I wrote my own software (I used to work at Microsoft in the late 1990s and was a computer consultant in the Bay Area until 2003. I've been retired from high tech for 7 years) so my skills are more up to date than COBOL. I use Microsoft VBA in Excel, which has a great engine for analysis. I have not evaluated other software since I prefer to do it myself so I can splice and dice the data anyway I want. I do make sure to tie my results back to theoretical models so I know it's processing correctly. For example, if I'm processing for a DD game with -.36% house edge (that's the game I normally play) I will run a flat betting scenario for at least 500,000 hands and make sure I get very close to -.36%. I spend lots of time analyzing the results of my SIMS. It's made my real life play so much more powerful and disciplined. I've averaged of 80% wins in my sessions for the past 400 hours because of what I've learned from the SIMS. Playing at a table with 2 people is SIGNIFICANTLY better than playing at a table with 4 people. When a 4th person sits down at my table I just get up and leave. I don't bother playing because I know what it does to my win rate.
To answer your question my software can be configured to use any kind of strategy, basic or otherwise. I've been able to refine my indexes because I know what the optimum strategy is for each type of hand. For example, I pretty much never split 2's against dealer 2,3, and 4 because it's just not profitable and a waste of time to do so. Splitting 10s even against dealer 6 is also less profitable than standing. Most counters don't know this.
If you have a particular test you want to run, just PM me and I'll see if I can give you the answer. Chances are, I already have the answer in my database.
Here's another tip I've learned from my SIMS. Play a good DD game and don't bother with the 6 or 8 Deck games. Jumping your bets more to overcome the challenges of the shoe games is a big mistake. The downswings are nasty and can take 800 hours to recover from! IMHO.....
