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The Rise of Blackjack Professionals Part2

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The Rise of Blackjack Professionals Part2

The 1962 publication of “Beat the Dealer” by Edward O Thorp was a landmark in the development of professional blackjack in the casino industry. We are now living in the 50th year of Thorp’s era and the blackjack that we see today is the development over these five decades. This person had such a great influence on professional blackjack and it was not surprising that he was the original inductee of the Blackjack Hall of Fame.

Being a young scientist, Edward O. Thorp had a flare for mathematics and regularly keep himself up to date with mathematic journals. When he was a student, he was pressed for money. The idea of relying on mathematics to out-play the casino appealed to Thorp. He decided to evaluate the work of the “Four Horsemen of Aberdeen” and see what results will come out of it. The outcome of this research was a phenomenal book “Beat The Dealer“.

Instead of using the traditional analytical calculations, Edward O Thorp preferred to use the powerful mainframe IBM computer. He wrote several programs on Fortran. Incidentally, Claude Elwood Shannon, a great scientist, was also a research instructor of Edward O Thorp. Both of them were also involved in solving the problem “how to out-play the roulette?”

From his calculations, Thorp understood that dead cards had a considerable impact on the gambler’s outcomes. His main idea was about memorizing the dead cards in a somewhat simplified way. When the remaining cards favour the player, bet higher. Conversely, when the remaining cards favour the dealer, bet lower. This system still remains the basis of all card counting methods in blackjack.

The card counting system introduced by Thorp, was rather complicated for actual casino play. It required intense concentration and abundance of mental arithmetic. However with proper training it was possible to play exactly as mentioned in the book.

Thorp’s book “Beat The Dealer” immediately became a success and a bestseller. Everyone understood that with quite simple actions you can get an advantage. Every reader dreamt of the path to wealth. Conversely, the casinos also knew the impact.

Panic overwhelmed all the Las Vegas casinos. And in 1962 after the release of Thorp’s book, “Beat The Dealer“, all Las Vegas Casinos without exception changed their rules, being afraid of the mass influx of “advantage players”. The quality of the rules worsened terribly and no card counting system could ever help card counters to win. However, the business outcome on the casino was unpredictable. The outcome turned out to be quite the reverse of what they expect. People stopped playing blackjack. And over a period of several months, all the casinos had to return to their former rules for their own survival.

In addition, there was another interesting impact caused by Thorp’s book. There was a sudden surge in popularity of blackjack even surpassing the favorite American craps. A lot of people, after reading the book considered themselves potential winners and rushed to the blackjack tables. However, most of them had a bad understanding of the mathematical principles of the game. They did not become winners. Therefore, the casinos not only got more clients but they are also losing clients.

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Julian Braun seems to be the power behind the simplification in the development of professional blackjack. He had hardly ever played a deal in real blackjack. However, he played millions and may be even billions of deals on the computer. Julian Braun was a good mathematician and programmer and he got interested in Thorp’s idea and offered him co-operation in the sphere of calculations and programming.

Julian Braun became the person who first invented the card counting system Hi-Lo. He was behind the development of all modern card counting systems even though the authorship of which belongs to Revere, Humble, Wong and Uston. He wrote the only book “How to Play Winning Blackjack”. Unfortunately it was not a great book.

Julian Braun upgraded Thorp’s system on FORTRAN and made considerable changes. The second edition of Thorp’s book also contained Hi-Lo system in its modern form. It was quite a revolution in the gambling world. Julian Braun worked in IBM corporation and had access to probably the most powerful computers in the world. This fact helped to build simple yet efficient tool in the struggle between blackjack professionals and casino owners.

Using Julian Braun‘s calculations, one of the blackjack professionals known as Lawrence Revere developed his own card counting system and presented his results in the form of tables. Most blackjack card counters throughout the world find these tables effective and efficient and had successfully used them under casino environment. Lance Humble based his Hi-Opt systems also on Julian Braun‘s experience.

