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When to hit or stand. While famous card counters like the MIT team, Edward Thorp or Ken Uston popularized the notion that you could get seriously rich playing blackjack properly as long as you were a mathematical whizz kid, you don’t have to be a maths genius to employ blackjack basic strategy and dramatically increase your chances of walking away from the table a winner. This leaves blackjack variations like Spanish 21 and Free Bet Blackjack as the only candidates for card counting systems. Many variations of blackjack have a higher house edge than the main game. Spanish 21 removes 10s from the deck — starting the count on a negative. Experienced advantage players use card counting to beat optional side bets. Blackjack Team Strategy, casino fandango rum jungle buffe, casino da povoa reveillon, art goedgekeurd slot categorie 4 Mystical Sun Casinomia Casino is a relatively new online casino platform that was established in Blackjack Team Strategy 2019. In a 2002 interview with Richard Munchkin of Blackjack Forum Online, Chang described his initial experience with the MIT blackjack team as a fun one, but said it took some time to perfect his strategy. Due to several strategic errors, he was given a playing BP role, which meant he could count the cards for practice, but only bet on signals from.

Welcome to the website devoted to the most popular card counting team in the history of blackjack game - the MIT Blackjack Team! Here you will find answers to all your questions concerning appearance of this team, development, success and fails.The biggest nightmare of all casinos was created in 1980s by six former students of Massachusetts Institute of Technology who wanted to use all their knowledge for playing and winning. Some of these techniques can be used for other games like bingo and poker.

Famous Members: J.P. Massar

J.P. Massar was one of the very first MIT students who decided to gather the counting team: he had been the member of the MIT team for 10 years, and was both a player and a manager of them. J.P. Massar was the one who found Bill Kaplan and invited him to the team.

They travelled to Las Vegas together and were able to win a lot of money thanks to the team play and card counting.

Card Counting

If you know the MIT blackjack team you should know all strategies and systems they used for winning: card counting was the main of them and it really worked for the team. Edward Thorp explained the concept of card counting to all average players in 1962 when published his book 'Beat the Dealer'.

All professional blackjack gamblers use card counting today: this system is checked and proved to be workable.

Casinos vs Counters

Card counting was considered to be the method of cheating first and casinos did everything to detect counters. Even today such gamblers are not welcomed to casinos and new rules were developed for them, even for online blackjack.

Read the facts concerning how casinos try to prevent the cases of card counting and what they do if they notice a blackjack card counter at the table.

Is Card Counting Legal?

The method of card counting does not demand any special devices from gamblers: everything players use is their memory and brains; anyway, all counting techniques were considered to be illegal in many states, as well as in blackjack online. Roulette 77.

Read about the laws which were developed to prevent card counting, and meet Ken Uston, a gambler who was able to prove the fact players could use counting freely.

Detection Devices

Casino securities always tried to develop some special equipment which would be able to detect card counters; various computers and other devices were nightmares for counters and brought them many problems.

Read about the certain devices used by casinos and their security services; it is clear that gambling houses do not like players who always win. Card counters are such players!

MIT Stuff

The well-known fact is that MIT blackjack team used the strategy of card counting for playing and winning really big money: Hi-Lo system was their favorite one and it usually worked for them.

Nevertheless, this system could not be called the only one used by these clever and outstanding people. Read about some other counting systems and strategies used by the MIT team for winning millions.

Famous blackjack team consisted of students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, and other prominent colleges who had come together to become one of the most successful teams in the history of card counting at the world of blackjack. In the 1990s' there were rumors that they had won millions using different techniques of card counting and advanced game strategy, that are still widely used today both in real and online blackjack. They were the first group of people who worked together in order to beat the dealer, and it must be said, that they have proved that it was quite possible to beat the dealer and win a lot of money using no cheating methods, but the mental abilities. Today you will not find such players and groups of players, as gambling has completely transferred to the online mode. You have no need to go throughout Europe to play at casinos, as online you can enjoy your favorite games wherever you want. You can try Spanish, Norwegian, Dutch, or even Swedish casino right now!

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The time is running, and gambling possibilities increase, but there are some aspects in casino history, which any modern player should know, as it not only helps to understand all the principles of gambling, but also some of the strategies, which, in spite of the technological development, are used till now. MIT is one of those episodes, which have influenced gambling history greatly, especially history of blackjack game.

