I just finished Ben Mezrich’s Bringing Down the House, I’m listening to Turn On The Bright Lights [courtesy of a friend from work], and the floaty guitar riff on track one has somehow brought me to the keyboard. I must write about these card-counting whiz kids.
Mezrich’s book tells the story of a dozen or so MIT students and dropouts that, under the guidance of an MIT professor and the financial backing of undisclosed investors, take Vegas for millions playing Blackjack. They crack the system and do it perfectly legally. It’s not cheating – it’s outsmarting.
The aspect of the book that struck a chord with me the most was in the time management skill these kids demonstrated. It seems all too easy to screw up something in between weekdays in Boston spent taking care of a full course load and weekends in Vegas spent trolling the strip – not to mention the inherent difficulty in keeping the double-life secret from family, friends, and significant others. While the winnings were enormous, there’s no telling what kind of damage to said relationships occurred as a result of the secret life. But in the end, there’s not much to say other than “they did it to themselves.”
And if things weren’t difficult enough, the team broke ranks when the dangers of unorthodox play got it into trouble. Friendships built on weekends in Vegas and Atlantic City crumbled as friends got their teeth knocked out by questionable characters in casino restrooms. To some, Blackjack was just a weekend hobby. But to others, it was how the rent got paid.
So how did they do it? It’s not so much about counting the cards as it is tracking them. If you can keep track of when most of the low cards have already been dealt, you can figure out when to bet $10 and when to bet $5000. This is obviously an oversimplification, but that’s the general idea. It also takes a significant amount of calculations that, as it turns out, require MIT whiz kid status to perform on the fly.
Totally unrelated but very informative: FAQ on recording industry basics [via sellout central.]
Comments (8)
URL: http://onotob.org
How about a comment system that remembers what I enter? Cookies aren't that difficult, yo!
Posted by Aaron | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
URL: http://
laziz, was that you? anyway, i beefed up the comments system. no more leaving out names. the other thing you can't leave out is the stuff that i'm typing in this box. email and url are optional.
Posted by p-man | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
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Provide a list of five emo hipster young women. We'll check up on them in ten years.
Posted by Anonymous | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
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i'm dying to hear the reasoning behind the premise that "emo hipster women are soccer moms in disguise." bring it.
Posted by tarflet | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
Hipster MILFs. aw yeah.
Posted by p-man | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
URL: http://
I know that some of the MIT blackjack team are now proptraders (with Bright). They say it's easier for them. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson (no relation) of WPT fame is a daytrader too.. anyway. Emo hipster women are soccer moms in disguise. Be very careful, or you too might say, "My name is Lester Burnham."
Posted by laziz | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
URL: http://
oh please, aren't you the guy who doesn't mind reading movie synopses before watching the movie? and i'm tired of the obscure college lit schtick. i wanna be a hip slacker. they get more action from the trendy emo girls with Catwoman glasses.
Posted by p-man | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15
URL: http://
dangit - bringing down the house is the book I was going to read after I finish the book I'm reading and then finish the next book I'm about to start. stick to obscure college lit - leave the hip reading to the slacker pros like me.
Posted by skorloff | February 10, 2007 8:15 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:15