I just received The Worlds Greatest Blackjack Simulation for KO, and for the life of me, I cant understand all those numbers. Math and % have never been my strong point, but I know there is very valuable information on sims of different conditions. This may sound like a goof, but it isn't, and I hope someone will break this information down in terms that I can understand.
Cliff
There are 27 pages of explanations!!
Don
In my opinion.
In my opinion. I would also say that your book of simulations for each count is also a needed quick and detailed study of almost every usual game.
For what it's worth, I find the 5.0 version of SBA to be very user-friendly. The 5.5 version should be at least as easy to use. And when SBA is on a par in that respect with PBA, one is only left with simulation performance to compare. Needless to say which program is ahead there, despite some unique features in PBA.
This just in : Norm Wattenberger is working on a new, improved version of CVSim. Testing so far looks very promising! The realism is so advanced, there's even a feature of how to play when scrutinized by FRS.
PBA is done with its bug testing and is in its more stable final version and doesn't need new revisions. SBA appears to be still a work in progress with new versions needed which may take years, who knows? Speed without accuracy is not any help. PBA also uses some very reliable data from Schlesinger's Blackjack Attack. No doubt in my mind that I would only rely on PBA results when my money is at stake. Just my opinion.
I would also strongly recommend Auston's simulation series for various counts as that book gives a wealth of needed info from results of simulations for just about every game and condition found in most casinos. All that one needs in most cases.
"PBA also uses some very reliable data from Schlesinger's Blackjack Attack."
Um, care to hazard a guess as to what software was used to develop a lot of that "very reliable data?"
"I would also strongly recommend Auston's simulation series for various counts as that book gives a wealth of needed info from results of simulations for just about every game and condition found in most casinos."
Care to guess what simulator was used to produce these?
HInt: The answer is the same for both questions.
SBA may have a fairly steep learning curve, but it has rapidly become the de facto standard in simulation software. It was used for both of the above projects.
PBA is a solid program, but it has not been updated in years, and is, quite frankly, showing it's age.
"PBA also uses some very reliable data from Schlesinger's Blackjack Attack."
I don't know of data from BJA in the Professional Blackjack Analyser (PBA). Are you perhaps confusing PBA with BJRM and the prepackaged simulations results in BJA which were used in the One-Second Simulator?
"SBA appears to be still a work in progress with new versions needed which may take years, who knows?"
My recollection is that an earlier version of SBA (prior to SBA 3.0 I think) was used to get the data in Chapter 10 of BJA. The results are sound. Continued improvements and new releases usually mean new functionality and/or other improvements. I don't think it is correct to suggest major flaws in the current or earlier versions.
I agree with Cyrus here although I guess user-friendly depends on the particular user.
when you say "I guess user-friendly depends on the particular user."
"SBA may have a fairly steep learning curve," I would agree.
Just doing regular sims is not all that difficult. You do have to go to three different menus to specify options for rules, betting, etc. But it is not difficult to figure out. The SBA reports are pretty easy to understand.
Figuring out how to do special things, such as dividing a shoe into segments with different Wong out counts for each, or setting it up to run RA indeces, or understanding the SBA calculator. Those things are a bit tougher. But then, these are options you are not likely to even find on some programs.
SBA appears to be still a work in progress with new versions needed which may take years, who knows?
Non-sense. By no means is SBA work in progress.
I would also strongly recommend Auston's simulation series for various counts as that book gives a wealth of needed info from results of simulations for just about every game and condition found in most casinos.
Ha, ha, ha. Who are you, "Informed Customer"? If there is any simulation error in SBA, then the same error is is BJRM simulation series! All those simulations were run with SBA.
More explanation for other readers reading this:
I dare to speculate that I know who this "Informed Customer" is -- looks like this is my recent "problem guy". I spent around 45 minutes on the phone trying to help this guy to install recently purchased and downloaded SBA 5.5. It looks like his Windows 98 was partially corrupted and due to reinstallation, which occasionally does happen especially with the 95 and 98 versions of Windows. After some effort on my side SBA seemed to have been installed.
The second day I got an e-mail from this guy blaming me that my SBA ruined his other files and similar garbage. From his e-mail it seems that SBA did not run after all, apparently due to some problem with Windows 98, although he first claimed that he got "erroneous results" from SBA simulations. After I wanted to check the results and simulation setting, subsequent e-mails have implied that he could not run SBA and could not get any results.
This guy even threatened me with some legal action. Very funny indeed, in some sense. But very sad in another sense, I feel sorry for him. I am glad that this has been the only and I hope that this is the last case like this in SBA history.
Best regards,
Karel
I think in my original post I didnt mention that it is the book by Auston that Im not understanding. NOT the software.
Cliff
How fortunate that you and all your work are a monument to human perfection.
You really, really need to buy a copy of Blackjack Attack, which is a book written by Don Schlesinger (and may be ordered from this website).
Chapter 10 of Blackjack Attack is entitled, "The World's Greatest Blackjack Simulation," and was produced with help from, guess who, John Auston.
John subsequently published a set of books entitiled The World's Greatedst Blackjack Simulation, with a different edition for each counting system. These are actually just an expanded version of Chapter 10 of BJA, specific to each counting system.
What is not included in these books is the 27 pages of "explanation and analysis" of the simulations that is part of Chapter 10.
If you read the Foreward by Don Schlesinger on page 2 of your copy of WGBS, it explains all of this.
Get Blackjack Attack. You won't regret it. Trust me on this one.
I didn't think I would have to go online to respond to your references. It appears I am not alone. Yours is my first simulator. In my opinion, a disaster. I do not know what you included in your download to me or what you claim you sent to others. In my case I received a nightmare. I spent at least 8 hours trying to even get it to load properly. I called you 4 times and emailed you 3 times to finally arrange a time to speak with you. I spent 45 minutes calling
long distance (at my additional expense) for instructions on this mess you sent me. Even you could not fix it properly. You make all kinds of claims why it is somehow my fault. Hardly. After two days and much additional cost to me I gave up. I have no simulator just a mess on
my computer and many corrupted files. When I contacted you and told you of the problem and that nothing correlated with anything and asked for a refund (the least you can do after all the EXTRA time and expense this has cost me!), you called me a thief and a liar. You appear to have no morals or ethics at all. I would say to all having any dealings with you to proceed with great caution. As of today I have no simulator, many lost files, heard all kinds of insults from
you, and incurred much additional expense for the long distance calls. Since you refuse to act honorably, I will contact the authorities so that this does not happen to others.
It is a big waste of time to talk to you indeed. For last time, just for the record on these pages:
1) You lied: You first claimed that you received some erroneous simulation results, and then you claimed that you could not run SBA.
2) I was so generous that I spend all this EXTRA time on the phone with you handle your corrupted computer (most likely corrupted operating system, but there could be many reasons).
3) After the 45 minutes I spend in good will of providing maximum customer support, you said on the phone that SBA was running.
4) You accused me, that I made a fraud!
5) Now you are accusing me again, and everybody can see that. I could probably contact authorities because of your lies and accusations, but you are lucky that it is not worth my time to deal with jerks like you.
And one last question:
Are you publicly refusing that you made the posts above under the handle "Informed customer"?
(It is of course possible that "Informed customer" could be somebody else, but it is extremely unlikely indeed. Out of the hunderds customers I have I really cannot recall any cases, where anybody would be dissatisfied with SBA.)
Karel
