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Duane321 / mutual_information

Contains companion code for the Mutual Information YouTube channel
MIT License
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Question on whether use A as 1 or 11 in blackjack #3

Closed apple601601601 closed 2 months ago

apple601601601 commented 3 months ago

Hi @Duane321, First thanks for the fantastic videos and codes.

I've got a question in the blackjack.py for function calc_sum_useable_ace(): It seems the function always tries to use 'A' as 11 whenever possible.

However in real life scenarios once might want to use 'A' as 1 and potentially hit more card. So is that because use 'A' as 11 always get you higher chance of winning or some other reasons?

Thanks

Duane321 commented 3 months ago

Oh it's been awhile, but I think either..

1) It's known as part of the optimal strategy. There may be some mathematical fact about this blackjack game where it's never right to use an ace as a 1 when you can use it as an 11. 2) It's not known as a part of the optimal strategy, but the designers used it as an approximate assumption.

I forget which it is..

apple601601601 commented 2 months ago

Thank you. Feels like #2. I will check more and get back if any findings.