Although Julian Braun might not have played blackjack in the casino, he was recognized as a mathematical power behind the development of professional blackjack as well as the evolution of blackjack professionals.

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Beat the Dealer

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The Rise of Blackjack Professionals Part1

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The Rise of Blackjack Professionals Part1

The dream of beating a casino is as old as the notion “casino” itself. Every gambler wants to win. Every other invents his own “system”. Every hundredth attempts to research the game in great detail. And only a few out of millions succeed.

The most notable achievement in the subject of betting “system” against the casino was the so called “card counting” in blackjack. Card counting is a mathematically based method to enable players to get some advantage over the casino. The casinos certainly are aware of the existence of “card counters” and are trying to implement counter-measures against them. This involves changing the rules, including the introduction of multi-deck shoes and continuous shuffling machines. Sometimes, the casino would ban the card counters if they are seen as a threat to their bottom line. In many cases, the casinos even went overboard in implementing their counter-measures. Historically, blackjack reveals an interesting struggle between the blackjack professionals and the casinos. As to be expected, the casinos have to be smarter because he who makes the rules get the gold.

More than half a century has passed since the discovery that blackjack is beatable, not based on the marked cards and intuition but legitimately based on card counting. The struggle has been fierce and intense, but the war is still going on.

Probably the first person in history who used mathematic to analyze blackjack was Jess Marcum alias Marcovitch. He was born on 30th December 1919.

It happened at the turn of 1949 and 1950, when Jess Marcum, being an expert in mathematic and physic got to Las Vegas. Over there, his mathematic acumen prompted him that most possibly not everything depends on intuition in blackjack.

Jess Marcum started researching blackjack. Firstly, the unusual nature of his research is that he performed absolutely all calculations just using pen and paper. During that time technologies were limited and not readily available. Secondly, his pen and paper research was sufficient for him to find a way to win in blackjack.

Jess Marcum manually developed what is now called basic strategy for card counters ten years ahead of his peers. He counted that theoretically he had an advantage over the casino of about 3%. Under the conditions of that time it was quite real. Moreover, Markum had been playing blackjack in all casinos known to him both in the United States and abroad. His name appeared on the pages of the newspapers as an example of “lucky man” who managed to hit the jackpot.

Jess Markum also went down in history as probably the first man thrown out from the casino because of card counting. At that time the casinos did not understand that such winning system existed. Jess Markum lived in Las Vegas for about a year. The casino owners exchanged the information when they gathered at the general meeting. And they were shocked. After that Jess Markum was barred from play at all Las Vegas casinos. He went to Reno. The same story went on. In half a year after unbelievable “luck” the casino owners started making inquiries about the incredible gambler. Then other states and cities followed. Then Cuba and even the Bahamas. Nobody knows how much money he has won during that time. One thing is known for sure. Jess Markum started the struggle between the blackjack professionals and casino owners, a war that is still going on and getting more intense.

Typical of professional gamblers including blackjack professionals, Jess Markum remained secretive throughout his gambling career. He did not share his calculations with anyone, and completely gave up playing against casinos after a wide public publication of blackjack methods by other authors.
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Jess Markum died in 1992, at the age of 72.

The next wave of great impact on the blackjack mathematics was made in 1956 by a group of four mathematicians, Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Eddie Cantey, Herbert Maisel and James McDermott. They were also known as “Four Horsemen of Aberdeen“. You have seen from my post Blackjack Hall of Fame that these four were 2008 Blackjack Hall of Fame inductees.

These Four Horsemen of Aberdeen had never played in casino before. However, they researched blackjack according to the most common rules during that time. They created basic strategy of playing blackjack and published it together with the calculation methods in the specialized mathematics journal for statisticians – Journal of the American Statistical Association entitled “The Optimum Strategy In Blackjack”.

They made several minor mistakes in calculations which is nothing serious taking into account their enormous contribution. A year later in 1957, they published a small book, “Playing Blackjack to Win: A New Strategy for the Game of 21”.

