Popular Myths about the MIT Blackjack Team

Many people have heard about the MIT Blackjack Team that played real money gaming in casinos around the world. However, few people know the real details of who this group were and just what they did. Some believe that the MIT Blackjack Team was an official college Team that competed in blackjack against other colleges. People wonder why they have never heard of the UCLA blackjack Team or the Notre Dame Blackjack Team. Still other people have the impression that this was a select group of five or six players that simply could not lose. They base their impression on books and the popular movie 21. In reality, none of these details is accurate.

Who Were the MIT Blackjack Team?

For starters there were dozens of individuals involved over many years in what became known as the MIT Blackjack Team. Some of them were students at MIT, others came from other colleges. Still other members of the Team were just regular people who had become interested in real money gaming schemes that would increase the odds of winning. There was never any endorsement from MIT or any other school. In fact, since card counting; the foundation of the MIT Blackjack Team strategy; was illegal in many states, the group had to be very secretive in their plans.

How the MIT Blackjack Team Worked

Blackjack is one of the only real money gaming activities where the odds can be manipulated to slightly favor the player. It has to do with counting cards. Every time a card is played, the person counting notes and remembers its value. As the deal proceeds through the card shoe, it becomes slightly easier to predict whether the next card drawn will be high or low. The way the MIT Blackjack Team operated was to have a number of players betting small amounts of money and playing through many hands. Their bets were not significant. Their role was to memorize the cards being dealt. When their analysis showed that the odds were swinging in favor of the player, they would signal another Team member who would join the table and bet large amounts. The MIT Blackjack Team believed that through this strategy, the hands won would be the hands in which the most money was bet.

The Reality of the MIT Blackjack Team

In reality, often the MIT Blackjack Team lost money. Card counting is very complex and it is easy to make a mistake. Yet a single mistake can ruin the probability tables. The game must be played with perfect strategy for hours and every single card dealt must be memorized. So while some people have a notion of what life was like for the MIT Blackjack Team from the movie 21, the reality was far different.