now that it is referred to as "Generally considered the bible for serious blackjack players".

I currently have the following books. Some of these are much more valuable then others.

BJ BOOKS
Professional - Reference Michael Dalton
BJ Secrets - Stanford Wong
Knock Out BJ - Olaf Vancura & Ken Fuchs
Million Dollar BJ - Ken Uston
Perfect BJ System - Anon
Science of Casino BJ - N. Richard Werthammer
World's Greatest BJ Book - Lance Humble & Carl Cooper


I really enjoy Stanford Wong's book. I often skim through parts of it when I'm too tired to work on my software.

Let me just tell you my primary thought about the sims that I've seen.

They all tend to have only one orientation. They all tend to operate in just one way.

The user specifies a number of parameters. There are a great number of these. I have currently identified about 30. Very diverse kinds of things. But I see this website has a special section devoted to just identifying these parameters. I haven't had time yet. But I intend to visit that section. I am very confused about several of these options that seem to conflict with each other. But I need to stick to working on my software.

Some of them are:
"is DAS permitted",
"how many times may a player split pairs"
"is doubling on 9 permitted?"
"is doubling on T permitted?"
"is doubling on E permitted?"

Once the user specifies the values of all these parameters (as well as the number of rounds they want the sim to run), the sim begins to chug away and after running the specified number, it comes back and gives a result.

But there are so many other possible ways a sim can operate. Let me just specify a few.

Given a specific group of cards for the player and for the dealer and a specific count, find the best Action for each possible hand.
For example: If the player holds a 7,T or A5 or 9,6 and the Dlr has an up card of 7 or 8 and the TC is +3, run two million rounds and produce the results that show for each combination, how much money will be won or lost depending on whether the player Stands, Hits, Doubles, Splits, Surrenders, etc.

I think of this configuration as producing the best Actions to take.

I have a method of setting the count before any hands are played and then playing a round and then resetting the deck to contain that same TC and playing the round again - each time with a different Action. In this way, I can learn the best action to take under any of these circumstances.

Another config is similar except it looks for the best amount to wager under each condition.

Do you see where I'm going? I think these kinds of configs are very possible. But, unfortunately, most people seem to think a sim means just one thing. Run it given a specific count system and wagering system and just see what the result is in terms of money won or money lost.

Once all the hard work is done in producing a sim, it's not that difficult to make it do so many interesting things. It can produce a tremendous wealth of information.

[Norm]

Given a specific group of cards for the player and for the dealer and a specific count, find the best Action for each possible hand.
For example: If the player holds a 7,T or A5 or 9,6 and the Dlr has an up card of 7 or 8 and the TC is +3, run two million rounds and produce the results that show for each combination, how much money will be won or lost depending on whether the player Stands, Hits, Doubles, Splits, Surrenders, etc.

This can be done either with simulation or combinatorial analysis. CVData does this via simulation, with some CA -- but not in the manner that you think as that's too slow. It takes billions of hands that are relevant, which would be trillions in a normal counting sim.

Another config is similar except it looks for the best amount to wager under each condition.

For non-camouflage play, this is done after a sim as per Kelly Criterion. You will note in CVCX, you do not set any betting strategy before a sim. You can change the bets after a sim and instantly see changes in results. Or, change depth, rules, decks, bankroll, desired risk and instantly have it calculate the best bets without rerunning the sim. If you wish to use cover play, that still must be handled via separate sims.