How I Became Interested in Blackjack
How I Became Interested in Blackjack
I became interested in playing blackjack during the summer of 1979. Alabaster clouds floated upon a light blue sky as I walked to the on campus library of the University of Rhode Island. The walk was not far. I resided at Theta Delta Chi, a nearby fraternity house. I went to the library to research a term paper but was sidetracked when I noticed a book titled "Beat the Dealer" by Edward O. Thorp. The title page read "A WINNING STRATEGY FOR THE GAME OF TWENTY-ONE." The book described a method of winning at blackjack, of gaining a mechanical advantage of between 0 and 2%, simply by keeping track of the cards dealt in a blackjack game. The method is called card counting. First the rules of the game were explained. Next a strategy to beat the game was explained. It consisted of keeping track of the ten valued cards, T,J,Q,K, ("tens"), versus the non-ten valued cards, ("others"). This was accomplished by starting with the number of non-tens and tens in a deck of cards and subtracting one from the number of non-tens or tens as the card appeared. For example, a freshly shuffled deck of cards has 36 non-tens and 16 tens. If the first card dealt was a 4 ( a non-ten or other), the ratio would then be 35/16. The idea was to keep a running balance of the remaining tens and non-tens. I recall spending that evening practicing card counting until I fell asleep. The tens/others count described by Professor Thorp required a greater degree of dexterity in doing the math than today's simple plus/minus counts, making it easier for a beginning student today. Today you have all the advantages of studying a far more advanced and easier to learn method than Professor Thorp's original card counting system.
I went to Atlantic City and gave my perceived card counting skill a try. I had as a starting bank about three hundred dollars. I decided to play at Harrahs. What an experience! Losing almost the entire stake I began with, I changed tables. Wagering at a different table and conservatively increasing my bets when I perceived an edge, fortune smiled upon me, and I soon had several hundred dollars. As I continued to play, I was tapped on my right shoulder from behind. There were two secutity guards behind me. They broke my rhythm. One of the security guards told me a notice, that I would no longer be allowed to play blackjack at Harrahs. He read:
"I represent Harrah's, landlord of the premises. You are precluded from playing blackjack at our tables. You may play any other game in our casino. If you play blackjack at our tables you will be trespassing and I will have you arrested for trespassing."
This was typical of what happened to players who were perceived by casinos as being a threat to their profits. People desiring to use their powers of reasoning at the gaming tables were to be precluded from play. At the time, (1981), this unjust conduct was allowed in New Jersey.
I filed a complaint with the Casino Control Commission regarding my exclusion from the game of blackjack. Three weeks later I received a response. The response said that in the absence of regulations or statutory or constitutional authority to the contrary, casino management does have the common law right to excluded those it feels are following a card counting strategy from play at the game of blackjack.
The good news is that New Jersey casinos cannot now detain or exclude persons suspected or known to be card counting. This is because in 1981 a lawsuit involving card counting was brought before the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, (Uston v. Resorts Int'l Hotel, Inc. 179 N.J. Super. 223(1981)), appealing a determination by the Casino Control Commissioner that allowed the detention and ejection of card counters. The decision of the Casino Control Commissioner was overturned with a ruling that casinos do not have a common law right to exclude card counters from the premises. That decision was appealed to the Supreme Court of New Jersey. In Uston v. Resorts Int'l Hotel Inc., 89 N.J. 163 (1982), the Supreme Court of New Jersey examined the question of under what circumstances a casino/hotel could evict patrons. The Court commenced its analysis by noting that the statutory and administrative controls on the operation of Casinos are extraordinary, pervasive, and extensive. Further, the Casino Control Act contains a preemption clause stating that the act prevails over "any other provision of law" in conflict with or inconsistent with its provisions, N.J.S.A. 5:12-133 (b), Uston, supra, at 168.
This meant that only the Casino Control Commission has the authority to permanently exclude someone from playing blackjack. Furthermore, card counting, using your mind, is not a valid reason for exclusion.
Casino personnel were depressed by the decision. No longer could they dictate their petty directives against card counters. Today anyone can learn how to count cards and apply their skill in New Jersey. It's not difficult to learn how to count cards. Practically all that is required is the ability to count backwards and forwards. People often ask me if an above average intelligence or photographic memory is necessary to count cards. The answer is no. An ordinary memory will do. The first system I used, developed by Professor Thorp, was a wee bit more difficult than current counting systems, but even that first system required no more than an ability to do simple arithmetic and concentrate.