GK Logo 003 350 x 100

Snooker: Celebrating 40 years at the Crucible

In 2017, Snooker celebrated 40 years at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. It moved to this venue in 1997, which is now recognised at the start of the modern era of the same. In this article, we look at some of snooker’s history, along with some of its major characters and a few of its […]

How Isaac Newton could help you beat the casino at roulette

Imagine walking into a casino with a computer strapped to your chest. Solenoid electromagnets thump against your body telling you where to place your bet on the roulette table. Suddenly, you start getting electric shocks. You rush to the toilet to undertake emergency repairs, hoping that the casino staff do not realise what is happening. […]

Basic Betting: The Micro Bytes Back – 25 years on

Almost 25 years ago I wrote a self-published book that tested gambling systems using programs written in GW-BASIC. I recently came across the spiral bound book and the 3.5″ floppy disc. After struggling to borrow a 3.5″ floppy disc drive I eventually manged to get the programs copied onto my desktop computer. I had a […]

Is it possible to card count a blackjack computer?

The header picture is a five dollar blackjack machine in Las Vegas (at the Palazzo), and a very good game it is too. I spent quite a few hours playing it (basic strategy). I did see another version of the machine – at Monte Carlo and Mirage, and I actually prefer those machines as they seemed […]

Claude Shannon, Edward Thorp, Roulette and Blackjack

I guess many people have heard of Claude Shannon (information theory/entropy). Perhaps not as many people have also heard of Edward Thorpe? I have known of his work for many years as he was chiefly responsible for making the gambling industry change the rules of blackjack1,2. Not only did he develop something called basic strategy […]