Blackjack player beats 3 Atlantic City Casinos for $15.1M
- Thread starter pcp198
- Start date
The article doesn't have enough info to determine if it was luck or skill. we dont know if he varied his bet size and what his drawdowns were before walking away with the big wins.
If he was using a system, it wasn't necessarily card counting. According to Wikipedia, Shuffle tracking is a technique mainly applicable in multi-deck games, involves tracking groups of cards (aka slugs, clumps, packs) during the play of the shoe, following them through the shuffle and then playing and betting accordingly when those cards come into play from the new shoe.
He could also have used an undetected method of marking higher value cards.
If he was using a system, it wasn't necessarily card counting. According to Wikipedia, Shuffle tracking is a technique mainly applicable in multi-deck games, involves tracking groups of cards (aka slugs, clumps, packs) during the play of the shoe, following them through the shuffle and then playing and betting accordingly when those cards come into play from the new shoe.
He could also have used an undetected method of marking higher value cards.
I'm getting a feeling of deja vu here with a Wilmott thread I contributed to years ago (http://bit.ly/kibH2S) .
Is there any reason for a casino to ignore the body of knowledge in the industry about pro techniques and loosen its playing conditions? Is it really possible that some new mathematics have been uncovered that would grant an edge in game conditions (shoe, decks, shuffle frequency, cutcard penetration) far less favourable than 30-40 years ago, whether in anticipating undealt cards or in devising a superior betting strategy?
Or is this story simply something of a Black Swan event, that was statistically likely to happen at some point with a player who was well-capitalized in an indulgent casino?
Ive come close to really taking blackjack to the next level. but Im comfy with life/financial health so Ive never pushed it
good read.
good read.
List of great black jack players, but none of them were in the multiple millions several times consequtive league.
http://www.blackjackhero.com/blackjack/players/
here is an interesting one, where missleading the casinos were just as important as counting cards:
"Kevin Blackwood has been quoted as saying that a good card counter will win between a quarter to one-third of his max bet per hour, so with a max bet of $1,000, he was probably earning around $300 per hour.
When he was concentrating solely on gambling, his day would usually start with a morning run (he ran track in high school and played basketball). He would then eat breakfast and head off to the casinos. While he would often play up to 8 hours at a time, Blackwood might spend as many as 14 hours total getting a feel for the casinos and the tables and looking for the most advantageous situations.
He would often take as much as $40,000 with him on his trips, with the rest being left at home or invested in the stock market. He would then cram up to $20,000 in a fanny pack and leave the rest in a safety deposit box. He normally expected to win around $2,000 per day, but these numbers could sometimes fluctuate to a win (or loss) of up to $20,000.
Kevinâs first order of business upon entering a casino was to circle around the pit and then stand behind a table, back counting until there was a favorable situation. He would then jump into the game and place a large bet. This was usually allowed, as pit bosses didnât want to chase away high rollers. He would then jump his bets up or down according to the count.
He would usually keep his sessions short in order to cut down on the chances of being discovered. He would run from casino to casino, often dressed in jogging attire (with his winnings still kept in his fanny pack)."
-------------------------------
I think one reason why there are no multiple million winners is that the casinos usually smart up really fast and they share info with each other. That's why it was interesting how Johnson were able to take 3 casinos in such a short timeframe...
http://www.blackjackhero.com/blackjack/players/
here is an interesting one, where missleading the casinos were just as important as counting cards:
"Kevin Blackwood has been quoted as saying that a good card counter will win between a quarter to one-third of his max bet per hour, so with a max bet of $1,000, he was probably earning around $300 per hour.
When he was concentrating solely on gambling, his day would usually start with a morning run (he ran track in high school and played basketball). He would then eat breakfast and head off to the casinos. While he would often play up to 8 hours at a time, Blackwood might spend as many as 14 hours total getting a feel for the casinos and the tables and looking for the most advantageous situations.
He would often take as much as $40,000 with him on his trips, with the rest being left at home or invested in the stock market. He would then cram up to $20,000 in a fanny pack and leave the rest in a safety deposit box. He normally expected to win around $2,000 per day, but these numbers could sometimes fluctuate to a win (or loss) of up to $20,000.
Kevinâs first order of business upon entering a casino was to circle around the pit and then stand behind a table, back counting until there was a favorable situation. He would then jump into the game and place a large bet. This was usually allowed, as pit bosses didnât want to chase away high rollers. He would then jump his bets up or down according to the count.
He would usually keep his sessions short in order to cut down on the chances of being discovered. He would run from casino to casino, often dressed in jogging attire (with his winnings still kept in his fanny pack)."
-------------------------------
I think one reason why there are no multiple million winners is that the casinos usually smart up really fast and they share info with each other. That's why it was interesting how Johnson were able to take 3 casinos in such a short timeframe...
I used the same approach at times back when I played. The only question I would have is have the Vegas casinos changed the game in a fundamental way since 1993. There have been some suggestions of this on this thread, such as automatic shuffing.
If its still 6-8 decks ( or less ) in a shoe with a cut card, you can definately have an edge as I am claiming.
In theory, single deck games dealt out of hand would be best ( there were a few back then ). But the possibility of dealer cheating is too high on those games. I always preferred the shoe games surrounded ( hopefully ) by larger reckless gamblers.