24. Response to Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of 21 from the casinos. (Image 1 of 2)
1. Jude Wanniski. Gamblers Shuffle Blackjack Rules Back to Old Deal. National Observer. June 15, 1964.
2. Colin McKinlay. BlackJack Rule Change. Las Vegas Review Journal. April 2, 1964.
3. Author unknown. Nevada Gaming Chief Disputes Professor’s ‘All-Win’ System. Denver Post. March 30, 1964.
On April 1, 1964, the Nevada Resort Hotel Association announced they were changing the rules of blackjack. Splitting pairs and doubling down would be restricted and the deck of cards would be reshuffled after just a couple of deals. This significantly increased the house advantage. As Edward O. Thorp predicted, these rule changes were incredibly unpopular with both card counters and non-card counters. People stopped playing blackjack and the casinos had no choice but to reinstate the original rules.
Click here for a High Res readable PDF
24. Response to Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of 21 from the casinos. (Image 2 of 2)
4. Author unknown. Vegas Casinos Cry Uncle, Change Rules. LA Times. April 2, 1964.
5. Author Unknown. Vegas Casinos Change Game to Cope with Aggie Professor. Sante Fe: The New Mexican. April 3, 1964.
6. Cy Ryan. System Upsets the System. Unknown publication and date.
On April 1, 1964, the Nevada Resort Hotel Association announced they were changing the rules of blackjack. Splitting pairs and doubling down would be restricted and the deck of cards would be reshuffled after just a couple of deals. This significantly increased the house advantage. As Edward O. Thorp predicted, these rule changes were incredibly unpopular with both card counters and non-card counters. People stopped playing blackjack and the casinos had no choice but to reinstate the original rules.
Click here for a High Res readable PDF
25. Six-deck Shoe and Discard Tray.
Traditionally red or black resembling a woman’s high heel shoe, a “dealing shoe” is commonly used in casino’s to hold multiple decks of playing cards. Until the early 1960s, single-deck blackjack was the standard in Nevada, 4 and 6-deck shoes, casinos’ theorized, would thwart card counters as multiple decks made it harder to keep accurate track of the deck.
Edward O. Thorp’s response, “[4, 6, 8-deck shoes] were supposed to make card counting more difficult. But for those who used the High-Low System, it wasn’t much harder.” Edward O. Thorp. A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market. Random House Publishing Group, 2017. Page 113.
26. Letter written by Edward O. Thorp. April 6, 1963.
“I was successfully disguised and not recognized.”
Click here for a High Res readable PDF
27. Disguise Paraphernalia.
As Edward O. Thorp begins to win too often and is recognized as the author of the book, Beat the Dealer, he is repeatedly asked to leave casinos. Casinos are considered to be private clubs and can exclude whomever they please.
To get around being barred from casinos, Thorp experimented with disguises, including contact lenses, sunglasses, a beard, and drastic changes of wardrobe and table behavior.
In A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market (2017), Thorp recalls an encounter with one disguise, “When I introduced myself…they saw a bearded fellow wearing a brightly patterned Hawaiian shirt, wraparound sunglasses, and jeans… [Later on] I decided to put my disguise to the acid test...I shaved off the beard, replaced the prescription sunglasses with contact lenses, and combed my hair differently. A sports jacket and tie completed the transformation. I had no problem playing in the establishments that had barred my bearded self just the day before” (pages 107-108).
28. Cheating by the Casinos. (Image 1 of 2)
1. Address Book used to take notes about cheating. Date Unknown.
2. Letter to Thorp describing different casinos cheating. July 27, 1963.
Collection of letters and notes to and from Edward. O Thorp and newspaper article discussing cheating by casinos. From the UCI Libraries Special Collections and Archives, Edward. O Thorp Papers.
Common cheating practice, “Peek at the next card to be dealt, the so-called top card. Then if that card was good for the player, deal the card just below it instead, the second card, in the likelihood it was worse. On the other hand, if the dealer was giving a card to himself, he would take the top card if it was good for him, and otherwise deal himself the second. The dealer who does this is a heavy favorite to beat the player… It is also nearly impossible to prove it ever happened. Cheating was so relentless during those days in Las Vegas that I spent as much time learning about the many ways it was being done as I did playing. Everywhere we went, we reached a point where we were cheated, barred from play, or the dealer reshuffled the cards after every hand.” Edward O. Thorp. A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market. Random House Publishing Group, 2017. Pages 102-103.
