Blackjack simulation

Should I really split 8-pair against 10?

Why should I hit 16 against 10?

Is counting really helps?

What is the expected return of side bet?

Seeing is believing. You can find all of this answer by yourself.

Usage

It is a simulation tool of blackjack implemented in c++. After compile, you can just run it.

If you want to see the detailed hand one by one, uncomment the MACRO VERBOSE defined in config.cpp

> g++ simulation.cpp
> ./a.out

Strategy

you have three 2-d array which are: hard, soft and split. The format is understandable as below:

int hard[22][11] = {
/*  Dealer  0        A       2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10
Player*/
/*0*/      {0,       0,      0,      0,      0,      0,      0,      0,      0,      0,      0}
/*1*/    , {0,       0,      0,      0,      0,      0,      0,      0,      0,      0,      0}
/*2*/    , {0,     HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*3*/    , {0,     HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*4*/    , {0,     HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*5*/    , {0,     HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*6*/    , {0,     HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*7*/    , {0,     HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*8*/    , {0,     HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*9*/    , {0,     HIT,    HIT,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*10*/   , {0,     HIT,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    HIT}
/*11*/   , {0,     D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H,    D_H}
/*12*/   , {0,     HIT,    HIT,    HIT,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*13*/   , {0,     HIT,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*14*/   , {0,     HIT,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*15*/   , {0,     HIT,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*16*/   , {0,     HIT,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT,    HIT}
/*17*/   , {0,   STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND}
/*18*/   , {0,   STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND}
/*19*/   , {0,   STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND}
/*20*/   , {0,   STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND}
/*21*/   , {0,   STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND,  STAND}
};

You can change any strategy you want and see the expected return(or house edge).

Rules

1.Dealer hit on soft 17.(You can modify it on DealerStrategy.h)

2.Nun of decks is assigned in BlackjackGame constructor.

3.Player can double after split.

4.Player can resplit to 4 hands(defined in config.cpp)

5.Player cannot hit split aces or resplit aces.

6.No surrender.

7.Blackjack pays defined in config.cpp

Counting

Your bet unit is assigned when declaring player. You can define the unit of betting with respect to the running count of the remaining deck.

int positive_count[20] = 
/* 0    1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9*/
{  1,   1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  5,  5,  5,  5, 
/*10   11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19*/
int negative_count[20] = 
/*  0   -1  -2  -3  -4  -5  -6  -7  -8  -9*/
{   1,   1,  1,  1,  1,  1,  1,  1,  1,  1, 
/*-10  -11 -12 -13 -14 -15 -16 -17 -18 -19*/
    1,   1,  1,  1,  1,  1,  1,  1,  1,  1};

Note: A positive count gives you about 0.5% advantage against dealer. So you normally raise your bet when the running count is 2 or higher.

Sidebet

Now I implemented the luckylucky sidebet. You can place your sidebet when declaring your player. It can be easily implemented by yourself of any blackjack sidebet.

Player p2(10, 5); // 10 dollar main bet and 5 dollar side bet