Nor does he appear in bringing down the house, the 2002 book on which the movie is based. It was about a group of mit students whom successfully brought down las vegas casino, through card counting. Card counting is entirely legal, but casinos can still get rid of counters because they are taking the casinos money. Ustons book on blackjack team play, million dollar blackjack, was published shortly before the founding of the first mit team. Oct 25, 2002 the griffin agency compiles a face book of card counters and prohibits them from betting. Over its long and storied history, the team had developed sophisticated strategies for gaining an. Over a few years in the 1990s, mit students earned several million dollars by playing blackjack in las vegas casinos on weekends while taking on the lives of normal college students during the week. In las vegas, the house always wins unless youre a math whiz from mit. The mit blackjack team was a group of students and exstudents from massachusetts institute of technology, harvard business school, harvard university, and other leading colleges who used card counting techniques and more sophisticated strategies to beat casinos at blackjack worldwide.
Kaplan had read a book about card counting and believed he could. May 26, 2014 but in the 1990s the mit blackjack team proved the punter didnt have to be the loser. If you know the mit blackjack team you should know all strategies and systems they used for winning. An instructional guide to counting cards in blackjack for significantly improved odds rhone, dominique on. The film stars jim sturgess, kate bosworth and kevin spacey. How the mit students beat the casinos at blackjack by henry tamburin bringing down the house by ben mezrich, a book the describes how a team of mit students won millions playing blackjack, has sparked a lot of interest from the general public in blackjack and in particular card counting. Mar 27, 2008 of cardcounting, startups, and the real story of the mit blackjack team.
Of cardcounting, startups, and the real story of the mit. Jan 06, 2006 how mit students broke the bank in vegas. Mar 06, 2017 theres a lot more to counting cards in blackjack than meets the eye. At this time its unknown who david was portrayed as in the book or if he was portrayed at all. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Nathaniel tilton was a regular guy with a regular job when he read the book bringing down the house. The inside story of six mit students who took vegas for millions is a book by ben mezrich about a group of mit card counters. Bringing down the house is a story of six mit students who won millions of dollars at the casinos in vegas. Robin hood meets the rat pack when the best and the brightest of m.
In an interview with the las vegas sun regarding the book and movie aponte said, the book changed everything. To finish off this guide to card counting we will leave you with this list of some additional online resources. Although not revealed in the book, kevin lewiss real name is jeff ma, an mit student who graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1994. Even people who are unfamiliar with blackjack and gambling know the story of the mit students, thanks in large part to the popular movie 21. But in the 1990s the mit blackjack team proved the punter didnt have to be the loser. If the count is greater than this, ben mezrichs book bringing down the house.
Aponte later ran the blackjack institute, which teaches card counting with fellow mit card counting team member david irvine. Many mit students tried out for the team some were accepted. But in the 1990s the mit blackjack team proved the punter didnt have. The book has been a ny times bestseller and recently there was a documentary about the mit team on cable television. Card counting gig nets students millions the tech mit.
The year was 1980 and harvard business school graduate bill kaplan had been successfully using the card counting techniques presented by edward thorp in his book beat the dealer for three years. They always had cash, and were always going to vegas. Mit blackjack team bringing down the house and breaking vegas the mit blackjack team story. This book is written by ben mezrich on a group of mit card counters known as the mit blackjack team. As a successful ring of card savants, backed by a mysterious ringleader and shadowy investors, they infiltrated vegas and won millions. As most know, the book chronicles the rise and fall of one of the mit blackjack teams.
A group of students at mit taught themselves a cardcounting technique and went to atlantic city to try it out. A group of students at mit taught themselves a card counting technique and went to atlantic city to try it out. The students realized that blackjack was the only beatable game in casino gambling and beat it they did. The mit blackjack team was a group of students and exstudents from massachusetts institute. I got to know them socially when we were in college. Card counting the ultimate guide count cards in blackjack. How a bunch of nerds beat the house at blackjack nerds. The griffin agency compiles a face book of card counters and prohibits. Not surprisingly, this movie has a lot of mathematics in it. Through the years, a group of math students at the worldfamous massachusetts institute of technology has focused their considerable brain power on a very extracurricular activity. While players had to pass entrance exams to play on the team, they took them at mit. This book was represented as non fiction by mezrich ad free press though it contains fictional elements.
The mit blackjack team has become famous worldwide for their success at beating the game of blackjack in the casinos of las vegas. Aug 10, 2012 as a college senior in the early 1990s, mike aponte was invited to join the mit blackjack team. You need to learn about blackjack card counting to take your game up a level. Mezrichs bringing down the house chronicles mit card. There were no required stress tests at an underground card room in chinatown. A grouping of cards, for example the 2 through 6s, are assigned a value or tag of plus 1. A group of mit students learned how to count cards and beat the casino at blackjack. It gets the mit freshmen picture book every year, mezrich said.
