The Father of Card Counting

Card counting was introduced to the world by Edward O Thorp, a renowned math professor from America. His book "Beat the Dealer" showed the world how to increase the chances of winning at this game.

Blackjack as an Academic Study

Born in the year 1933, Edward O Thorp, held a Masters Degree and Doctorate Degree in Physics and Mathematics respectively. Once he completed his education at UCLA, he became a professor of mathematics and worked at NMSU, UC Irvine, UCLA and MIT.

It was during his tenure at the MIT that he came up with the thought of using his knowledge of mathematical principles to come up with a model that could help decrease the house advantage. Unlike casino games like craps or roulette, the odds in blackjack can be varied to the advantage of the player.

Though the fundamental concept seemed simple, putting it to practical use was far from practical. He learnt FORTRAN and used a mainframe computer from IBM to come up with a model for card counting. Finally, Thorpe was able to come up with a model that could count cards based on the cards of the dealer and the ones with the player. This, coupled with quick mental calculations, could help the player decide the next course of action. Applying all the tips from the Father of Card Counting, you can start from blackjack online, where you can practice your skills for free.

Blackjack in Live Casinos

Once he computed his academic theories, Thorpe decided that it was time to put it to practical testing in Las Vegas casinos. The venture capital of $10000 was provided by an associate. Thorpe managed to increase it to $11000 over the weekend. Though Thorpe could have earned more than this, he could not do so because the security at the casino saw through his winning tactics and banned him there. Despite this, Thorpe realized that his mathematical model was a big success.

In 1962, the book "Beat the Dealer", that contained his ideas was published. With over 700,000 copies being sold worldwide, this book found a place in the bestseller list of New York Times. The book's second edition, published in 1966, had a more practical version of the model that could be easily implemented in the casinos. That is how the blackjack trainer appeared.

Wall Street Success

In addition to changing the way blackjack was being played in the casinos of Vegas, Thorpe also made a mark on Wall Street. Using his knowledge of statistics and numbers, in 1967 he published the book "Beat the Market", that was co-authored by J.Regan. Currently, he runs a firm, where he serves as the president. With a 20% annual return on his savings over a period of 28.5 years, there can hardly be another person who can beat him at "beating" the market.