Games have evolved over the centuries from Chess to Starcraft. This post will emphasize on the older games of chance and strategy. Games of chance like poker may seem completely based on luck, but master gamblers can easily use the mathematics of chance to predict the opponent’s hand. Because of this casino dealers often use multiple decks to prevent potential “cheaters” from using math and calculations to gain the upper hand.
This is seen in games like blackjack. In blackjack there are three ways to win against the dealer: one must reach 21 without a dealer 21, beat the dealer in the total card value, or force the dealer to exceed twenty one. A dealer has a slight house advantage with more winning conditions. A player bust (when the card value exceed 21) is considered a win even if the dealer busts; a draw is considered a win because the casino loses no money and the player gains no money; and simply beating the player outright. The player can only win if he/she beats the dealer outright or the dealer busts. An inexperienced player will always lose money because of this slight disadvantage. So how can you even the odds? Card counting is frowned upon in casinos, but it is simply a mathematical way to increase the odds of winning. In blackjack the deck is not shuffled until all the cards are used, which means the probability of drawing a particular card increases. The most important cards are 10, the face cards (worth 10) and ace (worth 1 or 11) which give you the highest win rate, while the lower value cards (2-6) are considered the worst picks ups. By counting how many cards go by each round you can calculate your chances of getting an advantageous hand and place bets based off these odds; proving that even in a game of luck there can be strategy involved.
But what about a true game of strategy, like chess? Chess is the long respected game of true strategy, where only the decisions truly matter. Or do they? In Chess the White side, side that goes first, has a small advantage. Black is usually seen as trying to catch up to White. Chess is interesting because it is so old that it is almost a solved game. A solved game means the game has definitive way to win, lose or tie. The current state of Chess shows that there is no winning strategy, but a stalemate strategy with most professional Chess games ending in a stalemate. This means no matter how dire the circumstances there is a way to prevent the opponent from winning. Background knowledge aside Chess masters deploy various tactics, like Accelerated Dragon, to beat their enemy. How do Chess masters think? Well, one way to play Chess better is to partition the board into smaller pieces and treat the individual sections as separate games. This requires intense concentration and reasoning, as over the course of a game the way you split the board might change and the sections might overlap. Concentrating too much on a particular section might cause you to lose the rest of the board.
All in all playing games is not all fun and games. Even the simplest games like tic-tac-toe have ways to win. Even games based in chance have ways to manipulate the uneven field to your advantage. Victory is yours as long you put your head into the game.
Card Counting
This is seen in games like blackjack. In blackjack there are three ways to win against the dealer: one must reach 21 without a dealer 21, beat the dealer in the total card value, or force the dealer to exceed twenty one. A dealer has a slight house advantage with more winning conditions. A player bust (when the card value exceed 21) is considered a win even if the dealer busts; a draw is considered a win because the casino loses no money and the player gains no money; and simply beating the player outright. The player can only win if he/she beats the dealer outright or the dealer busts. An inexperienced player will always lose money because of this slight disadvantage. So how can you even the odds? Card counting is frowned upon in casinos, but it is simply a mathematical way to increase the odds of winning. In blackjack the deck is not shuffled until all the cards are used, which means the probability of drawing a particular card increases. The most important cards are 10, the face cards (worth 10) and ace (worth 1 or 11) which give you the highest win rate, while the lower value cards (2-6) are considered the worst picks ups. By counting how many cards go by each round you can calculate your chances of getting an advantageous hand and place bets based off these odds; proving that even in a game of luck there can be strategy involved.
But what about a true game of strategy, like chess? Chess is the long respected game of true strategy, where only the decisions truly matter. Or do they? In Chess the White side, side that goes first, has a small advantage. Black is usually seen as trying to catch up to White. Chess is interesting because it is so old that it is almost a solved game. A solved game means the game has definitive way to win, lose or tie. The current state of Chess shows that there is no winning strategy, but a stalemate strategy with most professional Chess games ending in a stalemate. This means no matter how dire the circumstances there is a way to prevent the opponent from winning. Background knowledge aside Chess masters deploy various tactics, like Accelerated Dragon, to beat their enemy. How do Chess masters think? Well, one way to play Chess better is to partition the board into smaller pieces and treat the individual sections as separate games. This requires intense concentration and reasoning, as over the course of a game the way you split the board might change and the sections might overlap. Concentrating too much on a particular section might cause you to lose the rest of the board.
All in all playing games is not all fun and games. Even the simplest games like tic-tac-toe have ways to win. Even games based in chance have ways to manipulate the uneven field to your advantage. Victory is yours as long you put your head into the game.
Card Counting