Is Python for me?

[Neil Cerutti]

On 2007-02-09, jiddu <sseebbaa123 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm planning to create a poker calculator, I learned some basic
> in highschool years ago and I was told for beginners Python is
> a good language to start.

Python *is* a good language to start.

> What I wanted to do is to first write a program which will be
> able to run through all the possible combinations of cards
> dealt out and use some counters to calculate different
> probabilities at different stages. Since that is a lot of data
> I think I have to store it in some kind of database or
> spreadsheet type thing? 

Unfortunately, that is a very *difficult* problem; no programming
library (save a hypothetical poker probability library) can make
it easy.

> Then I wanted to write a simple user interface so I could use
> my mouse to make selections of cards that I am dealt and that
> come on the flop and how many opponents and have the program
> find the calculated information and display it on the screen.
>
> I am wondering if I learn to use Python will I be able to write
> something like this? My friend studied some C in college so I
> thought I'd learn C++, turns out it is a very complicated
> language so I thought maybe I should try something else before
> I commit more time to the language.

Python can help you with creating an user interface, and with
several simple, powerful data structures. I think you ought to
lower your ambition a bit, at first. Firts write a program to
rank complete sets of poker hands. That should hold you for a
while.

-- 
Neil Cerutti
The recording I listened to had Alfred Brendel doing the dirty work of
performing this sonata (Liszt B minor) --Music Lit Essay