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BlackJack

BlackJack

Learning Exercise

Introduction

Case (often referred to as switch in other languages) is a form of control expression like if-else. Case allows for chaining of multiple if-else-if statements and can be more readable while still providing flow control.

A case is defined by the keyword case followed by an optional expression. Then for each case, the keyword when is used followed by an expression which is compared to the case expression. The when keyword should not be indented from the case keyword. After the when keyword is the code that should be executed if the case expression matches the when expression. Case allows for an optional else statement which is executed if no other case matches.

The case expression is evaluated and then compared to each when expression. The expression is compared using the case equality operator (===).

value = 1
case value
when 1
  "One"
when 2
  "Two"
else
  "Other"
end

# This is the same as:
value = 1
if 1 === value
  "One"
elsif 2 === value
  "Two"
else
  "Other"
end

Case equality operator (===)

The case equality operator (===) is a bit different from the equality operator (==). The operator checks if the right side is a member of the set described by the left side. This means that it does matter where each operand is placed. How this works depends on the type of the left side, for example a Range would check if the right side is in the range or a Object would check if the right side is an instance of the Object.

(1..3) == 1  # => false
(1..3) === 1 # => true

String == "foo"  # => false
String === "foo" # => true

Case with multiple expressions

Cases allow for matching multiple expressions in a single case with each possible value separated by a comma. It will execute the code if any of the expressions match. This can be useful when you want a single case to have multiple possible values.

case var
when 1, 2
  "One or two"
else
  "Other"
end

Cases with ranges

Cases can also check if a value is in a range. This is done by having a range as the when expression.

case var
when 1..3
  puts "One to three"
else
  puts "Other"
end

Cases with no case expression

When there is no need for a case expression, it is possible to omit it. Doing this will make it so that each case expression is evaluated for truthiness. And makes them behave like if-else-if statements.

case
when 1 == 1
  "One is equal to one"
when 1 > 2
  "One is greater than two"
else
  "Other"
end

Single line when

Ruby allows for single line case statements. This can be used when you have a simple single line statement. The single line when statement is written as when <expression> then <statement>. And when used in the else statement it is written as else <statement>.

case var
when 1 then "One"
when 2 then "Two"
else "Other"
end

Case with types

Case allows for the matching with types. This is useful when wanting different behavior depending on the type of a variable.

case var
when Integer
  "Integer"
when String
  "String"
else
  "Other"
end

Instructions

In this exercise we will simulate the first turn of a Blackjack game.

1. Calculate the value of any given card.

You will receive two cards and will be able to see the face up card of the dealer. All cards are represented using a string such as "ace", "king", "three", "two", etc. The values of each card are:

card value card value
ace 11 eight 8
two 2 nine 9
three 3 ten 10
four 4 jack 10
five 5 queen 10
six 6 king 10
seven 7 other 0
Note

Commonly, aces can take the value of 1 or 11 but for simplicity we will assume that they can only take the value of 11.

Implement the method Blackjack.parse_card which takes a card as a string as an argument. The method should return the value of the card as an integer.

Blackjack.parse_card("ace")
# => 11

2. Name ranges of values.

The player score has to be categorized into ranges of values. Player scores are computed by adding up the values of the two player cards. The ranges that are used are:

range value
low [4, 11]
mid [12, 16]
high [17, 20]
blackjack [21]

Implement the method Blackjack.card_range which takes two cards as strings as arguments. The method should return the name of the range of values the two cards fall into.

Blackjack.card_range("ten", "king")
# => "high"

3. Implement the decision logic for the first turn.

Depending on your two cards and the card of the dealer, there is a strategy for the first turn of the game, in which you have the following options:

  • Stand (S)
  • Hit (H)
  • Split (P)
  • Automatically win (W)

Although not optimal yet, you will follow the strategy your friend Alex has been developing, which is as follows:

  • If you have a pair of aces you must always split them.
  • If you have a Blackjack (two cards that sum up to a value of 21), and the dealer does not have an ace, a figure or a ten then you automatically win. If the dealer does have any of those cards then you'll have to stand and wait for the reveal of the other card.
  • If your cards sum up to a value within the range [17, 20] you should always stand.
  • If your cards sum up to a value within the range [12, 16] you should always stand unless the dealer has a 7 or higher, in which case you should always hit.
  • If your cards sum up to 11 or lower you should always hit.

Implement the method Blackjack.first_turn which takes three cards as strings as arguments. The method should return the decision you should take as a string.

Blackjack.first_turn("ace", "ace", "two")
# => "P"
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