bets and computers

[dude]

I have two questions for the group:

1. I am looking to spread 1-10 or 1-12 at an 8-deck game at $5 or $10 tables (hopefully drawing no heat for that), and I am looking on how to vary my bet based on the count. I haven't found any particularly illuminating tutorial on the Kelly Criterion or other betting strategies. Does anyone know any Internet sources or books that would help me with a multi-deck game? Or can anyone help me here?

2. I am currently coding a computer program that simulates my local casino perfectly. I want to test out different betting and playing strategies over a few million hands. I have written 200 lines of code so far, and I will need a few hundred more. Currently, the computer player and computer dealer play the same type of game (min. bet, no basic strategy, simply s17), and the computer has a 7.8 - 8.4% advantage over a few 100,000 hand simulations, which seems like the correct house advantage before basic strategy is incorporated. But it will take tens of hours of my time to perfect the program. Is this a worthwhile endevor? Or is there a free blackjack program that will allow me to simulate my local casino perfectly? I haven't found one yet. Thanks!

dude

 

[Abraham de Moivre]

1) Try spreading 1-16 or 1-20. Doubt if a 1-12 spread in an 8 deck game is worth minimum wage per hour. Even with a 1-10 spread, the standard deviation in 8 decks is huge. I assume you have about a $15,000 bankroll ready to commit to blackjack so you don't waste your time and go broke, right? No? Then you are wasting your time.

For the answers on "What do I bet?", "When do I bet?", "How much money do I need?", "Will I break the bank or go broke trying?", and other questions of this nature -- You need "Blackjack Attack: Playing the Pros Way" by Don Schlesinger. $19.95 is all it takes to find out what your bet spread should be, or how much per hour you are expected to win, and methods of insuring you do win.

2) The software you are writing has already been written. It is called CVSIM. It is not free, but then nothing worthwhile is ever free. You are wasting your time. There are unseen bugs you haven't considered that this software has already taken care of. For example, what are you using for your random number generator? Simply calling a random function supplied by your language isn't going to cut it. Over sims of several million hands, a bias will develop due to weaknesses in your RNG, possibly causing erroneous results. Plus, CVSIM will allow you to sim a wide array of games and rules.