What is it with blackjack and mathematicians?
November 10 2009, Staff writer
Reading an article in the
Daily Telegraph the other week about a maths whiz who is leading their
fantasy fund manager competition, I was reminded yet again of the undeniable
link between mathematical minds and the game of blackjack.
You see the article introduces Mr Melbourne, the gentleman
leading the Telegraph's competition, as a former chess champion with a degree in
mathematics from Manchester University. Obviously a bright spark right?
It goes on to detail his fascination with the game of bridge
and, you guessed it, blackjack. Drawn to the tables like a moth to a
flame, along with thousands of others with a talent for numbers and the ability
to understand the possibilities of gaining an edge over the house with optimal
play and counting techniques.
Mr Melbourne actually spent some time working in a casino in
Derby where his fascination for the game and the strategies other advantage
players employed to beat it grew.
If you are at all interested in the game of blackjack, and
have a few moments, I highly recommend acquainting yourself with the members of
the Blackjack Hall of Fame. At the time of writing this very elite group
numbered only 17, nominated and voted by their peers as the most influential
players the game has ever seen. Theses are the guys that won so much money at
the blackjack tables between 1965 and 1990 that casinos (after failing court
action to have them banned) were forced to change their rules to limit losses.
A number of these players are profiled in our
advantage player series, and the full list can be found at
Wiki's BJ Hall of
Fame page.
Looking at their bio's, there is a clear common trait that
they all share...highly numerate, analytic minds. In fact, many of them
are university educated, sometimes to PHD level (I guess the others couldn't see
the point in writing a thesis when it took up valuable time at the tables!) and
usually in a mathematics related field. Here's a few sample CVs....
-
Edwards Thorpe - UCLA PHD, MIT alma mater and professor
of maths at UCI;
-
Lawrence Revere - pure mathematics degree from the
University of Nebraska;
-
Peter Griffin - Masters Degree in Mathematics from UC
Davis and grandson of Frank Loxley Griffin;
-
MIT Blackjack Team - a few of Massachusetts Institute of
Technology's finest;
-
Stanford Wong - Stanford alma mater and finance PHD
student;
-
James Grosjean - University of Chicago Department of
Economics graduate;
See what I mean?
So what is it about mathematicians and blackjack that makes
for such a happy marriage? I'm neither a mathematician nor a expert blackjack
player, but have read enough on the subject to know that this is one of the very
few casino games that afford skilled players an edge over the house when played
optimally. And by optimally I'm not talking about playing to the
appropriate basic strategy card. I'm talking about card counting or even
employing additional methods like ace sequencing or shuffle tracking.
Now judging by the caliber of minds who have mastered these
techniques and made a living winning money from casinos, it would be naive in
the extreme to believe that these things are easy to do. But the essential
point is that it is possible, and smart players no this.
I imagine this is why they chose to play blackjack and not
slots or keno!
Take me to live dealer casinos offering
blackjack
Take me to live
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Take me to
blackjack advantage player series
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