Notorious Card Counters
Stories of people beating the odds on their trip to Las Vegas are incredibly popular and it's easy to understand why. The idea of an average man taking on a super casino and winning is incredibly romantic. Whether they won with a spin or a roulette wheel, or just got super lucky at blackjack, it's always nice to see the little guy win. Some people make a living out of playing the casinos at their own game; these people operate under the radar, moving from casino to casino when their consistent wins are noticed. Here is a quick look at some of the most famous card counters in history.
Edward Thorpe
Edward Thorpe was an MIT professor with a talent for analysing probabilities. He programmed an IBM 704 computer to analyse the probabilities behind blackjack and built a strategy based on what he learned. He went to Las Vegas to test his theories and after finding that they were profitable, he published a book on the subject, called "Beat the Dealer".
The MIT Poker Team
In the late 1970s, a group of MIT students formed a card-counting team with the intent of beating the odds and earning large amounts of money playing blackjack. After many hours of training, they took their new-found skills to the casinos and made a profit of $400,000 in just one weekend. This was before the days of the supercasino, when card counting was not well known. The group grew over the next few years, even recruiting players from Harvard. It eventually broke up in the 1990s.
Tommy Hyland
Tommy Hyland is a well-known blackjack player and card counter. He started playing blackjack in 1979 and it didn't take long for him to figure out how to count cards and beat the house. He built up an impressive bankroll and eventually set up a blackjack team with more than 30 players in it. The team grew too quickly, became unmanageable and eventually broke up, but Hyland still plays blackjack today and believes that anyone can beat the odds at their favourite local gambling house or online super casino if they learn to count cards.
If you want to win in the casinos, don't spend your time on roulette or slot machines. Instead, look for the card games. Whether you're playing in Las Vegas or at an online supercasino you can win if you choose the right game and the right strategy.