From Excel to Web: Building a Real-Time Blackjack Card Counting Calculator
A couple of years ago, I built an Excel spreadsheet out of pure curiosity. The goal was simple: calculate the exact expected value (EV) and optimal strategy for any blackjack hand, accounting for the current composition of the deck.
What started as a weekend project became something more interesting when I realized: this is exactly the kind of software online casinos use internally to detect advantage players.
Today, I'm launching Advantage Player — a web-based version that anyone can use to understand the mathematics behind card counting.
The Excel Origins
The original spreadsheet was built on probability theory and combinatorics. For any given shoe state (number of remaining cards of each rank), it could:
Calculate running count and true count (Hi-Lo system)
Compute exact win probabilities for hit, stand, double, split
Generate complete strategy tables based on current deck composition
Track expected value as cards are dealt
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