History of MTI team was immortalized through books, television shows and films that helped it become a true legend of blackjack. People from all over the world got to know about the team due to the bestseller 'Bringing Down the House' by Ben Mezriha. The story of that team also was shown by Robert Luketic and his 21 movie. The game of blackjack became very popular and playable all over the world due to the story of those guys, and even now, when that team had stopped its activity, thousands of players are inspired with their history and achievements.

Today every gambler can use all those tips and strategies the MIT team introduced to the world playing blackjack at any gambling website which allows to play blackjack game. Of course, not all the gamblers prefer blackjack game, some of them play slots or roulette only, some like to play different games, depending on their mood and desires. But you can be sure, that you find a lot of different casinos which offer you to play blackjack online.

Online Gambling – Opportunities for Everyone

To make your gambling more diverse you can try to play some unusual for you games using special game bonuses, which are offered at online casinos. These bonuses are usually represented in the form of free spins or extra-money for player. Sometimes there are also deposit-match bonuses, just like those which you get when get register at casino.

Playing in online casinos, as well as in traditional gambling houses, it is important to be well aware of all gambling aspects, especially those which are connected with gambling laws. The matter is that each country, and even state, has its own regulations concerning games and casinos, and you must be sure that you do not break law accidentally. Risks of this kind should not be taken by you, as jail or fine have nothing common to successful gambling. You can become a low risk winner in no time, all you have to do is choose the right strategy and master it. Even loses can bring you positive emotions, though you must do as much as possible in order to avoid them. So, learn the game rules, as this is the first step to increase chances of your winning!

There are a lot of tricky details in some casino games and it can be hard to get started. If you need a beginners guide to online casinos, you can find it in the Internet, as everything is available here, even guidelines on how to play blackjack, roulette, video poker and slot machines. You will have no problem finding the info you need and you'll be playing like a pro within a short period of time. And when the time to imply your skill comes, you will be able to play with the best winning chances. Get ready to the wonderful time playing the best casino games, including online blackjack, online craps, online baccarat, online roulette and slots with the biggest welcome bonuses!

Many books have been written on gambling, many games have been played, many strategies have been developed. But there is always place for “more”. You can be the one who develops the best working strategy, or the one who wins the biggest jackpot. You can also become a player who outshines the MIT and starts the new era in gambling. With online gambling everything is possible, so start your way to gambling fame!

Card counting Fathers

Edward Thorp

Edward Thorp was the first one who explained the concept of card counting to average players in 1962.

Tommy Hyland

Tommy Hyland has been managing the most successful blackjack team for thirty years already (since 1979).

Ken Uston

Ken Uston was the best blackjack player, author, card counter and manager of blackjack card counting team.

Team History

Speaking about the MIT team history it is important to mention every period of its development.

The years of their triumph were 1990s when they beat all Las Vegas casinos out of really big money and were not noticed and caught by casino security guards.

MIT TEAM ORIGINS

The story began in 1979 when a group of MIT students organized the courses 'How to gamble if you must'.

MIT TEAM: 1980s

1980s were the first attempts of the team to win big money in Atlantic City; they were not successful anyway.

MIT TEAM: 1990s

This period was the Golden Era for the MIT blackjack team when they won millions of dollars in all casinos.

MIT Books

Bringing Down the House

by Ben Mezrich

Price on Amazon: $11.21

Busting Vegas

by Ben Mezrich

Price on Amazon: $11.21

Million Dollar Blackjack

by Ken Uston

Price on Amazon: $11.21

Thanks to the 2008 hit film 21 – which recounted the exploits of the infamous MIT Blackjack Team – card counting has enjoyed a renaissance of late.

Popular media outlets proudly produce instructional content for aspiring card counters, and YouTube is littered with related videos. As a veteran advantage play pro, this is a refreshing change of pace, as card counting was once on the verge of fading away into obscurity.

Sure, the casino’s security systems are still top notch, and card counting will always be “frowned upon” – but every player should feel empowered to beat the house at its own game. Provided you’re sticking to card counting, hole carding, and other legitimate – and legally protected – advantage play methods, there’s no reason to consider counting taboo.

But as the movie 21 made clear, counting as a lone wolf is far less effective than playing as part of a team.

In that spirit, I’ve put this page together to provide an introductory guide to forming and running your own card counting team. Below you’ll find a step-by-step tutorial on what it takes to assemble a team and get to work evening the odds. But before we get down to those details, let’s run through the history of card counting teams and how they work.

