The card game of chemin de fer was brought to the U.S. in the 19th century but it was not until the middle of the 20th century that a technique was created to defeat the house in twenty-one. This article is going to take a rapid peak at the development of that system, Counting Cards.
When betting was approved in Nevada in ‘34, Blackjack sky-rocketed into universal appeal and was usually bet on with one or two decks. Roger Baldwin wrote a paper in ‘56 which explained how to reduce the casino advantage built on odds and statistics which was quite bewildering for those who were not mathematicians.
In ‘62, Dr. Thorp utilized an IBM 704 computer to enhance the mathematical strategy in Baldwin’s dissertation and also developed the 1st card counting strategies. Dr. Ed Thorp authored a tome called "Beat the Dealer" which illustrated card counting strategies and the tactics for reducing the casino advantage.
This created a massive increase in twenty-one gamblers at the US betting houses who were trying to put into practice Dr. Thorp’s tactics, much to the amazement of the casinos. The technique was not easy to comprehend and hard to carry through and therefore heightened the profits for the betting houses as more and more folks took to wagering on black jack.
However this large increase in earnings was not to last as the players became more highly developed and more insightful and the system was further improved. In the 80’s a bunch of students from MIT made counting cards a part of the day-to-day vocabulary. Since then the casinos have brought in countless measures to counteract card counters including but not limited to, multiple decks, shoes, shuffle machines, and rumour has it, complex computer programs to scrutinize actions and identify "cheaters". While not illegal being caught counting cards will get you blocked from many brick and mortar casinos in vegas.
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