Uncovering the Brilliance Behind the MIT Blackjack Team

The Creation of the MIT Blackjack Team

In 1979, students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology came together in a rather experimental class called “How to Gamble if You Must.” The class’ main focus was blackjack, and the students came to the conclusion that the game must be beatable. They then met up with a mutual friend, J.P. Massar, who used a mainframe computer to test out the probability of actually winning a game of blackjack. The results astounded him.

The young man determined that, if several players got together at a casino, and agreed to send signals in regards to their hands while playing blackjack, they could, in theory, win more hands than they lost. Naturally, Massar thought about putting that theory to the test. When they took Atlantic City that same year, they attempted the strategy, and failed. Disappointed, most of the players went their separate ways, but Massar kept the gambling strategy in the back of his head.

Him doing so would prove fortunate, when Massar met Bill Kaplan. The two got to talking, and found that blackjack is a shared interest they have. Massar offered Kaplan to join him and his group on a trip to Atlantic City, where they could put their new, and improved blackjack strategy to the test. Kaplan agreed, and the team was, once again, attempting to put their theory into practice. However, once again, the success rate was non-existent. So, what was the issue?

🔍 Uncovering the Problem?

It was Bill Kaplan who first pointed out the problem to the group. The issue was that each member of the team was using a different strategy for counting cards, which resulted in an increased margin of error. Card counting was not a new strategy at the time, but Edward O. Thorp’s revolutionary book on the subject had just come out, and not every gambler had a uniform way of counting cards. So, it isn’t surprising that the team was thrown for a loop.

Kaplan advised the team to abandon the overcomplicated strategies, and instead, get together to agree on a simple, uniform approach to counting the cards. The best part? He agreed to back the team, though only with a few stipulations. First, the team would have to be run like a business. They’d also need to agree on a strategy, as well as a betting system. Finally, each member of the team would need to go through strict training. Massar agreed, and the MIT Blackjack Team had officially been formed.

Over the years, players left and new ones joined. But the integrity of the team remained unchanged. New players would need to go through strict training procedures. They would be briefed on what the winning strategy is, both for betting and card counting. They would also learn how to coordinate properly. With Massar’s mathematical brilliance, and Kaplan’s gambling savvy, the team managed to become one of the most legendary and successful casino busters in history.

🎯 How Did They Do It?

At the core of the group was teamwork. Members would have to coordinate individual in order to maximize any opportunity presented. At the same time, they would need to cover their tracks, as not all casinos are too fond of card counters. It is precisely for this reason that the team got their start in Atlantic City. A law had passed, preventing casinos from banning card counting. Instead, they’d have to find alternative solutions to the problem. This meant that the team could test out their strategies, without trouble.

But, card counting was not the team’s only winning strategy. They also relied on more advanced tactics, which gained them an incredible Return to Player edge. According to many gamblers at the time, card counting could up the edge in blackjack, by about 2%. However, the MIT Team’s tactics were so advanced, that there is evidence that they increased their winning chances by 4%. That being said, one of the players, John Chang, claimed the team had difficulty putting these strategies to practice, and relied mostly on straight card counting.

It would be wrong to say that the tactics and strategies developed by the MIT Blackjack Team were wholly their own. In fact, they relied on the brilliant players and researchers that came before them, quite a bit. For example, Al Francesco, who was one of the original inductees into the Blackjack Hall of Fame, is largely responsible for developing most of the blackjack styles associated with the MIT Blackjack Team.

💡 Uncovering the Team’s Brilliance

We often hear about these amazing gamblers, whose brilliance has not been matched. People like Thorp, like Uston, and yes, like the MIT Blackjack Team. But, if you’ve been reading this text, you’ve certainly noticed, that the Massachusetts Institute’s team was not an instant success. In fact, they went through a lot of trial and error to become one of the most successful blackjack players of all time. So, then what is the secret to their success.