The First Big Player Team

Back in 1971, a gambling man by the name of Al Francesco was just another card counter plying his trade on his own.

Like everybody else doing the same at the time, Francesco took in interest in advantage play techniques in the 1960s thanks to Edward O. Thorp’s book Beat the Dealer (1962). Thorp pioneered the very first system for counting through the blackjack deck, known as the Ten Count. And while he was more interested in the theoretical and mathematical angles of the game, Thorp’s work changed blackjack forever.

Players like Francesco eventually moved on to different counting systems, such as the Advanced Point Count devised by Lawrence Revere. But no matter which approach they favored, all card counters were confronted with the same problem – the “heat.”

While counting cards isn’t a crime – thanks in large part to Francesco (more on this to come) – casinos are well within their rights to ban players they suspect to have an edge. Of course, I disagree wholeheartedly with this, as the entire essence of gambling strategy is predicated on reducing the house’s edge. Even so, casinos train their dealers and pit bosses to carefully observe winning players, scanning for any sign that they might be counting.

Advantage play specialists refer to this extra attention as heat, and for a big bettor like Francesco, that meant being barred from various properties – and even being roughed up.

Although he knew exactly how to dissect the deck to determine when the count was in his favor, Francesco couldn’t conceal that fact for very long. Between his intense concentration on the mental calculations needed – and the predictable pattern of increased bet sizes producing winners – he could only play for so long before being discovered.

Then, almost by accident, Francesco stumbled upon a strategy that would fundamentally reshape the blackjack landscape. While hanging out with his family at Harvey’s Casino in Lake Tahoe, Francesco watched his brother playing a low-stakes table. The brother knew what he was doing, and he’d raise his $1 wager to $5 when a positive count arrived.

Naturally, Francesco couldn’t help himself and plunked a $100 chip down to back the bet, knowing the odds were in his favor. Here’s how remembered the genesis moment three decades later in an interview with Arnold Snyder of the Blackjack Forum:

“We were killing time waiting for dinner, and my brother was playing blackjack. He was betting from $1 to $5 and he knew how to count.

I was standing behind him talking with my brother-in-law, and every time I noticed my brother make a $5 bet, I threw $100 on his hand.

I just kept talking to my brother-in-law and let my brother play the hand. It looked like I couldn’t care less about what happened. If my brother went down to $1, I pulled all my money back.

They bought that hook, line, and sinker. I didn’t give it too much thought, and then when I was playing in that four-deck game, it came to me that this was the way to outsmart them.”

By taking advantage of his brother’s count, and appearing to all the world to be just another high-roller splashing around, Francesco found the best way to cool off heat – team play. It took a bit of tinkering to put the concept into action, but eventually Francesco settled on what he called the “Big Player” system.

Other players took care of the counting, betting small potatoes while they do to avoid suspicion, before relaying signals to a designated Big Player. This person would be betting big money the whole way through, ordering drinks and carrying on like the typical high-roller who doesn’t care about the result – only the action.

But lo and behold, when the Big Player seemed to randomly settle on a larger bet, the cards managed to cooperate more often than not.

Here’s how Francesco described the subterfuge while speaking with fellow Blackjack Hall of Fame inductee Snyder:

“I was always looking for new people because with three counters the Big Player didn’t keep busy all the time.

It looked like he was waiting for something. If he was betting big all the time, the act looked a lot better. You looked like a raving maniac.

Eventually we had six counters and the concept got better.”

Using this system, Francesco soon discovered that the team approach was too much for typical dealers and pit bosses to handle.

The player doing all the mental gymnastics to keep an accurate count might stand out, but they’re only betting peanuts so the casino tends not to care. And as the Big Player lives up to the name by scooping huge profits, their seemingly random play and casual demeanor doesn’t peg them as a counter.

Just like that, blackjack became a beatable game – provided you have the right team in place.

Finding the Right Players to Work With

Francesco wound up relocating to Atlantic City in 1978, the year New Jersey legalized casino gambling.

He hoped to find softer games and inexperienced staff, but as it turned out, Atlantic City could put on the same sort of heat as Las Vegas. He wound up employing a character named Ken Uston, who was prone to lapses in judgment that put the team at risk. Uston wound up revealing the secrets of team play in a book titled “The Big Player,” and from that point on, casinos knew what to look for.

