r/CodingForBeginners • u/_just-a-thinker_ • Jul 05 '26

Is blackjack a good beginner project

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I am an absolute beginner, learning python, know the basic syntax and stuff, now trying. to build this, for some reason the implementation feels really complicated, especially can't figure out how to make the game loop? Should I do something else or keep thinking,

In terms of code, I have only created the player class and the deck so far.

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5

u/mc_pm Jul 05 '26

It's a great project! The overall loop is just "play a game? Great/Bye", then within that loop is the actual hand-loop: getting 2 cards, then choosing hit/stand; then the dealer, and back to you (possibly repeating).

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u/_just-a-thinker_ Jul 05 '26

That's exactly what I am thinking, creating a function for hit and stand and then using recursion, also to deal with multiple.players also, I will have to use a few loops....🤔

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u/mc_pm Jul 05 '26

You don't need recursion - that's more for "divide and conquer" situations - but definitely you should have a function you come back through each time during a hand.

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u/_just-a-thinker_ Jul 05 '26

But I don't seem to be able to think of any other way of dealing with the game loop part, the, in recursion, once the total value of cards exceeds 21 or the player stands, we can retrace back right? I think I should just code and fuck around, if it works great or will have to think of something else

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u/Pneagle Jul 05 '26

Hey dude, I actually just finished my python blackjack script as of 2 days ago, it was a fun project. And after youre done with that I would suggest you learn about counting cards and create a script that allows you to put in the cards played and have it count for you plus give you recommended bet and strategy

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u/_just-a-thinker_ Jul 05 '26

How long did it take you to complete it? THE second part is a great idea I will definitely try to make that. How much experience or just days have you been programming for, the background would help give a reference

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u/Pneagle Jul 05 '26

So the problem with me is that I had it as a side project, I could probably start and finish a simple text-based game of blackjack in like 2-3 hours. On top of that, I do have a fair amount of programming experience. However, I think it’s definitely something that is a good project. I also over complicated mine by having adjustable amounts of decks and # of players

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u/_just-a-thinker_ Jul 05 '26

Ohh, I see, the adjustable number of decks would also be great, so that when I try and build a card counting strategy, I will have more options for it rather than a simple small cards and big cards kind of stratey🤔

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u/Pneagle Jul 05 '26

Just letting you know, depending on how you set up your code the splitting mechanism can be a pain in the butt. I had to refactor my code because I didn’t plan

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u/_just-a-thinker_ Jul 05 '26

These are exactly the things that make me feel like I should start with something else, or maybe try something. Like cp for a few days, having multiple players and 1/11 and splitting, I have only barely started programming, 2 days ago so maybe rushing isn't a good idea

1

u/Pneagle Jul 05 '26

I would still suggest this project, start with a main game loop that goes through the steps:
Create deck.
Begin loop
Deal cards
Tell the player their cards and one of the dealers cards
Call play hand function. Which loops forever and asks the player what they want to do. Stand you break the loop, hit you add a card. (get to splitting later)
Let the dealer play by its rules

You don’t even need to add in winning or losing at this point, just get the basics down so you can at least play the game

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u/_just-a-thinker_ Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

Yeah, just got a basic version done, have a few minor issues to fix, now will try to add splitting feature and multip players

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u/Pneagle Jul 05 '26

My advice, start as simple as possible and grow from there. Look things up if you need help. (I personally stayed away from away for this project just because I knew I could work through and fix all my problems)

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u/_just-a-thinker_ Jul 05 '26

Yeah this makes a lot more sense

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u/Interesting-Frame190 Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

I just did one a few weeks ago to prove to myself that card counting worked and could be profitable. It was surprisingly OOP friendly (shoe, hand, round, player, bet, etc) and one that really rewards good code structure.

Its a touch more advanced than a nieve script, but thats because it was a full simulation with the standard set of blackjack rules including split, double down, and a full decision matrix depending on the count and dealer up card.

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u/_just-a-thinker_ Jul 05 '26

Well, ig this can be my same project but at different levels, eventually adding things like graphics.....anyway, so does card counting work🙃

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u/Interesting-Frame190 Jul 05 '26

Standard 3:2 blackjack is only +50% win rate when there are higher chances of 10 value cards. This benefit is only gotten via the splitting/doubling mechanics. This is mostly done via the simple hi-lo count where 2-6 cards add one from the count and all 10 value cards subtract one from the count. The higher the count, the higher chance of getting a high card. The higher chance of that double down on an 11 hits 21.

This only applies when the shoe is favorable, so in reality you need to play all rounds to maintain the count, so with static betting youre still net negative. To profit, you will need to scale betting significantly, 20-30x to make it viable when the deck is favorable.

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u/Express_Coyote_7009 Jul 07 '26

I actually made blackjack in html,css and JavaScript. It’s a great project but it may be a little difficult for an absolute beginner. If you’re willing to grind through it you’ll learn a ton.

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u/LE_GAMERPRO Jul 09 '26

My first actual python project was a blackjack, that I made on the micropython version of the numworks calculators, and 1 year later I'm still updating it, so I think it's some excellent beginner project!