CVCX V4 Improvements
A new version of the CVCX Blackjack simulator is now available. If you
are unfamiliar with this product, you can obtain information on the CVCX
page. Version 4 changes are outlined below. Note: Only added features
are mentioned. (For blackjack game, practice and drills, see CV
Blackjack Game.)
Blackjack Simulator, Sim Library & Risk/Goal/Bankroll/Trip Ruin/Optimal
Bet Calculator
Philosophy
Each CV version has a general theme. The theme in this release is user
customization to the extreme and to that end, a major overhaul of the
software has been performed. One warning. Sim files created with earlier
versions are not supported by this version. The file structures have been
substantially changed to support new features.
Version 4 Additions
 Widgets
- Over the years I have asked many times what users would like to
see on the Viewer screen of CVCX. Fact is, different people want different
stats and calculations. So, I decided to give control of the Viewer
to the user. The new Viewer is very different. For greatest flexibility,
an empty space is provided for widgets. Widgets are tools that perform
various calculations. You select and place the desired widgets on the
Viewer screen. Widgets are integrated into the Viewer once selected.
CVCX has no load, calculate or copy buttons. Like the standard results
tables; all data and calculations in the selected Widgets update automatically
when any Viewer parameter is changed. Change the rules, decks, players,
penetration, risk, bets, etc and all stats on the Viewer update instantly.
To start, hit Customize then Customize widgets and hit SET TO DEFAULT
for a default widget setup or select and place them yourself. There
are currently eight widgets and I expect this to grow as suggestions
come in as they are easy to add. - Half Counts - Many people
have asked for the ability to calculate optimal bets and set custom
bets by half true counts. For greatest flexibility, all Truncate and
Floor sims are now run by Half True Counts. But they start showing as
Full Count. You can switch between half and full to instantly see the
effect of optimal bets calculated each way. This is not needed for unbalanced
strategies since the range of counts is much larger.
- Multi-threading is supported.
Specify the number of CPU cores you wish to use on the sim page to dramatically
increase the speed with multi-core chips.
- All statistics are now in dollars,
not units.
- RSA - CVCX can perform sims with
all eight combinations of S17/H17, DAS/nDAS and Surr/nSurr all in one
sim file. You can specify other rules; but they would be fixed in one
sim file. I have added Resplit Aces. It was always possible to sim RSA;
but not both RSA and nRSA in the same sim file. So, all sixteen combinations
can now be run in one sim file. All included sims are run with both
Resplit Aces and without. I have come to the conclusion that many players
do not pay enough attention to this rule. This essentially doubles the
number of sims in a sim file. However, CVCX can sim RSA and nRSA in
parallel with very little speed difference.
 Fine-tuning
bets - CVCX allows you to change the penetration card by
card to see the SCORE at every penetration. Optimal bets are calculated
at each penetration and a chart can be displayed dynamically in a widget
to see the different SCOREs for every penetration. But, no one actually
plays with a different set of optimal bets for every possible penetration.
So how do you create a betting ramp that performs well across all penetrations?
The Big Chart widget has a feature that allows you to compare optimal
bets with custom bets. When you change a custom bet; optimal bets will
be charted for all penetrations against the custom bets you have set
frozen for all penetrations. That is, you will see two curves. One curve
is the SCOREs assuming that use a different optimal betting schedule
for every possible penetration. The second curve shows the SCOREs given
one betting schedule used at all penetrations. As you fine tune your
betting ramp by changing the custom bets; the chart will be dynamically
redrawn. This allows you to fiddle with the bets until you find a betting
schedule that you find reasonable that is close to optimal at the penetrations
that you care about.- An experiment - The most requested
feature has always been to change the number of hands played by the
count. But there is a problem. A major difference between the CVData
and CVCX simulators is that CVData allows ridiculously complex betting
strategies. On the other hand, the CVCX simulator has no betting module
at all. It merely collects data on frequencies, EV and standard deviation
by count. Betting is applied after the sim. That's fine for straightforward
betting by the count. But, if you change the number of hands during
a shoe; the count frequencies are dramatically affected. And they are
affected very differently depending on number of players and other variables.
This is why post-sim calculators like CVCX have not been able to handle
changing from one to two hands during a shoe. In this release I have
taken the first shot at estimating the effect of a change in number
of hands. First, this only works for floored or truncated true counted
systems and 2-8 decks (single deck is too unpredictable.) When you click
on Two Hands, a new spinner appears. If set to zero, you play all TCs
with two hands. If set to 1 thru 8, you play one hand below the specified
TC and 2 hands at that TC and above. Count frequencies and standard
deviations are altered according to number of players, the count at
which the change occurs and the counts themselves and all stats recalculated.
It is an estimate - but a very good one. I call this an experiment;
but it has been tested across numerous scenarios against CVData's exact
results and works quite well.
- Players - It is now possible to
run all sims with 1 player as well as multiple players and to instantly
switch number of players from the Viewer screen. This feature is particularly
useful when changing the number of hands. Number of players has a large
effect when you go from one to two hands at a specified count.
- Canned Sims - A new sim library
with 250,000 2,000,000,000 round sims has been created to take advantage
of the Resplit Aces and Number of players features. The old Illustrious
18 sims have been replaced with Sweet 16 sims since very few people
split Tens. Also, True Count calculations are now performed using the
number of cards in the discard tray instead of cards dealt. This is
more like a human plays. Most sims now use Flooring since it has become
more popular. Of course you can always run your own sims if you don't
find what you want in the library.
- Many minor changes suggested over the last year.
- A new full color manual has been printed.
Note: Only recent additions are described on
this page. For a full feature set see CVCX
Features .
Pricing
- CVCX price is now $85.
- To order, go to the Orders Page.
Upgrade
- The CVCX upgrade includes the new manual and costs $21 from V3 and
$30 from earlier versions. This is on the honor system as the upgrade
can be downloaded.
Download
For demo and update downloads go to the Download
Page.
Futures
I don't like to talk about future additions. But, I will say that CVCX
remains a live product.
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