Ultimate Blackjack [Moddable for custom text]

[ShadesofBlack]

Keelah Salai! That first person view as a pred... mmm, that got my mouth watering.

The dialog, and the play back and forth really builds the anticipation, to whichever end happens.

[Schpadoinkle]

35%?

Try every time.

I just played a game. First four hands were a 14, 13, 12, and 12.

I drew, in order, a Jack, 10, King and Jack.

This is INSANELY unfun.

[Bright]

Did you pay 50 dollars per image then?

[Journeyman]

BloodyMarie, I'm glad you had fun! Thanks for playing
ShadesofBlack, hehehehe. That was the main motivation for doing first-person; the opportunity to use programming get some interesting animation and perspective going on there. Glad you liked!

Schpadoinkle, I promise it's completely evenly distributed randomization. But the scenario you're describing is statistically probable. On a hard 12-16, the mathematically optimal move is often to Stand. You'll definitely lose sometimes; it's not like standing on 12 will suddenly turn to a winner. But the thing to remember is that the dealer has the exact same challenge as you. Just as you bust frequently when you have a 12-16, the dealer does too. But the rules of blackjack state that the player plays first, and the game ends on a bust, so if you bust, you'll never see the dealer bust. There's a slightly complicated twist, as well--based on the dealer's Up card, you may wish to make alternate choices. I think I might have to make a blog post about it, because blackjack can seem to be really lopsided if you don't play with a consideration for the dealer's odds.

Bright, correct! That is TheBigBrap's normal commission rate, so I felt I should respect it!

[Schpadoinkle]

I've actually tried that. And every time I've stood on a low number the dealer will pull out statistically improbable cards to secure a win.

Not only that, their result will often be one more than my cards about 80% of the time.

[Humbug]

At some point, I suppose I should do a write-up on winning at Blackjack, and I should probably point out how I made this game more winnable than it is in Vegas... ;D

Yeah. I was kicking some serious ass until I hit a real unlucky streak. It really wasn't that difficult to get her down to $50 left, but then when I just got unlucky repeatedly and she hit $300 again, I decided to throw in the towel and see the lose condition.

And then when I tried to refresh the game, it crashed and won't re-open, even after I've redownloaded it. God dammit. XD

[Journeyman]

Schpadoinkle, ahh, then you get to see the rare "closeWin" and "closeLoss" images and dialogue!!! It's...it's like winning!!! ;D
Ok, ok. I'll get to work on explaining strategy. There's some things that you can do to crush teh machine.

(And future blackjack game has some interesting mechanics you'll like)

Humbug Woah! Really? Could you send me a PM? I'll explain how to fix it (and I'd like to get some info on what happened!) =)

[Heretic01]

This is pretty awesome. But $750 awesome? I think you got gipped.

[Schpadoinkle]

Schpadoinkle, ahh, then you get to see the rare "closeWin" and "closeLoss" images and dialogue!!! It's...it's like winning!!! ;D
Ok, ok. I'll get to work on explaining strategy. There's some things that you can do to crush teh machine.

(And future blackjack game has some interesting mechanics you'll like)

I did? Cause I didn't see anything different. I just saw myself getting utterly crushed 18/20 games.

I wasn't expecting to win every hand or even every game, but to bust on low hands and to lose hands by one point nearly 90% of the time? Either I'm INCREDIBLY unlucky, or the game's RNG is broken.

[scottypilgrim]

Hahaha Who knew I'd hear all these typical stories on eka's of all places. Being a professional blackjack dealer sure does get me to hear this same old song and dance! It's just the house edge thanks to the fact that you have to go before they do. You might bust and they might not even have good cards! Otherwise it's just a poor luck and a bad run, don't buy any lotto tickets tonight! Also the one thing I did notice that is wrong with the game. When the dealer hit's blackjack it is made known immediately. You aren't allowed to split or double or add to your bet if the Dealer already got the 21. Just something I thought I'd mention.

[player1]

well, raven's blackjack game be gud. i just have a tiny problem when she busts and win, the thing is she doesn't loose money so it makes it kinda harder

[Journeyman]

Heretic01, glad you like it! We'll see on the $--if everyone loves the game...money well spent
scottypilgrim, Hahahahaha, wow. Seriously? I never even considered some folks on here might be blackjack dealers! That's funny! M-maybe I shouldn't reveal all the ways to cheat the game... You caught one interesting decision thing there, though. I'd been considering which rules variants to build in, and I went with the European No-Hole Card Original Bets Only rules instead of the American rules where the hole card is checked. Was supposed to make it a teensy bit trickier! I actually wrote in a toggle for playing hole-cards/no-hole...but can't remember if I programmed the rest of the game to work with hole cards. For the next Blackjack game, which is supposed to have 3 dealers, I'll have to fix that because I intend to offer several variants!! Good catch there

player1, Hm, could you explain more about the circumstance where Raven is not losing money? When she busts, she seems to be losing money for me:

Spoiler: show

[vore2412]

Well, I wish real-life blackjack was this easy, taking the rules I know from there and converting it into a quick dinner makes this game EASY to win. After winning twice (doubling down way too often on the second one to try and lose, but hitting or having dealer bust many times) I finally started doubling on hard twenty's for the third go-around resulting in a very satisfied college student.

[Bright]

Well, you got 5 dollars from me now.

[player1]

player1, Hm, could you explain more about the circumstance where Raven is not losing money? When she busts, she seems to be losing money for me:

Spoiler: show

[ http://stormingleech.com/images/capture-1.gif ]

Ill explain it as detailled as possible:

I play with a rappid rhythm, always on a 50$ bet. When i get 21 and she busts i can see my cash raising but not hers shrinking and i got to verify that when i end up with 650 bucks and raven.. 600. This is obviously a glitch somewhere about money since we both start at 500 bucks each.

[Shadowlyger]

Blackjacks pay 3:2, says it right there in the game. Apparently the extra is not actually subtracted from her money.

[puffaliaz]

Very well done game (though it is difficult)

For those (like me) who don't have a billion years of training and experience in blackjack... this helped me win eventually: http://www.bet21.co.za/images/chart.gif

[Humbug]

Problem from earlier fixed. Just making that fact public.

A sign of a good game is that, while the ending is fun, the gameplay itself is what keeps you drawn in. The faces, poses, and dialogue are a lot of fun; I'd say moreso than the end-game stuff. Nice job on this. It's simple, but that's a lot of its charm.

[Journeyman]

player1, Shadowlyger, ahhhh, you guys are right. The extra winnings from the blackjack payout are not subtracted from the other player. This is a mistake! I intended to not allow the dealer to win 3:2 from the player, and for the player to win 3:2 from the dealer. I'll fix that later, and when I do, I will mention it in the main post.

Humbug, thank you! It really means a lot to hear that; it's what I hoped people would enjoy in this game!

puffaliaz, thanks! Hahaha, awesome I used a chart very similar to that to practice! I wonder...I actually built this into the game and later turned it off. There's a training mode that suggests which action you should take based on the situation using a chart like that. I ended up turning it off because I worried that peopl might get mad if they followed the advice and still lost. Maybe I should turn that back on in there... XD

[Schpadoinkle]

Well thanks to that chart I'm actually winning. Well that and my luck might be turning around since I mostly did what that chart said to begin with...

Regardless, loving the images and dialogue! Kinda wish there was a face first swallow sequence as well, but it's pretty hot the way it is~