Edward Thorp Blackjack
Edward Thorp Blackjack Rules
Posted by Shirley Ann Jennings - SAJA '55 (actually, 'Chip') on August 03, 2000.
Edward O Thorp was born in 1932 in Chicago and was a professor, author and an avid blackjack player. He is mostly known for his book Beat the Dealer in 1962 which was the first book ever which proved that it was possible to beat the casinos at blackjack by using card counting methods.
- Just a classic book. While Thorp was far from the first person to count cards, his experience's and idea's were great. A must read for any counter/Blackjack player. Even though single deck games now either suck or don't exist, this book is still worth it.
- As related in his new book, “A Man For All Markets,” in 1958 Thorp and his wife decided to spend their Christmas holiday in Las Vegas, playing a bit of blackjack. At the time, blackjack was a pursuit in which players had no shot at winning money over the long run.
I have tried to do some research to pass on to everyone regarding Edward Thorp (blackjack card counting) and found the data that follows which is some of the basis of Chip's comments to you. Please allow everyone to have a chance to see it. SAJA
Chapter 3
Card-counting is an advanced gambling tool, which could in theory give a player the advantage in almost any card game. Card-counting at blackjack was developed in the 1950s by Dr Edward Thorp. Professor Thorp is a character so extraordinary that had he not really lived, then as a character of fiction his exploits would have been dismissed as far-fetched. Unquestionably the greatest mind ever to turn his attention to gambling, Thorp has made small fortunes at blackjack, roulette, and sports betting; he also pioneered the incredibly successful 'warrant-hedging' technique on the greatest gambling game of all, the stock market. Over $65 billion have passed through his hands over the last few decades, and his personal fortune can only be guessed at. He is without doubt the most successful gambler who has ever lived. All of this was due to an extraordinary ability to understand the mathematics of gambling games and devise practical systems to bend chance to his will.
Experimenting with the game of blackjack, Thorp discovered that when you remove certain cards from the deck, this alters the house advantage. He also found that a player could sometimes have the advantage over the house. For example, removing all the 5's from a deck puts the odds in the player's favor. These favorable situations are outnumbered by unfavorable ones. And so, on average, an unskilled player would lose more than he wins. But, Thorp discovered, if the player knows when he has the advantage, he can bet more than when the house has the advantage, and so win more money than he loses.
Thorp constructed his highly successful ten-count system, with which he won many thousands of dollars from the casinos at blackjack. They retaliated with a series of countermeasures designed to thwart the 'Counters', the disciples who read Thorp's bestselling 'Beat the Dealer' and tried their own luck with his gambling system. There are still some professional card-counters around today, although the casinos are wise to the danger and bar any blackjack player they suspect is counting cards.
Ion Saliu's note
Card counting, as devised by Edward Thorp is a footnote to gambling history now. It offered a slight advantage in one-deck games, one player against the dealer only, and especially towards the end of the deck. Ideally, a player could destroy the blackjack game IF knowing the composition of the deck AND the sequence of the remaining cards in the deck. The latter part is the REAL problem: Nobody will ever be able to know the SEQUENCE of the remaining cards in the deck.I went to the extreme in programming a blackjack application to play online or against the computer. The program provided what I call total blackjack card count. The count alone does NOT offer winning the game of blackjack automatically. Again, the staggering amount of card sequences is insurmountable, critically axiomatic colleague of mine.
My blackjack software (2009) calculates the odds of dealer busting in the most accurate mathematical fashion. You will notice undeniably that 10 followed by 6 occurs equally to 6 followed by 10. See my answer and a screenshot of the blackjack software in the follow-up: Blackjack card-counting devised by Edward Thorp is a footnote to gambling history.
Blackjack: Software, Content, Resources, Systems, Basic Strategy, Card Counting
See a comprehensive directory of the pages and materials on the subject of blackjack, baccarat, software, systems, and basic strategy.- Blackjack, Black Jack: Basic Strategy, Card Counting; Charts & Tables, Probability, Odds, Software.
- Gambling Mathematics Applied to Blackjack: The Myth and Deception ofBlackjack Card Counting .
~ Chip had started a thread on blackjack card counting and how it was shown on CBS's 60 Minutes; the TV network did not realize the fake conceived by the casino and Ken Uston! Kenny won at will in a game that's close to coin tossing at best! - The Best Blackjack Basic Strategy: Free Cards, Charts.
All three color-coded charts in one file, in the best decision-making sequence: Split Pairs, to Double Down, to Hit or Stand. - Split Pairs: Blackjack Basic Strategy Card, Table, Chart.
Color-coded chart to learn the best Split Pairs strategy. When you get your first two cards, look at this table first. The pairs occur the least in a blackjack game (5.9%). If your hand is not a pair, move to the next chart: Double Down. - Double Down: Blackjack Strategy Table, Card, Chart.
Color-coded chart to learn the best Double Down strategy. After consulting the Split Pairs table, look next at this table. The Double Down situations occur more often than pairs at blackjack (8% recommended to double). If your hand is not a Double Down situation, move to the next chart: Hit or Stand. - Hit or Stand: Blackjack Strategy Chart, Card, Table.
Color-coded chart to learn the best Hit or Stand strategy. After consulting the Double Down table, finally look at this table. The Hit or Stand decisions are by far the most frequent and important situations in blackjack. - Blackjack Basic Strategy: Free Card, Table, Chart, Spreadsheet: Split Pairs; Double Down; Hit Stand.
The traditional method of learning the BJ basic strategy: all decisions in a table. The dealer up-card is listed across (horizontally), while the player's first two cards are listed vertically in the leftmost column. This spreadsheet strategy makes it more difficult to learn the best blackjack decisions accurately and quickly. - Download Software: Casino Gambling, Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat, Craps.
Follow Ups:
- Set the record straight on Chip, his real name, criminal behavior, Powerplay roulette, baccarat - June 2004.
- Blackjack Card Counting by Edward Thorp Footnote to Gambling HistoryIon Saliu8/04/2000.
Edward Thorp Blackjack Shop
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