Uston wound up taking the state’s Casino Commission to court after being banned from playing blackjack, and in a historic ruling, he won the case. In a roundabout way, Francesco’s decision to bring Uston aboard led to the legal precedent which protects advantage players to this day. Counting cards was deemed to be legal, and casinos were prohibited from banning players solely because of suspicion.

While we can all be thankful for Uston’s legal crusade, Francesco wasn’t so lucky. By teaching the Big Player technique to somebody who had no hesitation publishing the secrets to the world, Francesco’s hidden goldmine was exposed.

The players you’ll be associating with are more than just partners, they’re a crucial link in a chain that’s being pulled in many directions. The scrutiny of casino staff, the pressure to blend in while winning big, and the whims of variance that can lead to losses even with a great count – these factors all add up.

And unless your teammates are capable of handling that workload, the carefully orchestrated ballet can come crashing to a halt.

Mike Aponte, a member of the MIT Blackjack Team which won millions in the ‘80s and ‘90s, gave an interview with the BBC in which he addressed what makes a good teammate. According to Aponte, the best Big Players are able to exude casual confidence, all while moving massive amounts of money around the table:

“You just have to pass that initial test where they size you up and think, ‘OK, is this someone we’re going to make a lot of money from?’

What was important was being comfortable, being able to deal with the attention, because money just attracts attention.”

Aponte revealed that the MIT team had a few hiccups along the way, including one Big Player candidate who didn’t quite fit the part. As he told the BBC, Aponte erred in assigning the Big Player position to somebody who was much more suited to be a spotter:

“Looking back it was a mistake as he didn’t have a good look for a big player.

He wore glasses, he had a very meek personality, and he just looked really smart.

He was really smart – he was a PhD student.” – Mike Aponte

The whole trick here is to find teammates that are naturally suited for either the spotter or Big Player role.

The spotters should be nondescript, allowing them to do the heavy mental lifting without catching a second look. And speaking of the mental workload, you probably won’t find an MIT-trained math genius like Aponte, but the spotter obviously needs to be good with numbers. Before you ever hit the casino floor, you’ll want to run through rigorous tests and practice counts to perfect the system.

As for the latter, you want a Big Player who makes the casino happy – somebody who seems right at home torching big bucks at the blackjack table. Flashy clothes, a boisterous personality, and maybe a few cocktails along the way are all essential elements of the Big Player disguise.

Making the Managerial Side Tick

Believe it or not, but the most difficult part of running a card counting team doesn’t take place at the tables.

Sure, the actual gameplay will require skill and aplomb to pull off, but practice will make perfect once you have the right team in place. No, the real difficulties lie in managing such a complex operation.

Remember, your team should include at least three spotters for every Big Player, and you’ll likely want to double that staff to prevent your faces from becoming too familiar. Thus, you should expect to employ seven additional teammates, assuming you’ll be in on the action too.

You’ll be in charge of the team bank, or the pool of money used as capital in the venture. The amount in that bank is all up to you, depending on what stakes you’re looking to play – but it goes without saying that you’ll need a sizable cash reserve on hand at all times. Even card counters lose on occasion, and without enough cashflow to keep yourself afloat, a few bad beats can bury even the best of teams.

Along with dispensing portions of the bank for use at the table, you’ll be carefully accounting for all profits and losses. This job is crucial, because as every gambler knows, strange things can happen when it comes to money in a casino. A teammate might use a chunk of bank money betting on sports, or maybe they have one too many at the bar. In any event, your job as team manager entails accounting for every dollar that comes in or out of the bank.

And if you do catch somebody with their hand in the cookie jar, don’t hesitate to give them the boot. It may be a pain to find and train their replacement, but card counting teams rely on honesty and integrity to succeed. It only takes a single leak to sink the biggest ship, after all.

Aponte himself had to cut bait with a teammate whose recklessness put the entire endeavor at risk.

After two teammates got married, he wanted to show his wife a good time, so the happy couple headed south to play blackjack in the Bahamas. Unfortunately for them, casino security doesn’t play by the same rules as they do here in the States, and card counting is more than just frowned upon – it’s strictly forbidden by law.

This is how Aponte described the situation to the BBC:

“He was up about $20,000 or $30,000, and the casino figured out he was card counting and they brought the police in.

They threw them in jail and confiscated not only all the money they’d won but the team money they’d brought with them.

