Blackjack: Cheating with an iPhone
There's a new card-counting iPhone application that could make blackjack a lot more profitable. The Nevada Gaming Control Board has warned casinos about this tool, which uses a variety of methods to produce an accurate count and can be operated stealthily. In theory, this could make someone like me, a non-gambler, as good as the best counter in Vegas. And this is where regular folks can easily become criminals, because although it is legal to count with your head and eyes in Vegas, it is a felony to use a device to assist you with card counting in Nevada. Howart Stutz reports in the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
"The program calculates the true count and does it significantly more accurately," according to a Gaming Control Board memorandum sent to casino operators last week warning of the electronic device.
I don't gamble. And, in many cases, my ignorance of the most basic aspects of Nevada's leading revenue generator can embarrass me. Recently, I was sent to make a Super Bowl bet for a friend with no clue that the sportsbook windows don't take Visa bank cards. Until recently, you could not have a cellphone in a sportsbook either. Now, you can have your cell at the sportsbook, but due to that new app, soon your iPhone might not be welcome on the casino floor at all.
To backtrack: I have a couple of good reasons for not gambling. The first one is that I do not find it fun.
I once interviewed a high-end Vegas escort while doing a story on a high roller who was paying her thousands a night to keep him company during his Vegas spree. We were sitting, watching him play hand after hand, betting $40,000 on each hand. I asked her about the hardest part of her job. She pointed to the man playing blackjack. "Trying to act like I care about every hand. Watching cards is the worst part of the job." I agree. Even when I'm the one playing, I have a hard time staying interested.
Also, I like to gamble as though I don't care. At the blackjack table, I have no problem asking for another card when I'm at 18. This practice doesn't technically affect other players, but such stupid playing infuriates them, and they truly believe that I cost them money with my bad choices. But the laws of chance don't work that way. Still, explaining why my behavior cannot, mathematically, hurt them doesn't win friends when so much money is at stake and the game is taken so seriously.
But my major reason for not gambling can be traced to an adventure I had with an expert card counter shortly after I moved to Vegas. We went to an older casino that still dealt from a single deck, which makes the counting easier. When counting, a player knows the moment when the house's slight advantage in the game shifts to the player. That's when the counter will place his or her big bets. But even with that knowledge, the player's advantage is slight. A great card counter could easily lose every hand, even when, theoretically, he or she has the advantage. That wasn't my experience. I doubled my money in under an hour. And yet, I had no idea why. The card counter's explanations were esoteric and complex to me. I knew that without that counter sitting next to me, telling me exactly what to bet and when, I would be doomed. I haven't played blackjack since.
Counting is legal in Nevada, but it is so hard to do right that I suspect casinos make a fortune off tourists who have read a couple of books on counting and come to Vegas to try their luck. It isn't that counting cards is harder to understand than any advanced math -- it is only statistics in a broad sense -- but with the speed of play and multiple decks used by most casinos, you really have to be a math wizard to pull it off. And the few people with those kinds of math skills can find a job a lot less risky than blackjack.
Now, with the iPhone app, the risk increases -- you're not just risking your money, you're risking arrest.
Photo: Sarah Gerke
This was the worst piece of journalism I've ever stumbled upon.
Posted by: El Guapo | February 16, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Good story. Gambling doesn't interest me anymore. Once I took 10 bucks and turned it into 1500 in 10 minutes after winning a few numbers on roulette. I was so shaken I couldn't get to sleep. I wasn't happy, just satisfied I didn't lose in the end.
Posted by: anthony | February 16, 2009 at 11:50 AM
ARE YOU KIDDING?!?!?!?!
What does your lack of experience, knowledge, or interest in gambling have to do with the story about i-phones and a new application to count cards?
I agree with El Guapo - embarassingly bad journalism!
Posted by: Bobby | February 16, 2009 at 12:12 PM
This article should be renamed to "Richard Abowitz on Gambling". There is very little here concerning the iPhone application.
Posted by: potatoeater | February 16, 2009 at 12:12 PM
This is not an article about the iPhone. It's a blog about some guy who doesn't like to gamble. At least make him do some research. "I suspect" is not research.
