CV Blackjack History

Below you will find the release history for CV Blackjack:

Version 3.0 Additions

Most screens redesigned with the latest interfaces in mind.
The old betting strategies screen has been replaced by a simple betting strategy screen for beginners and an alternative set of complex strategy screens for players using more advanced card counting methods. The simple screen is very easy to use. Complex strategies include betting side counts, extremely complex cover play, different betting by deck depth and multiple hand betting.
Playing strategy screens have been replaced by a simple playing strategy screen and complex playing strategy screens. Complex strategies include multi-parameter tables, counting by inference, multiple sets of indexes by deck depth.
Spanish 21 and SuperFun 21 strategies have now been included by permission of Michael Shackleford. The ability to define numerous specialty strategy plays for these games and for bonuses in general has been added (e.g. double on 4 or more cards, stand if 678 is possible, split except with two suited 7's, etc.)
New rules have been added. In addition, since it is impossible to keep up with new bonuses, you can now create your own custom bonuses.
Hi-Opt II card counting strategy tables are now included, by permission of the author.
Statistics are now kept in an Access database allowing better data selection. Far more stats and charts are available. (About 100 charts are included.)
For greater convenience without cluttering the screen, four sets of popup stats also exist that you can display without leaving the table by passing the mouse over hot spots. You can customize the stats that are displayed in this manner. You can see stats related to the discard tray or shoe simply by moving the mouse over the tray or shoe without clicking. Many stats are included down to the exact contents of the shoe or tray.
A TrackJack/CV link allows the setting of CV rules, penetration and limits directly from the Web to ensure practice with the latest conditions at the casinos you are about to visit.
Three additional types of dealer errors can be generated. With more and more new casinos, reports of dealer errors are becoming very common. Not recognizing these can be expensive.
Additional seat assignment flexibility.
The drills have been redesigned. Several additional drills implemented including a two-table back-counting drill, many two simultaneous counts drills, and drilling on errors that you have made during play. Several new input methods and new modes supported and new features implemented to increase distraction and reduce tedium.
Discard trays in the drills are now photo-realistic.
Right-mouse support on the main table for betting, playing, insurance, dealing. Also customizable keyboard commands.
CVTest is a new facility designed to measure your long-term progress and identify weak spots in your skills. Basically, strings of different drills are placed into scripts or tests. There exits standard tests or you can create your own.
CVJournal is a new facility designed to ease the tracking of actual casino results. Using an Access database, you can store, manipulate, calculate, sort, select and chart session data.
Additional animation during play.
New perspective, photo-realistic card graphics to improve realism.
1280x1024 support for ultra-real screens.
CVData & CVCX will be modified to access CVBJ betting and playing strategies to ensure that you are practicing and simming the same strategies.
An animated, talking assistant that provides advice as you play. She also acts as a tour guide and a distraction.
An option that forces you to draw lots of small cards. This can be used to practice simultaneously counting and evaluating large hands.
The shuffle can be delayed until after you bet to force you to determine when the dealer is going to shuffle before you bet.
An additional peeking method allows you to move your mouse over face down cards (other players' first two cards or double down cards) to see them and add them to the count.
You are now allowed to specify accuracy of deck depth estimation. If your play was incorrect but would have been correct if you estimated the deck depth a few cards differently, you are told that you made a close call and it is not counted as an error. This prevents the marking of plays as errors where you knew the correct play but slightly misestimated depth.
The 20 maps have been updated.
Many miscellaneous nuances to improve realism.

Version 2.1 Additions

360 new bitmaps have been added. These bitmaps are pieced together to provide tens of thousands of different combinations of table/discard tray/shoe looks.

Version 2.0 Additions

17 State maps have been included showing the location of U.S. casinos.
The City & State Maps are now 'Weather Maps'. Casinos are color coded to show additional data including Penetration, Advantage, Tables & Rule Sets.
Numerous new reports have been added; New formatting for old and new reports; Print Preview capability added; and new Reports Icon on many screens.
Four additional statistics arrays; Existing statistics reformatted for ease of use and additional data.
Additional sound card support including dealer speaking hand totals.
You can now display a customizable, 3D Pop-Up Discard Tray on the main table.
Deck Editor providing customized deck contents.
Many screens reformatted into Win95 tab and folder paradigm to improve speed and ease of use.
Ralph Sticker's Silver Fox card counting strategies have been added (by permission of the author.)
The View Casino DB function is now color coded to better show casino advantage and options. Sorting columns also sorts the colors.
Chip movements are now animated.
Interface to the new CV Simulator built.
The Flashcard Drills can now be limited to the Schlesinger Illustrious 18. Also, a reverse option has been implemented to quiz you on index values.
A new Full Table set of counting drills has been added along with graphs to show your progress.
The betting strategy now supports betting by Running Count. Also, a new option to reduce sensitivity on the first bet has been added.
The Head-On option now supports 800x600 screen resolution.
Keyboard support added for betting.
A Dealer Probabilities Calculator has been added.
A Playing Efficiency, Betting Correlation and Insurance Correlation Calculator has been added.
A Risk of Ruin Calculator has been added.
Warnings are now given for very stupid plays.
You can now scratch the table for the Insurance decision.
Additional Help Balloons added.
Miscellaneous new rules & features: Split to three hands only; Variable deck bias controls; Other player BJ's can be randomly turned over in face-down games; DD on Soft 19 & 20 only; Partial DD betting; Randomization of peeking at other players' cards; and numerous minor refinements.
A new 110 page manual combined with the CVSIM documentation.