Click here for a High Res readable PDF
24. Response to Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of 21 from the casinos. (Image 1 of 2)
1. Jude Wanniski. Gamblers Shuffle Blackjack Rules Back to Old Deal. National Observer. June 15, 1964.
2. Colin McKinlay. BlackJack Rule Change. Las Vegas Review Journal. April 2, 1964.
3. Author unknown. Nevada Gaming Chief Disputes Professor’s ‘All-Win’ System. Denver Post. March 30, 1964.
On April 1, 1964, the Nevada Resort Hotel Association announced they were changing the rules of blackjack. Splitting pairs and doubling down would be restricted and the deck of cards would be reshuffled after just a couple of deals. This significantly increased the house advantage. As Edward O. Thorp predicted, these rule changes were incredibly unpopular with both card counters and non-card counters. People stopped playing blackjack and the casinos had no choice but to reinstate the original rules.
Click here for a High Res readable PDF
24. Response to Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of 21 from the casinos. (Image 2 of 2)
4. Author unknown. Vegas Casinos Cry Uncle, Change Rules. LA Times. April 2, 1964.
5. Author Unknown. Vegas Casinos Change Game to Cope with Aggie Professor. Sante Fe: The New Mexican. April 3, 1964.
6. Cy Ryan. System Upsets the System. Unknown publication and date.
On April 1, 1964, the Nevada Resort Hotel Association announced they were changing the rules of blackjack. Splitting pairs and doubling down would be restricted and the deck of cards would be reshuffled after just a couple of deals. This significantly increased the house advantage. As Edward O. Thorp predicted, these rule changes were incredibly unpopular with both card counters and non-card counters. People stopped playing blackjack and the casinos had no choice but to reinstate the original rules.
Click here for a High Res readable PDF
25. Six-deck Shoe and Discard Tray.
Traditionally red or black resembling a woman’s high heel shoe, a “dealing shoe” is commonly used in casino’s to hold multiple decks of playing cards. Until the early 1960s, single-deck blackjack was the standard in Nevada, 4 and 6-deck shoes, casinos’ theorized, would thwart card counters as multiple decks made it harder to keep accurate track of the deck.
Edward O. Thorp’s response, “[4, 6, 8-deck shoes] were supposed to make card counting more difficult. But for those who used the High-Low System, it wasn’t much harder.” Edward O. Thorp. A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market. Random House Publishing Group, 2017. Page 113.
26. Letter written by Edward O. Thorp. April 6, 1963.
“I was successfully disguised and not recognized.”
Click here for a High Res readable PDF
27. Disguise Paraphernalia.
As Edward O. Thorp begins to win too often and is recognized as the author of the book, Beat the Dealer, he is repeatedly asked to leave casinos. Casinos are considered to be private clubs and can exclude whomever they please.
To get around being barred from casinos, Thorp experimented with disguises, including contact lenses, sunglasses, a beard, and drastic changes of wardrobe and table behavior.
In A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market (2017), Thorp recalls an encounter with one disguise, “When I introduced myself…they saw a bearded fellow wearing a brightly patterned Hawaiian shirt, wraparound sunglasses, and jeans… [Later on] I decided to put my disguise to the acid test...I shaved off the beard, replaced the prescription sunglasses with contact lenses, and combed my hair differently. A sports jacket and tie completed the transformation. I had no problem playing in the establishments that had barred my bearded self just the day before” (pages 107-108).
28. Cheating by the Casinos. (Image 1 of 2)
1. Address Book used to take notes about cheating. Date Unknown.
2. Letter to Thorp describing different casinos cheating. July 27, 1963.
Collection of letters and notes to and from Edward. O Thorp and newspaper article discussing cheating by casinos. From the UCI Libraries Special Collections and Archives, Edward. O Thorp Papers.
