About BlackJack 101

Version 1.0.1

Practice Screen

The practice screen is where the action is. Here you are dealt hands and must choose the correct action. There are five possible actions:

Actions

*Splitting
After splitting pairs in a real game of Blackjack the player would play out each hand individually. In Blackjack 101, after the player correctly chooses to split a new hand is dealt. (If the player incorrectly chooses to split, the split button is disabled and player is prompted to try again.)

*Insurance
By taking insurance the player is essentially making a side bet that the dealer has a blackjack. In basic strategy taking insurance is never a good bet, so this option is always wrong. (In future versions of the app, when card counting has been incorporated into the game, taking insurance will sometimes be a correct choice.)

Practice Modes

There are 3 practice modes:

Stats

Keeps track of basic statistics: (hands played, choices made, errors made, percentage of correct choices). Reset button sets all stats to 0.

Strategy Card Screen

Rules Screen

This screen lets you modify game rules. After modifying the rules the strategy card will be updated to reflect the modifications to basic strategy.

Decks

The number of decks in the shoe affects the basic strategy. Fewer decks is more advantageous for the player, but most Vegas games with one deck alter other rules to eliminate any increase in odds.

Dealer Hits Soft 17

In normal Blackjack the dealer stands on 17 or higher, but when this rule is in effect the dealer will hit a 17 if it is soft (i.e. Ace + Six). This is a common Vegas Rule. It slightly decreases the player's odds.

Double on

Indicates when the player may double down. The options are never, only on 10 or 11, only on 9-11, or on any cards. (Of course, player may only double on the 1st 2 cards). There are many instances with soft hands where doubling is advantageous, so games which only allow doubling on 10/11 or 9/10/11 decrease the odds for the player.

Double after split

Indicates whether doubling down is allowed after splitting pairs. This doesn't affect the play in this training app, since splits are never played out, but it does affect the strategy for splitting pairs in some circumstances.

When surrender allowed

Indicates when the player is allowed to surrender. Can be either early, late, or never. Early surrender means you get the option to surrender before the dealer checks for blackjack. It is the most advantageous for the player. Late surrender is more common, it is less advantageous, but still better than no surrender.

Settings Screen

Orientation

Left Handed vs. Right Handed: You can choose how the practice screen is laid out, with the action buttons on the left or on the right. They are nearly mirror images of each other. I call one "left handed" and the other "right handed", but really it's just personal preference which works better for you.

Strategy Card Display Order

Affects ordering of the numbers in the row and column headings on the strategy card. I prefer the high to low ordering, but for some reason nearly all basic strategy charts you'll find in books and on the Internet will have the opposite ordering, so I added the ability to switch the order if you desire.

Display Feedback

Determines whether or not positive/negative feedback is displayed after each choice. If you don't care for the rah-rah feel of "Good Move!" and "Right On!" after each choice, turn this off. With the feedback the only cue that you made the right move will be the fact that a new card or hand is dealt after you make the choice.

Delay Between Hands

This control sets the number of seconds (0-4) after the player presses an action button before new card or hand is dealt.

Help Screen