The mit blackjack team is probably the most famous group of professional players in the game of blackjack and the sport of card counting. This site would not be complete if we didnt write a little bit about them and what the true story was behind the famous blockbuster 21 movie. As most know, the book chronicles the rise and fall of one of the mit blackjack teams and. They go on to take las vegas casinos for millions in winnings.
May 29, 20 the mit card counting team formed from the inkling of chang and two other college professors in boston. Likewise the high cards tens, picture cards and aces have a minus 1 tag. As a result, hes commonly referred to as the godfather of card counting. The inside story of six mit students who took vegas for millions is a book by ben mezrich about a group of mit card counters commonly known as the mit blackjack team. In a closing essay, lewis details the intricacies of card counting. Counting cards is an easy skill to pick up, but difficult to master. The 21 true story reveals that the real mit blackjack team was led by three individuals, none of whom were professors. In 1994, a group of students were recruited to form a team that would test this blackjack card counting concept. Since the early 1960s a large number of card counting schemes have been published, and casinos.
Well, students usually are broke, so that parts mostly true. The mit blackjack team was comprised of a group of students and exstudents from the massachusetts institute of technology who set out to beat major casinos using advanced cardcounting techniques and privately funded bankrolls. Just as thorp, uston even bragged about his success in a book, bringing team card counting to the attention of the general public or at least. Amazingly, a group of six students, known as the mit blackjack team, executed this heist. About the time ken uston was winding down his blackjack play and concentrating on land deals, books, and lawsuits against atlantic city, reno and las vegas casinos, bill kaplan formed a team of blackjack players to do some card counting on the east coast. Blackjack expert explains how card counting works wired. Blackjack card counting ko hilo shuffle tracking methods. You can use it to your advantage, increasing your bets when odds are in your favor. Mezrich described four basic roles for a team of the blackjack players. May be the most fascinating book written on blackjack counting teams since the days of ken uston who died in 1987. It is a factbased story about the greatest blackjack card counting heist. I know of this guy who walked in, was recognized almost immediately, and kicked out before he could play at all, said a veteran blackjack player. This is a way to keep track of the cards as they are played after a shuffle.
Written by ben mezrich, who gained the trust of a halfdozen mit students occupation. Their small blackjack club develops from an experiment in counting cards on m. Renowned mit card counters return to vegas this time as. From 1979 through to 2000, this group used card counting to beat the casinos and win at blackjack games. Though the book is classified as nonfiction, the boston globe alleges that the book contains significant fictional elements, that many of the key events. In this 2008 film, kevin spacey trains a bunch of bright mit students in blackjack tricks and card counting. Read the full story of the mit blackjack card counting team. An instructional guide to counting cards in blackjack for significantly improved odds. Card counting 101 mike aponte mit blackjack team youtube. Mike aponte, leader of the mit blackjack team featured in the movie 21, provides a card counting 101 from the def con xx conference in las vegas. A highly elite group of mathletes was recruited to join the club, a small, secret blackjack organization dedicated to counting cards and beating the major casinos across the nation at their own game. The story is based on the real mit blackjack team, formed in 1979, but the script of the film took a significant artistic license, to say the least. The team and its successors operated successfully from 1979 through the beginning of the 21st century.
Meet the real mit blackjack team and learn the 21 movies true story. Tilton was in awe of the idea that a group of mit students was able to beat vegas for millions. Among other notable achievements, edward thorp wrote the book beat the dealer. The mit blackjack team mit black jack team in the media. After months of research and analysis, he came up with the famous card counting technique. I never heard of ben mezrich before i bought this book. The team and its successors operated successfully from 1979. Mike aponte, former member of the infamous mit blackjack team, takes us through the complicated process of counting cards. In fact, the mit blackjack team wasnt born at mit at all. Arguably, the most notable is bill kaplan, a harvard business school graduate who had also done his undergraduate studies at harvard. Blackjack card counting how to count cards with our free. A member of the counting team who did not wish to be identified commented, it was an interesting part of my life. Most obvious is the counting of the cards, which is based on the techniques published in edward o. Mar 03, 2014 a group of students and exstudents from mit and harvard set up a team to develop a card counting system to beat casinos at blackjack in the 1990s the documentary breaking vegas traces the attempts of the mit team in their getrichquick scheme by playing throughout the us casinos and the attempt of the casino managers to try to stop them from winning at blackjack.
In addition several of the mit players appeared on the televised world series of blackjack wsb tournament and the soon to be televised ultimate blackjack tour. The movie 21 is the story of mit students who count cards to improve their probability of winning the card game blackjack at casinos. Of cardcounting, startups, and the real story of the mit blackjack team. You can find the basic strategy in blackjack books including my blackjack. Luck is for losers mit blackjack team 21 card counting inc. Next the mit team members learned a card counting system. Edward thorp explained the concept of card counting to all average players in 1962 when published his book beat the dealer. Card counting gig nets students millions mit the tech. With jim sturgess, kate bosworth, kevin spacey, aaron yoo.