- Jun 25, 2017
- 2,556
- 7,346
There have been reviews written and forum posts made about how the game play is written. Just for the record:
So there!
- This game uses standard "deck shuffling." Meaning: there is a fixed deck, the order of the cards within the deck is randomly determined before each hand begins, and then the game just deals off the top of the deck, exactly as would happen in a real-life game. So, the probability of you getting Card X is NOT altered by your current score, other than the fact that if you are dealt a "2", there's now one fewer "2" in the deck.
- Yes, the player always goes first. Just like the player always goes first (and the dealer last) in casino blackjack. The NPC is the "house" in this game.
- Yes, that fact conveys a small mathematical advantage to the NPC. However, unlike casino blackjack where the hit/stand rules are cast in concrete, the NPC is also configured to have a finite probability of making a "poor" play in some situations. Meaning, "standing" when the optimum play is to "hit," or "hitting" when the optimum choice is to "stand." As a result, if the player plays intelligently, the advantage is actually with the player, not the NPC.
- No, it's not a huge advantage, but it is mathematically there.
- No, the NPC's decision-making is not in any way based on the player's score. The NPC doesn't actually "see" the player's score until the "showdown" at the end of the hand, even though the game graphics don't really make that clear. The probability of the NPC hitting or standing is based solely on her own score, and the NPC doesn't "count cards."
So there!
