Card Counting Computer Program
The blackjack world is buzzing with the news that a student at the University of Dundee has developed a computer program that has the ability to detect card counting activity in a casino environment. The program, which is the brainchild of 22 year old Kris Zutis, would take information from the CCTV system employed by the casino and analyse the data captured to flag up card counting activity as well as dealer errors.
Although the computer program is in the development stages and not at all ready for commercial use at this time, casino managers worldwide would be delighted if the concept eventually becomes something that they can use in the day to day running of their establishments. That’s because card counting can be quite difficult to detect when it is done expertly, and allowing expert card counters to play blackjack unchecked can cost the house a great deal of money.
Card counting has been the bane of casinos (and the darling of blackjack players) ever since mathematics professor Edward Thorpe outlined the technique in his 1962 book Beat the Dealer. Thorpe demonstrated that, by keeping track of the cards that had already been dealt from the shoe, the player could adjust his strategy to not only eliminate the house advantage, but to give himself a 1% advantage over the house at the same time.
The card counting strategy requires good observational skills and the ability to think quickly, so not everyone who discovered the technique was able to make profitable use of it. However, there were enough players who could develop the skills necessary to fleece quite a few casinos with their card counting prowess, and for that reason casinos all over the world soon declared that they would ban anyone suspected of using the card counting technique at their tables.
The problem for casinos has always been that detecting card counters isn’t always easy. The most skilful card counters don’t take off their shoes and socks in order to count on their toes, but make their calculations mentally and in a way that doesn’t bring the slightest bit of attention to themselves. That means many casinos still lose money from card counting, and they also lose money due to dealers who make errors.
If the card counting computer program developed by Kris Zutis can plug both of those leaks then the casino industry will come to love him just as much as players currently love Ed Thorpe. At that stage the game of blackjack will offer the exact same odds of winning whether one plays at a local casino or online, and that means the online blackjack game will continue to thrive for decades to come.
Article Published: 14/06/2010 11:59:22
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