Posted by: Johnny | February 16, 2009 at 12:18 PM
The article sucks...absolutely no information how the iphone app works or why the
article was written by a NON-CARD COUNTER and someone who admits to being a
non-gambler...in other words, the article was written by a moron who hasn't a
clue...or, else he was warned off writing what he knows...And, by the way, it's not illegal to use an iphone app to count cards until the courts say it is...snide, trashy journalism...
Posted by: Peter Andros | February 16, 2009 at 02:00 PM
A SNIDE, TRASHY ARTICLE WRITTEN BY A NON-CARD COUNTER, NON-GAMBLER...AND NOT A WORD ABOUT HOW THE IPHONE APP WORKS....
Posted by: Peter J. Andros | February 16, 2009 at 02:03 PM
What's with the negative comments here? It's obvious that the writer's intent was to discuss his personal gambling experience, not to write an expose on the iPhone app. This is a blog, not a news column, and most entires here are going to be the writer's personal observations and experiences, not investigative journalism. But more importantly, the very first sentence in the blog entry contains a link to an article with all the technical and historical information. It was not necessary for Mr. Abowitz to expound any further on it.
Posted by: Elf | February 16, 2009 at 02:51 PM
You really are a moron and the kind of person I never want to sit with at the blackjack table. Of course, your stupid decisions (like hitting an 18) affects the rest of the table. You are changing the cards everyone else gets. I agree with everyone else that this is a sorry article that never should have seen the light of day.
Posted by: Eddie Southards | February 16, 2009 at 03:54 PM
What a waste of electricity. Useless article.
Posted by: Peter D | February 16, 2009 at 04:03 PM
Thanks for reading even those of you who feel you wasted your time. I think the the hostility this item has generated with some people might be surprising to people outside Vegas. This has a lot to do with my not bowing down before blackjack as well as to all the supposed advantaged gamblers who come out here with their mathematically flawed theories. Your chances of winning or losing are not impacted by my decision to hit on 18 only the outcome. There are other punishments if you do that, and I lost as chance would suggest should happen when you hit on 18. But it was fine that I did that. That might infuriate a lot of people that a person would do that but you are wrong and should let people play how they want to play. It does not impact you, and if you think otherwise, you don't understand chance. Also, if you think this app is legal until a judge says otherwise, test that idea and you will see the judge yourself. Keep in mind: It is the gaming authorities warning the casinos about the app's existence. They don't warn casinos to look out for legal activities. Finally, there is no way to report the number of people who think they know how to count or have some theory of blackjack but don't or blow it here. I can only go by experience, anecdote and the lack of a state income tax. Have I covered everything? Yrs., Richard
Posted by: Richard Abowitz | February 16, 2009 at 04:28 PM
>>>Have I covered everything?<<<
Not yet... you forgot to mention what Criss Angel thinks of the new iPhone app.
Posted by: Big Karl | February 16, 2009 at 07:09 PM
The app in question is called "A Blackjack Card Counter" and can be purchased from iTunes
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=294151538&mt=8
http://webtopia.com.au/apps/bjcardcounter.php
Posted by: Webtopia | February 16, 2009 at 08:39 PM
wow, the only thing worse than your article name blackjack cheating with an iphone is your lame comeback to all the replies. you must be the biggest idiot in the world. first of all your writing a article title cheating with an iphone then you tell your life story about why you dont gamble. IM GLAD you dont gamble, your a freaking idiot. you must be a homo comparing your self to a vegas hooker, and a game of chance has no effect after the fact the cards are already shuffled, im surprised nobody followed you outside the casino and taught u a lesson. only a idiot would sit at a table and play his own money and hit a hard 18 and think it doesnt effect the cards. im sure more than a few times when you hit your 18 and your SO stupid the dealer was probably showing a 6, she turns a 16 and gets a 5 instead the 10 you pulled. prob doesnt make sense to you what im saying but nonetheless you are the LAST person in the world who should be writing anything about blackjack. NEXT TIME YOU WRITE A ARTICLE, actually write about the topic and do some research u jerk off. by the way you sound like a woman.
