A very timely article in Wired Magazine about how casinos are trying to increase already loaded odds further in their favour. Timely, because my recent guests wanted to go to a casino and we duly went on Saturday evening. The article says that in blackjack the house/banker/dealer has an edge of about half a percent and the casinos are using new tracking technology to keep ahead of card counters. A card counter keeps track of the cards as they're dealt, and bets based on the cards his system predicts will hit the table next. "Traditionally, counting strategies dictate that counters bet high when more high cards remain as a larger number of unplayed high cards gives an advantage to the player." The new technology keeps a much better (i.e. exact) track of the cards already dealt and much more, triggering an alert when it "detects a player continually adjusting his betting pattern coincident with a preponderance of undealt high cards". What do the casinos do when such an alert is triggered? Kick the player off the table. The casinos in Las Vegas have been told they can't use the technology to count cards but they say they are only using it to keep better track of the high rollers to whom they provide various freebies like drinks/hotel rooms/meals and show tickets. Hands up everyone who believes that.
I did well at the blackjack table. :+) 5 wins and one draw out of 6 games played and came out $60 up. My guests all won as well. Neverthless, casinos, however plush, are seedy, sordid and sad places. You see very few people looking as if they are enjoying themselves and when one knows the odds are stacked against one ... well ... what's the point? I won't be going back.
Posted by Joe at August 19, 2003 09:18 AMYou certainly came out ahead. I don't know why people can't see this. It's obvious on the face of it. In order to stay in business, a casino must make money. That means, on the average, people lose more money than they make at the casino.
(I've heard that the chances of winning the typical high-stakes lottery are lower than the chances of being struck by lighting!)
If you saw 'Rainman' you'll see one way to counter card-counting: use so many decks at once that it becomes too difficult for the players to keep track.
Posted by: DJ at August 19, 2003 09:34 AMYour first paragraph was almost word for word what I was telling the boys in the car this morning. No one is going to give money away and if they (casinos) lost more money than they fleeced from their punters, they'd be out of business before Bob has a chance to become your uncle.
Posted by: Joe at August 19, 2003 09:47 AMPity you provided them with such an excellent counter-example!
Posted by: DJ at August 20, 2003 05:04 AMI was, believe it or not, going to shut-up and not tell them but I'd blabbed about the win to another set of guests the day before and the boys were listening. :+(
Posted by: Joe at August 20, 2003 06:19 AM