Version 1.41 Additions

Note: Some of these features were added in V1.4a and V1.4b.

WAV files are now included for Windows compatible sound card support. As this product is meant to simulate casino play, silly game-like sounds have been avoided.
A Blackjack Outcome Calculator has been included to estimate your winnings/loses under real casino conditions.
An updated Casino Data Base has been included with 895 rule sets at 532 casinos.
A Select Casino Data Base function has been included which allows the download and selection of an alternate Casino Data Base.
You can now look at the raw data in the log files in a spreadsheet and export them to Excel for further analysis.
Help Balloons have been included on many screens to aid new users.
You can now select novice, experienced or expert modes. This allows a beginner to grow into the product more easily.
The Wong Basic High-Low strategy tables have been inclued from the '94 version of Professional Blackjack. These are in addition to his older tables. Also, tables from the '96 version of Bryce Carlson's Blackjack for Blood can be downloaded from the Internet. These have not been included here as the '96 edition has not yet gone to the publishers
Two of Arnold Snyder's Over/Under 13 strategies have been included.

Version 1.4 Additions

Over/Under 13 counting systems are now supported. You can specify your own, or use the included Crush Count (from the 1994 version of Wong's Professional Blackjack.) Warnings and graphs are included. For more information, click on the question mark on the STRATEGIES - OVER/UNDER STRATEGIES screen.
Tables for George C.'s new Unbalanced Zen 11 are now included. The tables can be used for testing your play, practice drills, and to control tournament computer players.
A fourth map has been included. A US map is displayed with states shaded that contain casinos. Click on a state to get a list of its casinos. You can then locate the city, and view or load the rules for that casino.
The charting subsystem has been replaced. All graphs have been updated and six new graphs added. Smoothing using a quadratic B-spline algorithm and orthogonal and oblique views have been added.
An Advantage Calculator has been added. Select the rules that you wish, and CV will calculate the starting casino advantage for different numbers of decks. For more information, click on the question mark on the CALCULATORS - ADVANTAGE CALCULATOR screen.
A new method of viewing the Casino Data Base has been implemented. A spreadsheet is created with 833 rows, one for each rule set in the data base. The columns provide information and rules for each rule set. At first, the rule sets are sorted by Country or State, and then City. However, you can change the sorting order. by switching the order of the columns. This allows views of the 509 casinos in different groupings and sub-groupings. Also, the casino advantage for 94% of the casinos is calculated and placed in a column. If you wish, you can sort on this column to see the best casinos. Or, sort on penetration then advantage for best card counting games. Or, sort on state, then penetration, then advantage to see the best card counting casinos in a particular area. For more information, click on the question mark on the FILE - VIEW CASINO DATA BASE screen.
The Do It Yourself statistics spreadsheet now allows display of all logs for a user. Also, you can now move around columns and re-sort.
A fourth set of rules is added to the method of true count calculation. This set of rules allows remaining decks to be estimated using cards dealt, shown or in the discard tray. For more information, click on the question mark on the OPTIONS - SETTINGS screen EXPERT METHODS folder.
Additional details are now provided after a strategy error. Also, a True Count Calculator screen has been added after a strategy warning occurs. This screen allows dynamic changing of the many true count calculation options and shows the effect of changes on the counts and the current strategy decision. For more information, click on the question mark on these new screens. You must have the 'Allow Correction' option on the Dealer Actions folder of the OPTIONS - SETTINGS screen set.
Separate error tables are now kept for Flashcard drills and actual play. You can optionally allow accumulation of these tables over many sessions. For more information, click on the question mark on the STRATEGIES - ERROR TABLES screen.
Miscellaneous changes: All drills have had face lifts; Additional Win95 support added; Added 'Pair of Aces pays 7 to 1 Under/13' bonus (U.K. rule); Added 'Dealer wins tied 17, 18 or 19' (Swedish rule); You can now peek at the cards of players next to you, and you can now set the sensitivity for Wonging & Team Play (See the EXPERT METHODS folder); You can now change your bet after a shuffle (See DEALER ACTIONS folder); Support added for a per hand charge (California casinos, see SPEEDS./PARMS folder); FlashCard Drills now generate random counts around the pivot point for unbalanced strategies. Various other changes.