Posted by: blackjackplayer | February 17, 2009 at 01:31 PM
While I agree with most of the responses here...there is one thing that I must say out of fairness to this Richard guy. I'm talking about the "hitting an 18" (assuming a hard 18 of course).
Richard had mentioned that hitting an 18 does not alter the mathematical odds of other players winning or losing their hands. Well...I'm sorry to report that he's actually correct. Before you all jump on me about this...please allow me to explan.
Let's take the example that was so eloquently posted by "blackjackplayer". In his example, hitting the hard 18 took the 10 card that the dealer would have busted with. This is his "proof" that making idiotic plays like that affects the mathematical odds. While I agree this would infuriate most players, it is wrong to suggest that these stupid plays changes the mathematical expectations of other players on the same table.
To illustrate this point further, let's use the same scenario that blackjackplayer used, but we'll give it a twist. The dealer is showing a 6 with a 10 in the hole. Idiot player hits hard 18, but receives a 5 (not a 10 as blackjackplayer wrote). Idiot player still busted out with the 5, but he stopped the 5 from going to the dealer's 16 total. Next card after the 5 is the 10, thereby busting the dealer. So is the idiot player now a hero because he stopped the dealer getting 21 and made him bust out instead? Of coarse we still would think that the player is a moron, and the fact that we won that hand was because we knew how to play correctly (not because some idiot hit a hard 18).
The point I'm trying to make is that idiot players will sometimes make you lose, or sometimes make you win...just the same as the decisions of a perfect Blackjack player. I lost track of how many times I received dirty looks from people when I "stole" the delaer's bust card by hitting an un-orthodox hand. For example, I have soft 18 vs dealer's 9, and (correctly) take a hit with a 10. Now I have hard 18 and choose to stand. Dealer turns over his hole card, and its a 5. He takes another card and a 7 comes out giving him 21. I get the dirty looks because had I stood on the soft 18, the dealer would have got the 10 on his 14 and busted. I "stole" teh bust card.
The long-term statistical results for a perfect blackjack are not altered at all based on how other players choose to play their hands. We as human beings just love to blame others when we lose, but not as quick to give praise when we win.
Posted by: Mo | March 30, 2009 at 08:07 AM
For Mo and the few defending Richard and his rather bizarre rationalizations on gambling under the guise of an iPhone app review: yes it can happen that the idiot saves the table, but the fools glaring at you for your soft 18 scenario are either counting or are playing hunches. Any Blackjack strategy is a long-running set of tendencies. Likewise every reference will state to stand on a hard 18. Those that choose not to are oblivious to the consequences it seems.
So what if once in a while you draw an A, 2, or 3 in that scenario? You can't make a living doing it, and you're affecting the rest of the table. But continue to dream your little contrarian dreams. These are undoubtedly the people I see daily on the road driving 5 miles below the speed limit or with their windows down in 100 degree weather, because they've convinced themselves that *they're* right, and everyone else is crazy. Theoretically, it's possible, but practically speaking, it's a useless rationalization.
Posted by: think before you drink (and post) | June 29, 2009 at 07:43 PM
Dear Mr "think before you drink",
I wasn't defending the author of the article. I was just saying that the actions of a reckless Blackjack player (who makes wrong playing decisions) has the same mathematical impact on the rest of the table. Sometimes that impact is bad (i.e. making the dealer get 21, or making your future cards bad), or sometimes that impact is good (i.e. making the dealer bust, or making your future cards good).
The problem with all this is that people are driven by emotion when they are gambling. In Blackjack, they will get angry if someone played "wrong", and then will blame that person for ruining the rest of the shoe because they "changed the order of the cards", etc. Yes, I agree that the order of the cards are altered when someone makes an obvious error like hitting hard 18, but mathematically speaking, you are not any more likely to win or lose than if the person played perfect blackjack (which by your definition, would be anyone that played like you).
And by the way, I don't drive 5 miles below the speed limit. In fact, I usually drive above the speed limit unless I suspect a camera or a cop might be in the area.
Posted by: Mo | July 03, 2009 at 07:23 AM