
Posted by Ion Saliu on August 04, 2000.
In Reply to: Re: Look What I found Ion posted by Shirley Ann Jennings on August 04, 2000.
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: : SAJA:
: : • (Sorry, but I still believe you are Chip in travesty! I also think you came up with a soap opera. SAJA is a married woman who wants her anonymity. She is afraid that her husband may turn violent if he finds out that she is the admirer of another man, Chip. Chip is also a friend of the family. They all attend Thorp’s card-counting seminaries and lose tons of money in Atlantic City.)
: : Blackjack card counting, as devised by Edward E. Thorp is a footnote to gambling history now. It offered a slight advantage in one-deck games, and especially towards the end of the deck. Ideally, a player could destroy the blackjack game IF knowing the composition of the deck AND the sequence of the remaining cards in the deck. The latter part is the REAL problem: Nobody will ever be able to know the SEQUENCE of the remaining cards in the deck. The count may be +5, but often the sequence is Low card, High card, Low, Low, High, High, Low, Low, High, etc.
The dealer has the same probability to get the high cards. It is even more complicated when one considers that there are several players at the table. The cards, Low and High, will be distributed randomly among them. What makes a particular player believe he/she would be the one to get the High cards? In one-deck games, and only playing head-to-head against the dealer, there is a slightly higher chance for the player to get a blackjack. The dealer also has an equally higher chance to get a blackjack. The difference is the player is paid 150% for a blackjack, while the dealer always gets 1 to 1 for a natural. Let’s say the player has a 2% higher probability to get a blackjack (for a positive count, including Aces). Under normal circumstances (count = 0, neutral), the probability of a blackjack is just under 5%. What is 2% of 5%? 0.002 x 0.005 = 0.00001; that is, 0.001% better probability! I do not want to enter into the mathematical details of card counting.
Suffice to say: The effect of card counting is negligible these days. The danger is that most players expect to really win if the count is positive. So, they increase the bet, and keep increasing the bet. The result can be a much faster pace to bankruptcy. Suppose, absurdly, it is true a card-counter has a 2% advantage at blackjack. Does it make sense to play blackjack? The card counter can still lose a lot of money. Wouldn’t it be wiser to invest the money in the stock market, or a savings account, or in CD? The investor gets at least 3%-4%, much better in most cases…
: Finally, once and for all: The predominant report is Thorp was never a successful blackjack player. He was never successful using his card counting system at the blackjack table. The truth is that other famous card counters have failed to gain consistently money in the casino. The famous Ken Uston made money by suing a casino and having been rewarded a million dollars. He made also money by advertising for a casino. Towards the end of his life, he made money while working (with numbers, of course!) for oil billionaires of Kuwait. Other card-counting evangelists have made money not at the blackjack table, but by selling their systems or books.
: : Ion Saliu
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: : : I have tried to do some research to pass on to everyone regarding Edward Thorp and found the data that follows which is some of the basis of Chip's comments to you. Please allow everyone to have a chnce to see it. SAJA
: : : Chapter 3
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: : : Card-counting is an advanced gambling tool, which could in theory give a player the advantage in almost any card game. Card-counting was developed in the 1950's by Dr Edward Thorp. Professor Thorp is a character so extraordinary that had he not really lived, then as a character of fiction his exploits would have been dismissed as far-fetched. Unquestionably the greatest mind ever to turn his attention to gambling, Thorp has made small fortunes at blackjack, roulette, and sports betting; he also pioneered the incredibly successful "warrant-hedging" technique on the greatest gambling game of all, the stockmarket. Over $65 billion have passed through his hands over the last few decades, and his personal fortune can only be guessed at. He is without doubt the most successful gambler who has ever lived. All of this was due to an extraordinary ability to understand the mathematics of gambling games and devise practical systems to bend chance to his will.
: : : Experimenting with the game of blackjack, Thorp discovered that when you remove certain cards from the deck, this alters the house advantage. He also found that a player could sometimes have the advantage over the house. For example, removing all the 5's from a deck puts the odds in the player's favour. These favourable situations are outnumbered by unfavourable ones, and so on average an unskilled player would lose more than he wins. But, Thorp discovered, if the player knows when he has the advantage, he can bet more than when the house has the advantage, and so win more money than he loses.
: : : Thorp constructed his highly successful ten-count system, with which he won many thousands of dollars from the casinos at blackjack. They retaliated with a series of countermeasures designed to thwart the "Counters", the disciples who read Thorp's bestselling "Beat the Dealer" and tried their own luck with his blackjack gambling system. There are still some professional Counters around today, although the casinos are wise to the danger and bar any player they suspect is counting.
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: : SAJA:
: I see you have now eliminated my prior messages, as well as John's reply to them. As you also again choose to ignore documented data with which you see fit not to agree. As you also have decided to get personal with remarks about my family, it is evident that you enjoy displaying obviously limited mental capacity. My husband was very amused by your immaturity. I noticed that you formerly accused a Marc from France, who posted here, of another ridiculous paronoid problem you possess. I am wondering what example you set to the daughter to whom you have referred on another part of your site. As a mother of two wonderful children, and an RN, I empathize with her and pity your insecurity. As I am aware that you will censore this soon, I can only wish anyone that has any dealings with you a pleasant time. Seek some theraputic help Ion, you need it.
: SAJA 55
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• Quod erat demonstrandum! Exactly what I said: You are Chip! The very same reaction! I challenged you, Chip, to casino testing our roulette systems, and you got mad erupting. I demonstrated in my previous post (to Anne “Don’t-Call-Me-Chip“ Shirley) that card counting has no mathematical foundation. Again, you erupted in rage. You are seriously troubled! Card counting afflicted a deep wound on your psyche. You may have paid lots of money on it and may have lost lots of money with it. It’s not my fault. Actually, like other readers of this BBS, you can make money with my free roulette system. Hey, is that what troubles you most these days?
You know that I can track you. You can run but you can’t hide. Keep your problems away from this place. No more postings, no more (blocked-out) emails. The law requires you to e-behave! Regardless of who you are, behind your mask…
Ion Saliu

PS -- Ion Saliu
Chip stole money from New York children he was supposed to tutor at home. He always lost his money to the casinos, gambling on baccarat! Then, he wanted more money, threatening the parents with his Italian American name (Mafia conveying message, yea know!)
Read who exactly Chip is in this legal document filed by Edward F. Stancik, Special Commissioner Of Investigation for the New York City School District, August 8, 2001: Frank Accardi, SCI Case #2001-0279.
If the legal document was archived to an unknown location, or deleted, read a saved copy in PDF: Legal Letter Regarding The Fraudulent Activity of Frank Accardi, a.k.a. Chip (requires Adobe Reader version 5 or later). It is the perfect legal document format, in my book. Well documented and easy to understand for the layperson. The legal systems worldwide should require a similar format.

Ion Saliu's note
The casinos pay troubled individuals to intimidate intelligent system authors in order to eliminate serious financial losses caused by intelligent system players. The casinos even sponsor forums and websites! Most of such forums and sites go extinct by the day…by the year! You can read a dedicated article at this very web site…
• Set the record straight on Chip, his real name, illegal behavior, and Powerplay roulette, baccarat - June 2004.


Of major interest: Blackjack, Black Jack: Basic Strategy, Card Counting; Charts & Tables, Probability, Odds, Software.



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