Version 1.3 Additions

Due to the large number of options, the major option screens have been reorganized. You can now select most options by selecting menu OPTIONS then sub-menu SETTINGS. You will be presented options organized into ten folders which can be selected by clicking on the appropriate tab at the top of the folders. To aid in finding options, there is a LOCATOR button that will list all of these options alphabetically and locate options for you. CVBJ now saves 339 settings per player. For more information, click on the question mark on the OPTIONS - SETTINGS screen.
Numerous additional practice drills have been added for a total of 23. The graphics have been further improved and most drills now display a customizable, 3D discard tray that comes in dozens of formats. Also, new timer modes have been added to all drills. For more information, click on the question mark on the STRATEGIES - COUNTING DRILLS, FLASHCARD DRILLS and DISCARD DRILLS screens.
Several new tournament play parameters have been added and tournament computer players are now programmable. Also, a new multi-player version of tournament play has been added that allows up to three human players. Tournament play now supports six players total. For more information, click on the question mark on the OPTIONS - SETTINGS screen TOURNAMENT and MULTI-PLAYER folders.
The casino data base has been updated and now includes 801 rule sets in 477 casinos as published in the 12/94 issue of Blackjack Forum courtesy of RGE publishing.
Statistics have been updated to include multi-player mode support and to graphically track performance on all drills.
A new table format called Head-On Mode has been included. In this mode, there are no other players. This allows the use of much higher resolution cards and the customizable, high-resolution discard tray used in the drills. For more information, click on the question mark on the OPTIONS - TABLE FORMAT screen.
Expert methods have been upgraded to include customized true count calculation, deck bias, bet correction, warped Aces and/or Tens, randomized penetration and randomized player speeds.
A new game called 7 and 1/2 has been added. This is not really Blackjack, but a similar old Sicilian game now available in a few casinos.
Game colors can now be customized. Select OPTIONS - COLORS for more information. Also, dealer card movements can be animated.
Several and various other new rules and playing options have been added.

Version 1.2 Additions

An additional statistics feature has been added. Selecting STATISTICS - DO IT YOURSELF will take you to a screen which provides the ability for each player on the WHO ARE YOU player list to define their own customized statistics table.
Dealer cards are now shown in a more realistic fashion.
When cards are dealt face down, the players now toss their cards in front of them in a more realistic manner instead of flipping them over in place.
The right and middle mouse buttons are now functional. The functions are set from OPTIONS - MOUSE BUTTONS. Available functions are: Peek at counts, Suggestion, Deal, Play for me, and Same bets as last hand. The Peek at Counts feature will now work during play. Also, Function Key 4 will force the bets to be the same as in the last hand. Click on the question mark on the Mouse Buttons screen for more information.
The following environment options have been added: One human player (allows six computer players), Show Counts (automatically shows the counts after each round), First hand face up (in face down dealing, shows the first player hand), Dealer cards left to right (the old, simpler method of showing dealer cards), Don't toss cards (the old, simpler method of flipping player face down cards), Peek at DD card (shows a quick peek at face down double down cards), DD card face up (AC style double down card is face up), Allow Correction (when you violate strategy, allows you to correct your play), Chip pick up aid (makes it easier to pick up the correct number of chips), Counter's Nightmare (randomly changes styles to confuse counters). Also, a speed control for payoffs has been added. Click on the question mark on the OPTIONS - SETTINGS screen for more information.
The following unusual rules have been added: Player 22 counts as 21, Dealer ten up exposes hole card, Surrender any number of cards, Split ten then draw Ace is BJ. For more information, click on the question mark on the OPTIONS - SETTINGS screen ODD RULES folder.
The following tournament options have been added: Rotate first bet, Secret Bet Allowed, and Two Players Advance. Click on the question mark on the Tournaments Screen for more information.
An option to force shuffles after unusual raises has been added. Click on the question mark on the STRATEGIES - BETTING STRATEGY screen for more information.
By permission, the Expert strategy as documented in Blackjack Your Way to Riches by Richard Canfield has been added to the supported strategies.

Version 1.1 Additions

By permission of the author, the High-Low and Halves strategies as documented in Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong have been added to the supported strategies.
By permission of the author, the Hi-Opt I strategy as documented in The World's Greatest Blackjack Book by Dr. Lance Humble and Dr. Carl Cooper has been added to the supported strategies.
A Show Discards feature has been added to the OPTIONS - SETTINGS screen ENVIRONMENT folder to display the discard tray.
Menu STRATEGIES - BETTING STRATEGIES provides warnings on betting errors. After entering this screen, click on the Help ICON for instructions.
Ace and Ten side counts are now supported. Click on the Help ICON from the STRATEGIES - SELECT/VIEW menu for instructions.
Starting counts, non-integer point count values and a full insurance table have been added to the STRATEGIES - DEFINE STRATEGY screen.
You can set a point count range when loading tables for any of the card counting strategies. Click on the Help ICON from the STRATEGIES - SELECT/VIEW menu for instructions.
You can edit the Casino Data Base by selecting menu FILE - EDIT CASINO. After entering this screen, click on the Help ICON for instructions.
You can overlap your play with the play of other players. That is, you can indicate Hit or Stand before the dealer gets to you and bet while the other players are betting.
The Uston Simple Plus/Minus, Uston Advanced Plus/Minus, Uston APC, Uston SS Count and Roberts Winning Blackjack strategies are now optionally supported strategies. Contact Gambling Times for information on obtaining upgrade diskettes.
A Deal Until option has been added to the Counting Drill to pause near the end of the deck.