The app

First thing’s first…wow! Zach did an amazing job on this game. You can definitely see the passion he has for blackjack in his programming and reflection. Zach goes above and beyond the basic requirements of the assignment and goes further, surpassing the advanced requirements. The attention to detail in his app is awesome. From implementing 5-card-charlie to betting. Even inside of the betting, there are nuances to how much you are gambling. If you try to gamble more than you actually have, the system kicks you out.

This is definitely a program built for someone that knows how to play blackjack. From asking about the luckyladies side game to asking about doubling down, this program obviously knows a lot more about blackjack than I do! It is really cool. A few instructions may make it a little playable. For example, what is the luckyladies game/bet? Instructions would make the usability of the program just a little bit better. Overall, though, the entertainment factor of this game is definitely there. It is such a fun game to play. I guess you almost call it addicting.

The Code

The code is extremely well-organized. Zach has modules set up to break the code up. He has one to create the deck of cards which he does in a way that mimics how a “shoe” of cards would be dealt/handled at a real casino. It’s really cool that Zach had the knowledge to be able to do this, even adding the suits to all 8 decks. The code has another module that deals the cards. It is cool how Zach was able to do the deal the same way it is done in a real blackjack game. The game deals the player a card, the dealer a card (which is hidden), the player another card, and the dealer another card but this time, the dealer card is shown. Doing this will allow him to do a lot more with the program later that will match the real game. The final helper module contains all of the game logic for determining who wins, what happens, and how the program reacts to all of the potential situations that could arise.

The Process

It’s clear that Zach put a lot of planning into his work. As he notes, he started thinking about this as soon as he saw the assignment and his history with blackjack, I’m sure, made him extremely excited about the prospect of creating a program that will aid him or, at least, match up to his interests. I think it is important that Zach identified the milestones he still hopes to reach.

Self-Reflection

Zach’s program was way cooler than mine. While he went for a program that was as close to the real game as possible, I know that mine was more of a representation of the game. I know that my main goal was to make sure the user interface worked and, though I’m not an expert on the rules, I just wanted to make sure the program didn’t break. I really liked how the cards were printed so you, as the player, see what is actually in your hand. My program just spits out the total of both of the cards and I would definitely like the player to be able to see which cards they got. Further, I really liked how Zach was able to incorporate the names of the face cards and the suits of the cards. If I had to pick something I dislike, I’d say the game is just really advanced. I had no idea what the luckyladies game was but, the advanced nature of the game is something that could make it even more fun and entertaining over a length of time.

In comparing Zach’s work to mine, I think we both checked off a lot of the same checkboxes in the assignment but I really think he went above and beyond where I went. He clearly had a passion for this and it showed. He did such an awesome job of organizing his program, thinking about all of the different outcomes, and reflecting on his program, overall.