Unfortunately, their book and the article did not spark much interest, and remained at low profile in spite of their innovative approach. However, the research of the Four Horsemen of Aberdeen turned out to be one of the most widely used references in subsequent years.

In recognition of their work, the Four Horsemen of Aberdeen were collectively inducted in the 2008 Blackjack Hall of Fame.

Continue The Rise of Blackjack Professionals Part 2

Blackjack Professionals

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Professional blackjack card counters

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Professional blackjack card counters

Most casinos now use automatic shuffling machines in blackjack tables. This is casinos’ counter-measures against professional blackjack players who count cards and track card clumping. The question is what will be the future of the blackjack card counters. Are the days of card counting over? Many believe so.

More and more casinos are switching to automatic shuffling in blackjack tables which makes shuffle tracking or card counting impossible.

However, the Nevada gambling control board, the authority that protects the right of both the players and the casinos to ensure fair gaming decided that casinos may not alter the games in a way that would change the frequency of the payouts. Since then, many Nevada casinos train their dealers to count cards and shuffle as they please. In addition, many casinos maintain a database of card counters, including names and photos to try and keep them out of the game.

It is said that in places like Las Vegas in Nevada, casinos introduce strategies to monitor the card counters. Firstly, surveillance cameras are being used to analyze the skill of the players. Secondly, these casinos have smart blackjack tables that use magnetized chips to keep tracks of players’ hands as well as analyzing players’ strategies. These casinos are backed by big corporations with resources that are capable of influencing the gambling authorities to change their rules. Conversely, the professional blackjack players are relatively small fries.

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The pessimists believe that technologies will turn the game into a dinasaur. The casinos will develop some electronic dirty trick to perpetuate their scam business. Their superiority in resources and power will never allow a professional blackjack player to gain an advantage. Blackjack will die away turning into another slot-machine. The casinos will marginize all the card counters. All the blacklists will be compiled into a common list so that card counting in blackjack will become extinct.

The optimists view that “What one person has built, the other can easily dismantle”. Blackjack just can’t get away from it. First, the players will always come up with something new in response to the changes in the game. There is no such thing created by a person, that can’t be overdone by another person. Second, casinos finally should appreciate the theory that blackjack can be won is good for their business. Transformation of this intellectual game into fighting with stupid slot-machine is a lose-lose proposition for the casinos and the players at large.

The general consensus is that human intellect will finally win. The war between the casinos and the players will continue as both parties crack their brains to out-smart each other. Human intellect will always win. It is the law of nature.

So what will be the future of this blackjack conflict? Is it just a beginning or will it soon come to an end? Despite all their latest technology, political power and financial resources, the general consensus is that the casinos would continue to offer blackjack as long as the casinos continue to make money from their blackjack tables. With more than 25 states within the United States offering blackjack games legally, there are rooms for the card counters to survive in professional blackjack within the foreseeable future.

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How to win in blackjack

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How to win in blackjack

Blackjack card counting is the basic strategy to help card counters win in blackjack

In 1994, my girlfriend asked me to take a look at blackjack. She is not a gambler but she told me that friends told her that blackjack is beatable.

So, one day while browsing in a bookshop, I saw a book, “how to win in gambling written by Avery Cardoza”. After going through the book, I found that the book is mainly on blackjack. Other games are also mentioned to make the book look complete. There are very impressive and convincing arguments on blackjack. So, I bought the book and studied the blackjack information at home. After a few hours I am convinced that I can handle the basic strategy with ease. The book also mentioned that knowing the basic strategy is not enough to win but you will be better than 96% of your fellow players. There was a coupon in the book for those who are interested in the professional blackjack. So, I ordered the professional blackjack. Within five days, I received the professional version. Again it took me only a few hours to master the professional blackjack and I am ready for actual play in the casino. I played exactly as instructed by the manual and I won consistently for several months on balance. I am a new player, totally new in gambling yet I am better than 98% of the long term players.