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That player and his wife – they never played for the team again.”

Incidents such as this may seem unlikely, but you’d be surprised how major money can affect people’s better judgment. No matter what, do your part as manager to keep the team in line, and always keep the bank money under a watchful eye.

That level of diligence can be tough for seasoned corporate managers, and we’re just a bunch of grizzled gamblers, so be prepared for a certain level of burnout.

Bill Kaplan, founder of the MIT Blackjack Team, found himself wearing down after decades of walking that proverbial tightrope. As he told the BBC, Kaplan eventually gave it all up once the managerial duties became so overwhelming:

“As a player it’s an amazing experience, but as a manager we might have 10, 20, 30 people playing in five different casino locales, some in Las Vegas, some in New Orleans, some in Canada, and we’re keeping track of their play, we’re trying to make sure nobody’s stealing money.

I was just running a business and it just seemed like so much of the business was more headaches than fun.”

Kaplan’s lesson couldn’t be clearer. Unless you’re prepared to run your card counting team like a legitimate business, the enterprise is already doomed to fail.

Deciding Where to Play

Back in the era Francesco and Uston came up in, the gambling scene in America was limited to Nevada, and then Atlantic City.

Today is a totally different story though, as gambling has spread from coast to coast, and all points in between. According to the latest data compiled by the American Gaming Association (AGA), over 500 commercial casinos can be found in the following 24 states:

• Colorado
• Delaware
• Florida
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• West Virginia

And that’s just the commercial casinos. When the 470 tribal casinos operated on reservation land are added in, America is home to nearly 1,000 gambling establishments. Given the ubiquitous nature of blackjack, it’s safe to say you’ll have tens of thousands of blackjack tables to choose from.

Obviously, the epicenter of the U.S. blackjack scene is Sin City, but playing as a team in Las Vegas probably isn’t a wise move. These guys have been sniffing out card counters for nearly a century now, and they’re the best in the business when it comes to security.

And just in case you’re under the illusion that card counters have carte blanche these days, think again. You won’t be hustled into a back room and beaten with a hammer like the poor fool in Martin Scorcese’s classic Casino (1995), but getting the “tap” is all too common.

Advantage players who have been detected nowadays are simply tapped on the shoulder and told politely, but firmly, that they’re no longer welcome to play blackjack. From there, you might be escorted out by security, or invited to play the slots – that’s all up to the staff on site.

In an article titled “Confessions of a Card Counter,” which was published by the Las Vegas Sun in 2008, Jeff Haney wistfully recalled getting the tap in a series of Sin City casinos:

“My encounters – aficionados also call them “backoffs” or “barrings” and love to nitpick about the distinctions among the terms – have been civil and businesslike.

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The most pleasant came at Fiesta Rancho when it was owned by the Maloof family. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I asked for and received a generous comp to the casino’s Mexican restaurant as a sort of parting gift.

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My banning at the Palms, another Maloof property, was also polite, almost apologetic. I was doing my best to mind my own business and look like a tourist enjoying a game of cards. A well-groomed casino official I had never seen before materialized by the table and said, matter-of-factly, ‘Jeff, you can’t play here anymore.’”

Accordingly, I’d advise any aspiring card counting team to take their business outside of Las Vegas altogether. It’s just not worth the heat, and as you’ll soon discover, the wilds of lesser known commercial and tribal casinos provide softer targets.

Generally speaking, you should be looking for casinos that don’t fall under the ownership of big corporate brands like Caesars Entertainment, Harrah’s, or MGM Resorts International. These titans of the industry have plenty of resources at their disposal, and even if you’re entering a small venue off the beaten path, corporate ownership usually ensures strict security measures and proper training.

Mit Blackjack Team Basic Strategy Chart

Instead, I always liked to take my team to obscure casinos, places like Bullwhacker’s Black Hawk Canyon in Colorado or Bucky’s in Arizona. These establishments just don’t have the budget to challenge proficient card counters like their bigger corporate-owned rivals.

Conclusion

Mit Blackjack Team Strategy

Counting cards as a team requires hard work and dedication, but it’s all worth it when you start beating the house at its own game. You might feel like you’re up to no good, but the casino doesn’t have any qualms about taking a drunk’s paycheck, or spreading side bets that are more like lottery games than blackjack. With that in mind, practice your counting, find solid teammates, and do whatever it takes – within the boundaries of the law – to gain an edge on the game.

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