Getting Started with StratPlay
Welcome to StratPlay! This platform is designed to give you institutional-grade mathematical insights into your blackjack strategies. Whether you are a casual player wanting to test basic strategy or an advantage player programming the Illustrious 18, our Monte Carlo engine will calculate your exact Expected Value (EV).
What is StratPlay?
StratPlay is a high-performance simulation engine. Instead of just running standard game loops, our engine performs counterfactual analysis. This means that every time you make a decision that deviates from basic strategy, the engine secretly forks the game and plays out the alternative scenario in a sandbox to tell you exactly how much EV you gained or lost by making that decision.
Your First Simulation (3 Steps)
1. Create a Strategy
Before you can run a simulation, you need a set of rules. When you created your account, we automatically generated a "Hi-Lo Professional" strategy for you. This strategy acts as a great starting point.
To view it, click on Strategy Editor in the navigation bar. You can edit this strategy or click New on your dashboard to start from a blank slate.
2. Configure the Engine
On your Dashboard, look for the Run New Simulation card. Here you will define the parameters of your test:
- Total Hands: How many rounds the dealer will deal. A standard shoe might yield 30-40 hands. We recommend running at least 10,000 hands to get statistically significant results.
- Bankroll ($): Your starting capital. This is crucial for calculating your Risk of Ruin.
- Base Bet ($): The amount you wager when the True Count is neutral or negative.
3. Execute
Click Execute Simulation. The engine will spin up on our Python backend, play through the requested hands, calculate your analytics, and automatically redirect you to the Results dashboard where you can dissect the data.