Summary
Overview
This American Life explores the world of blackjack through several interconnected stories: Ira Glass and producer Robin Semien learn card counting from MIT blackjack team member Andy Block and try it in Atlantic City; a team of Christian card counters who won $3.5 million from casinos while grappling with moral questions; and the troubling case of Angie Bachman, whose gambling addiction led to a lawsuit against Caesars casino over predatory marketing practices.
Learning Card Counting with MIT Team Member
Ira Glass and producer Robin Semien receive a card counting lesson from Andy Block, who played with the famous MIT blackjack team that won over $8 million. Block teaches them the surprisingly simple technique: keeping a running tally by adding one for low cards and subtracting one for tens and aces. The system doesn't require memorizing the deck, just tracking one number. After initial struggles with the counting system, they eventually grasp the basics and prepare for their Atlantic City casino trip.
- The MIT blackjack team won over $8 million between 1994 and 2000, and Andy Block was kicked out of most casinos after becoming known
- Card counting is legal but frowned upon - casinos will ask you to leave if caught, but it's not against the law or casino rules
- The counting system is simple: subtract one for tens/aces, add one for low cards, keep a running tally starting at zero
- When the running tally reaches seven, eight, or nine, there are lots of good cards left and you should bet big - five times your normal bet
- After several attempts at practice, Ira and Robin successfully count a deck and get the correct tally of negative eight
" You could teach a piece of wood to play blackjack. You just have to be able to keep your wits about you when you're at the table and not make too many mistakes. "
" It is a fact that you can beat Blackjack. You can actually beat the casinos. And the idea that it's possible to beat the casino is what made Blackjack so popular. "
" It's not a complicated thing. You don't need a great memory. You don't need to know how many queens are left in the deck. You just need to know that one number. "
The Christian Blackjack Team: Winning $3.5 Million
Ben, a former waiter, learned card counting from a book and started recruiting fellow church members to form a professional blackjack team. He and partner Colin believed card counting wasn't gambling because it relied on math, not luck, making it acceptable for Christians. They recruited players from their churches, raised nearly $1 million from fellow Christians cashing out retirement funds, and rotated 30 trained players through casinos nationwide. The team won $1.58 million in 2007 alone, with players wearing costumes and fake personas to avoid detection.
- Ben made $500-$1,000 his first night card counting with his last $800, eventually buying a house with winnings
- The team recruited exclusively from church because they needed people they could trust with tens of thousands in cash on the honor system
- They convinced churchgoers to cash out savings and retirement funds by showing PowerPoint presentations of their winnings
- The team's moral justification was that card counting isn't gambling - it's just math, making it work rather than sin
- In 2007, the team made $1.58 million from casinos, with some players making around $40,000 annually working 20-hour weeks
" As a card counter, you go in there thinking there's no such thing as luck. There's only math. We're going to sit down and work for eight hours and make money. And that's the exact opposite of what 99.9% of all people do in a casino. "
" One of the biggest misconceptions ever, and this drives me nuts, is people actually think that this is violating the rules of a casino. But we follow every rule the casino has. "
" I admitted to them that I stole money from them. $8,000, I think. And did you pay it back? Yeah, I paid it back. "
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