Common cheating practice, “Peek at the next card to be dealt, the so-called top card. Then if that card was good for the player, deal the card just below it instead, the second card, in the likelihood it was worse. On the other hand, if the dealer was giving a card to himself, he would take the top card if it was good for him, and otherwise deal himself the second. The dealer who does this is a heavy favorite to beat the player… It is also nearly impossible to prove it ever happened. Cheating was so relentless during those days in Las Vegas that I spent as much time learning about the many ways it was being done as I did playing. Everywhere we went, we reached a point where we were cheated, barred from play, or the dealer reshuffled the cards after every hand.” Edward O. Thorp. A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market. Random House Publishing Group, 2017. Pages 102-103.
Click here for a High Res readable PDF
28. Cheating by the Casinos. (Image 2 of 2)
3. Note. Date Unknown. Describes Bonanza Casino cheating.
4. Author Unknown. Dice Cheating Closes Vegas Casino. Newspaper Unknown. Date Unknown.
Collection of letters and notes to and from Edward. O Thorp and newspaper article discussing cheating by casinos. From the UCI Libraries Special Collections and Archives, Edward. O Thorp Papers.
Common cheating practice, “Peek at the next card to be dealt, the so-called top card. Then if that card was good for the player, deal the card just below it instead, the second card, in the likelihood it was worse. On the other hand, if the dealer was giving a card to himself, he would take the top card if it was good for him, and otherwise deal himself the second. The dealer who does this is a heavy favorite to beat the player… It is also nearly impossible to prove it ever happened. Cheating was so relentless during those days in Las Vegas that I spent as much time learning about the many ways it was being done as I did playing. Everywhere we went, we reached a point where we were cheated, barred from play, or the dealer reshuffled the cards after every hand.” Edward O. Thorp. A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market. Random House Publishing Group, 2017. Pages 102-103.
Click here for a High Res readable PDF
29. Marked Cards + Yellow Glasses.
One way dealers would cheat is they would wear yellow tinted glasses, through which they could see identifying marks on the back of the cards. If the card on top was a good card for the player, the dealer dealt him the next card, or “second” instead.
This pack of cards has identifying marks on the back that you do not need glasses to detect. Can you see them?
30. Dunes Hotel Directory.
31. Drugged coffee mug at Dunes Hotel while playing Baccarat in 1963.
After figuring out blackjack, Edward O. Thorp turned his attention to other casino games. Baccarat has similarities to blackjack and therefore was the next logical game to tackle. During a trip to Las Vegas in 1963, Thorp did very well playing baccarat. On the third night, it seems that the casino decided to put a stop to this.
“The pit boss and his minions seemed pleased to see me. Then they volunteered ‘coffee with cream and sugar, just the way you like it.’ I was deep into the first shoe happily winning and drinking my coffee when suddenly I couldn’t think. I could no longer keep count...The wives saw that my pupils were hugely dilated. A nurse said that she had seen this often when people who had used drugs were admitted to her hospital...” Edward O. Thorp. A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market. Random House Publishing Group, 2017. Page 142.
Despite that incident, Thorp was satisfied that his theories about side bets and how to take advantage when there are fewer cards in the shoe were correct. Thorp said, “We had proven the system worked at the tables like it did in theory. As a result, both the Dunes and the Sands removed the natural 8 and natural 9 bets.” Edward O. Thorp. A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market. Random House Publishing Group, 2017. Page 144.
32. Postcard Collection of Las Vegas from the 1960s.
33. 10 Count Strategy for One Deck
What to Count:
Start with the count of 0.
Add +4 for the following cards: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Subtract -9 for the following cards: 10, Jack, Queen, King.
Explanation: Start with the minimum bet. As the count gets higher, increase your bet. When the count starts to return to 0 or go negative, you should lower your bet to the minimum.
Question: Given this scenario, would you bet more or less on your next hand?
Click here for a High Res readable PDF
Introduction - A Natural Talent (Items 1-12) - A Winning Hand (Items 13-23)
Beat the House (Items 24-33) - A Spin of the Wheel (Items 34-44) - Higher Mathematics at UCI (Items 45-55)
A Career in Quantitative Finance (Items 56-64) - Tips from the Master - Newport Life & Philanthropy (Items 65-70)
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This exhibit was designed exclusively for the UCI Libraries by Allan Helmick, Sylvia Irving and Luisa Lee.
Questions? Please contact us at partners@uci.edu. Copyright Statement.