One of the factors that led to the team’s legendary status was the fact that they refused to give up. They came up with an interesting strategy for winning, and once it did not work, they kept it in the back of their mind. At the time, it seemed like a pipedream, not because they failed, but simply they did not have the resources to improve and hone their skills. Of course, that all changed when Bill Kaplan came around, and agreed to bankroll the team, under the condition that they work hard at what they are doing.

Which brings us to the second factor behind the team’s success; hard work. We often think of gamblers as super-naturally talented, in the same vein as athletes or chess players. However, the truth is all of these people have to work hard to hone their skills and maintain a certain level of excellence. After all, if an athlete does not stick to a certain regiment, they risk injury, or worse. Blackjack players are no different. While they can’t get injured playing, they certainly can dull their skills.

The MIT Blackjack Team never once slacked off, taking their training seriously. In fact, one of Kaplan’s stipulations was that the team members must be properly trained, otherwise, he would not waste his time with them. In order to maintain their relationship, each and every member of the MIT Blackjack Team underwent very strict training, sometimes for hours at a time. In other words, hard work was key to their achievements.

Finally, the MIT Blackjack Team was not afraid to innovate. In an interview, one of the team’s members, John Chang, claimed that straight card counting was only scratching the surface. The team employed advanced tactics for tracking shuffling, and more. These complex strategies could, potentially, double their chances. However, when the team had no luck with them, they defaulted back to what worked; straight card counting. This is an excellent lesson that, while innovation is important, it is also good to sometimes stick to what works. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

All this to say, that the brilliance of the MIT Blackjack Team did not come from some innate talent, but rather a desire to crack the game. Their strategies were heavily inspired by those of Uston, Francesco, and Thorpe, their initial failures were improved upon by Kaplan, and the members never once failed to better and improve their skills. The brilliance of the group was in their perseverance, willingness to learn, and ability to adapt to any situation.

📚 Bringing Down the House – The MIT Blackjack Team’s Story

By 2003, the MIT Blackjack Team had largely disbanded. After more than 20 years, they’d already garnered a reputation, and casinos were taking precautions against the group. The time had come to move on. But, one of the members took it upon himself to tell their story. In 2003, Ben Mezrich published his non-fiction book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. In it, he details the team’s successes and failures, and goes over its history.

In the book, Mezrich changed many of the names, and even some of the locations, in order to avoid revealing any personal information about his former team. However, the book has gotten a lot of flak. People have pointed out that Mezrich’s account of the events is so far from what actually happened, that it may as well be a fictional re-telling. The book has been criticized for the portrayal of certain characters as well, which doesn’t correlate to the actual people involved.

Regardless of the truth, Bringing Down the House was a pretty huge success, even making it to many publications’ best sellers lists. Of course, when a book gets to be popular, Hollywood perks up. That happened in this situation as well, and a film adaptation was announced very quickly. The film based on the book was simply titled 21, and starred Jim Sturgess as the protagonist. Unfortunately, the movie did not perform nearly as well as the book, and got a lot of backlash for certain casting decisions, and the overall quality of the film.

In 2004, a few years after the book’s release, a lower-budget drama film titled The Last Casino released as well. Though not directly an adaptation of the book, The Last Casino does draw heavily from the story of the MIT Blackjack Team. While The Last Casino did not fare well, it did do much better than the aforementioned Hollywood adaptation. Still, it was not nearly as successful monetarily speaking.

✅ Conclusion

The success of the MIT Blackjack Team is the stuff of legend. However, we hope that this text has helped gamblers de-shroud the mysticism surrounding this iconic group. While the founding members may have been brilliant, their success did not come from their innate talent and understanding of blackjack, but rather a dedication to the goal, hard work, and a lot of trial and error. Of course, it is also worth pointing out that, had they not met Bill Kaplan, they most likely would not have achieved the level of notoriety that they did. So, a little bit of luck also went quite a long way. Regardless of why or how they achieved what they did, the MIT Blackjack Team will go down in history as one of the most successful gamblers of all time.