Strategy MenuStrategy Menu
The Strategy menu contains all of the user specified options for assigning counting system, playing and betting strategies. This menu works in conjunction with the BBJ Tutor to assist the player in honing and refining blackjack skills. The strategies can be modified for each player by clicking the Player option button on the bottom of the Strategy menu. To save a strategy file to disk, click the Save button on the bottom of the folder. The file can be saved under any name except "default" since this is the BBJ default strategy file which is read-only. To load a previously saved strategy file, click the Load button and enter the file name.
Counting Strategy Tab is an advanced feature that allows the player to create a counting system to be used in computing the running count. The player can create their own counting system by entering tag values for each card type (ace through King). The player can assign any tag value number (any integer, but usually +1, 0, or -1) to a given card value. Simply enter the tag value in the appropriate field below the card value. The player can also enter a value for the Initial Running Count which tells the counting system where to begin counting following a shuffle. A name can be assigned to the Counting Strategy by inputting text (up to 15 characters) in the Counting Strategy Name text box. They type of Count Calculation used, either a Running Count or a True Count (which equals the Running Count divided by the number of half decks remaining to be played) calculation can be used for each player.
Playing Strategy Tab allows the player to set Basic and Custom playing strategies which drives the moves of all computer players, and the BBJ Tutor for human players. Basic Strategy is used as the default playing strategy. BBJ comes pre-loaded with 3 game strategies including Basic, Knock-Out Rookie ( an introductory version of the famous Knock-Out BlackJack System) and HiLo (one of the first counting systems ever developed). The Player card value combinations are listed in the first column while the dealer up-card values are listed across the first row. The player card values begin with all hard count hands (e.g 5 through 21), followed by soft-hands (Ace-2 through Ace-9) followed by split hands (2-2 through 10-10). The editor works just like a spreadsheet. To change a single value, select the cell (using the mouse) that corresponds with the desired player card and dealer up-card combination, and then click one of the 4 option buttons ("H" for hit, "S" for stand, "D" for double, and "P" for split). To change an entire row or column, click on the gray column or row header. To change a range of cells, user the mouse to select a single cell and then hold the mouse down while moving to the cell at the end of the range. To save the new values, click the Save Strategy As button and enter a file name. When saving a strategy file, the player must use the extension ".stg". To load a strategy, click the Strategy Name drop-down list, and select which strategy to use. If the player desires, the Optimize button will automatically create an optimized basic playing strategy based on the rules being used. To learn more about basic blackjack playing strategies or to find out what the proper strategy is for a given set of rule combinations visit http://www.blackjackinfo.com/ which contains an on-line strategy engine.
Playing Strategy Menu for Basic Strategy
To set a Custom playing strategy, click the Deviations option button in the Playing System box. To create a playing deviation for a set of cells, use the mouse to select the cells and then click the red Deviate button. A playing deviation menu will appear which allows the entry of a specific playing deviation when a particular count threshold is reached. For example, to add the modification of Double on 10 vs 10 when the count reaches 4 or greater, click the double button, the >= option button, and enter 4 in the count text box. When finished, click OK to save the playing strategy deviation. To clear a playing strategy deviation, click the Clear button. To invoke the custom moves for a particular player, click the Custom strategy option button for the given Player Playing Strategy near the bottom of the Playing Strategy tab. Note: the system will always use basic strategy moves for both basic and deviated playing strategy. If a player has selected custom Playing Strategy, the deviated move will only be used when the count threshold is reached, otherwise basic strategy is used.
Playing Strategy Deviation Menu
Betting Strategy Tab allows the player to assign unit wager amounts according to a given unit spread. Skilled blackjack players "spread" their unit bets so that higher amounts are wagered when the count is high, and lower amounts are wagered when the count is low or negative. The player can spread their bets across 10 count levels by inputting the count value and the associated unit bet value. For computer players, the unit multiplier is automatically calculated and placed. For human players, the game does not make the correct bet for you (since you won't be able to use a computer at a real blackjack table). Instead, the BBJ Tutor uses this information to provide a recommendation (by clicking the Recommendation Menu) or the BBJ Tutor can optionally alert the player if a betting mistake has been made. All betting errors are recorded in the Errors table for later review. Highly skilled blackjack players have an error rate of less than 1% (for betting and playing strategy). Insurance Strategy can be set for each player to either Never Insure or Insure when a given count level is reached.
