Introduction

bjt is a text-mode Blackjack game that is designed to help you become a better player. It can make recommendations to you ("hit", "stand", etc.), and it also keep win/lose statistics for when you choose the recommended action and when you don't. The recommended actions may not always be intuitively obvious, so I thought it would be a good idea to keep the statistics as a way of proving that you are actually better off with the recommended actions. The more hands you play, the more you will find that the recommended actions are actually better than your "gut instincts".

Game Parameters

The game parameters are:

6 decks
dealer stands on all 17s
splitting allowed (once)
double any 2 cards
double after split allowed
no insurance
no surrender

Recommended Actions

Others have done probability analysis to determine the recommended course of action in each situation, given the above game parameters. The recommended actions are summarized in the following tables.

Note:

Soft totals include an Ace (which can count as 1 or 11)
Hard totals do not include an Ace
H means hit
D means double down if allowed, otherwise hit
S means stand
Ds means double-down if allowed, otherwise stand

=== Pair Splitting ================================
Split when the following patterns match:
You   : Dealer
---------------------------
A,A   : *
8.8   : *
2,2   : 2-7
3,3   : 2-7
7,7   : 2-7
6,6   : 2-6
9,9   : 2-6
4,4   : 5-6
9,9   : 8-9
=== Soft Totals ===================================
You   : Dealer : Action
-----------------------
A,9   : *      : S
A,8   : *      : S
A,7   : 2      : S
      : 3-6    : Ds
      : 7-8    : S
A,6   : 3-6    : D
A,5   : 4-6    : D
A,4   : 4-6    : D
A,3   : 5-6    : D
A,2   : 5-6    : D
=== Soft Totals ===================================
Default action is "Hit".
You   : Dealer : Action
-----------------------
A,9   : *      : S
A,8   : *      : S
A,7   : 2      : S
      : 3-6    : Ds
      : 7-8    : S
A,6   : 3-6    : D
A,5   : 4-6    : D
A,4   : 4-6    : D
A,3   : 5-6    : D
A,2   : 5-6    : D
=== Hard Totals ===================================
Default action is "Hit".
You   : Dealer : Action
-----------------------
17    : *      : S
13-16 : <= 6   : S
12    : 4-6    : S
11    : < A    : D
10    : < T    : D
9     : 3-6    : D
2-8   : *      : H

Instructions

The key commands are shown when you start the game. Start it up and become a Blackjack expert ! If you follow the tables the house will only have a very slight edge against you (about 0.44%). After you've got the tables down pat, it's time for the next step: simple forms of card counting! Card counting is the only way to turn the odds in your favour.