Blackjack Project: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing and Improving Python Code

Welcome to my Blackjack project! In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through the development of a basic Blackjack game in Python, and show you how I made incremental improvements to the code through multiple iterations. This tutorial is perfect for beginner programmers who are looking to improve their Python skills by working on a fun and engaging project.

You can find the full source code for this project on GitHub.

Table of Contents

• Overview of Blackjack Game
• Step 1: Writing the Initial Version
• Step 2: Code Improvements in Multiple Iterations
  • Refactoring for Clean Code
  • Adding Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
  • Implementing Error Handling
  • Improving the User Interface
  • Testing and Debugging
• Conclusion

Overview of Blackjack Game

Blackjack is a popular card game where the goal is to have cards that total as close to 21 as possible without exceeding it. Players are dealt two cards and can either "hit" (draw another card) or "stand" (keep their current hand). The player competes against the dealer to achieve a higher hand value without going over 21.

In this project, I’ve implemented a basic version of the Blackjack game using Python. The game starts with two cards dealt to the player and the dealer. The player can choose to hit or stand, and once they finish their turn, the dealer plays. The winner is determined based on whose hand is closer to 21.

Step 1: Writing the Initial Version

The initial version of the project was a simple procedural implementation of the Blackjack game. This version focused on creating the game logic with minimal complexity. The code used functions and loops to manage the game flow.

Key Aspects of the Initial Version:

1. Basic Game Logic: I focused on getting the core mechanics of the game to work, such as dealing cards, allowing the player to hit or stand, and checking for wins or losses.
2. Random Card Generation: The deck of cards was shuffled using Python’s random library, and the game assigned random cards to the player and dealer.
3. Procedural Approach: In this first version, the game was written in a procedural style, without using any classes or objects.

Step 2: Code Improvements in Multiple Iterations

After getting the basic version working, I began improving the code in multiple iterations. Here’s how I went about making the code cleaner, more efficient, and easier to maintain.

Refactoring for Clean Code

One of the first things I did was refactor the code to make it more readable and maintainable. This included:

• Breaking down large functions into smaller, single-purpose functions.
• Using meaningful variable names to enhance readability.
• Removing any redundant or repeated code.

Adding Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

After refactoring, I realized the need for better structure, so I refactored the code to use Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). This improved the organization and made it easier to extend the game in the future.

• I created a Deck class to manage the deck of cards.
• I added a Player class to represent the player and dealer.
• The game logic was moved into a BlackjackGame class to encapsulate the gameplay.

Implementing Error Handling

Error handling is an important aspect of making your code robust. I added checks to handle potential issues such as:

• Ensuring the player input is valid (e.g., not accepting invalid commands).
• Handling edge cases, like what happens when the deck runs out of cards.

Improving the User Interface

I added improvements to the user interface to enhance the player experience. This included:

• Providing clearer feedback to the player (e.g., displaying the current cards and score after each action).
• Making the game flow smoother with better input prompts and outputs.

Testing and Debugging

Finally, I thoroughly tested the game by playing multiple rounds and identifying any bugs or edge cases. I added some unit tests for the critical functions like score calculation and deck management to ensure they worked as expected.

Conclusion

Through multiple iterations, I’ve improved this Blackjack game from a basic, procedural implementation to a well-structured, object-oriented program. These improvements made the code cleaner, easier to maintain, and more flexible for future features.

If you’re a beginner, I encourage you to start by writing your own version of the game and gradually improve it through refactoring and incorporating OOP concepts. By going through this process, you’ll gain valuable experience in writing Python code and improving it step-by-step.

You can check out the full code on GitHub and start building your own version today!

Happy coding!