Then one day I noticed the casino decided to take action against the card counters. The casino called them cc. What the casino did was the croupier reshuffles the deck after one quarter of the shoe is played. And if the card counter continue to win, they will reshuffle after every round. When the card counter leaves the table they will revert to playing the whole shoe, usually about 90%.

I continue to play this way for several months but I was not winning. It is more like breaking even. And, I am convinced blackjack is unbeatable when played this way.

Then one day the casino decided to use the continuous shuffling machine. That’s when I quit playing blackjack in the local casino.

For those who have a flare in mathematics, you need only a few hours to master card counting in blackjack. This is unlike professional poker which took me six months to learn including reading fifteen books.

Although blackjack card counting is an advanced technique to win in blackjack, it is relatively easy to understand. A player must first learn the basic strategy of blackjack before learning how to count cards. By learning the technique of counting you will have the odds with you.

The basic concept of blackjack card counting is that a deck filled with 10s and aces will be to your advantage. If the remaining deck is filled with smaller cards, it is to the dealer’s advantage. Simply put, when the deck is in your favour, you bet higher, when the deck is in favour of the dealer, you bet lower.

This is because a deck filled with 10 increases the chance of the dealer getting bust, while increasing your chances of making it in doubling down. In addition, you can just opt to stand to avoid double bust. Conversely, a deck filled with smaller cards makes the dealers chance to bust less and your chances of not making it in doubling down are higher. If you know the deck is filled with 10s or smaller cards, this can give you the advantage of knowing what strategy to use.

The dealer must then always hit until 17. To hit with hands of 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and knowing the deck is filled with 10s are losing hands.

If the deck is filled with aces, there is high chance that you’ll hit blackjack. When the player has blackjack, the pay off odds are 3:2. When the dealer has blackjack, the player only loses one-to-one. That’s why a deck filled with aces is always to the player’s advantage.

Blackjack card counting is not done by memorizing each card that has come out of a 6 deck shoe of cards. You have to simplify the counts by grouping the cards. High cards favour the players, low cards favour the dealers. 7, 8 and 9 are neutral cards.

Blackjack card counting is done by assigning the different card numbers with different point values. Always remember to pick a system that is easy to remember. This will cause fewer mistakes and you will lose less money.

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2,3,4,5,6 = +1;
7, 8, 9 = 0;
10, J, Q, K, Ace = -1

To illustrate this more clearly:
The first card dealt is an ace, so we start by having -1. Then 6 is the next card dealt so we add 1. This makes the run count back to zero. Then a 3 and 4 follows, making the run count now 2. When you see the upcards you try to cancel off the cards with opposing value. This way you capture the counts at high speed to keep up with the dealer.

After figuring the run count, you can try to figure the true count. You take the running count you have and divide it with the number of half-decks remaining from the shoe.

The true counts tell you the appropriate bet size and you can use your strategy from there.

I like to keep a separate count for the aces because ace has special characteristics. Besides your 5 1/2% advantage in blackjacks, if you double down on points nine and ten you will love to receive an ace.

Knowing the basic strategy only reduce your losses. It is still not enough to win. You need to deviate from the basic strategy according to your count to win.

I have seen many blackjack card counters learn by rote and continue to make mistakes because he did not understand the underlying concepts. For example, a fellow player’s cards 88, dealer’s upcard 9. The count is neutral. The fellow player decided to surrender but you told him that is wrong play and you bought over his card.

Let me explain. 88 versus 9 is a loser’s card. You lose less by splitting when conpared to surrender. So, when you bought over, you are actually sharing the loss with your fellow player.

In gambling, never learn the concepts by rote. Try to understand the underlying concepts.

KEYPOINTS

1. Blackjack card counting is a professional strategy to win in blackjack.
2. Blackjack card counting can be learned within a few hours.

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