Yes, the MIT Blackjack Team was a real blackjack card counting team that operated from 1979 to the early 1990s. The team consisted of students and ex-students from MIT, Harvard, and other elite colleges who used card counting and other advantage play techniques to beat casinos at blackjack around the world. Their story was first brought to light in the bestselling book Bringing Down the House, and later inspired the 2008 film 21.
How did the MIT Blackjack Team get started?
The MIT Blackjack Team was founded in 1979 by Bill Kaplan, a Harvard Business School graduate who had formed a successful blackjack team as an undergraduate at Harvard in the 1970s. Kaplan brought together a group of other promising students from Harvard, MIT and other top schools to test his blackjack card counting system and betting strategies. The initial test run in Las Vegas in 1979 was a success, clearing over $170,000 in profits. This convinced Kaplan that his system could work long-term, so he began recruiting more players and organizing the team like a business, with auditions, training, a formal company hierarchy, and profit sharing agreements.
Who were the key players on the team?
Some of the key players on the MIT Blackjack Team included:
- Bill Kaplan – Founder and original team manager
- John Chang – One of the first and most successful players recruited by Kaplan
- Mike Aponte -Integral member and later manager who oversaw the team through its most profitable years
- JP Massar – Key member and MIT alum who later formed the first splinter team, the Amphibians
- Semyon Dukach – MIT player and manager who took the team global and made it more structured like a business
- Andy Bloch – MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science graduate and key player
- Jeff Ma – Basis for the main character in Bringing Down the House; managed the team in the late 1990s
At its peak, the team had over 70 players, including professors, attorneys, future Wall Street investment bankers, and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Despite their different backgrounds, they were united by their intelligence, numeric skills, and desire to legally win money from casinos.
How did the MIT Blackjack Team operate?
The MIT Blackjack Team operated much like a legal business. There was an organizational hierarchy, recruiting pipeline, training regimen, compensation system, and brand identity. Here are some key facts about how the team operated:
- Recruiting – Players were recruited from top colleges, usually MIT, Harvard, Caltech and other elite schools. They had to pass an interview process and intense blackjack training bootcamp.
- Team roles – Players would specialize in certain roles like big player, controller, recorder, spotter.
- Team managers – More experienced players acted as managers, organizing trips and overseeing bankrolls, logistics and strategy.
- Covers – Team members would pose as wealthy businessmen or couples to avoid suspicion while playing.
- Signals and codes – Subtle gestures, code words and signals helped team members discreetly communicate at the tables.
- Bankrolling – Kaplan initially funded the team with his blackjack winnings then later solicited investments.
- Playing in shifts – Team members would play in rotating shifts to carefully manage risk and avoid detection.
- Profit sharing – Players were paid 35% of profits, while investors received 5-15% returns.
This organized approach allowed the team to skillfully manage risks and maximize profits as they played across casinos globally.
What techniques did the MIT Blackjack Team use?
The MIT Blackjack Team used scientific and legal card counting, shuffle tracking, and ace sequencing techniques to get an edge over the house. Some of their key advantage play techniques included:
- Card counting – Keeping a running count of the cards dealt to predict when the cards favor the player over the dealer.
- Balanced count – Using a count that kept a balanced ratio between low, medium, and high value cards.
- Shuffle tracking – Keeping track of certain cards through shuffles to predict when the deck went positive.
- Ace sequencing – Adjusting play to take advantage of aces predicted to come out of the deck.
- Team play – Using big players to place big bets during ideal count conditions spotted by other team members.
- Bet variation – Spreading bets from the table minimum to 10x or higher during positive counts.
- Cover play – Acting drunk or unskilled to avoid casino scrutiny of large bets.
Combined properly, these techniques could tip the odds in the player’s favor by up to 4%, allowing the team to gain a mathematical edge the casinos could not easily combat as long as they didn’t know the players were counting cards.
How much money did the MIT Blackjack Team win?
It is estimated that over the course of its dominant run from 1979 through the beginning of the 21st century, the MIT Blackjack Team earned $10 million or more from casinos. Here is a breakdown of their winnings over the years:
Time Period | Estimated Winnings |
---|---|
1979-1984 (Kaplan era) | $1 million+ |
1984-1988 (Massar/Chang era) | $5 million |
1992-1993 (Amphibians) | $2.1 million |
1994-2000 (Strategic Investments) | $4 million+ |
These figures make the MIT Blackjack Team perhaps the most successful legal blackjack playing team in history. Their far-reaching success was owed to their mathematical skills, discipline, first-mover advantage, and pioneering use of teamwork and legal card counting.
Where did the MIT Blackjack Team play?
The MIT Blackjack Team started by dominating casinos in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and Bahamas. But they eventually expanded globally playing across the United States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, Australia and Asia. Some of their favorite locations to play included:
- Las Vegas – Especially larger casinos on the Strip like Caesar’s Palace, Mirage, MGM Grand.
- Atlantic City – Casinos like Bally’s, Claridge, Sands, and Resorts International.
- Bahamas – Paradise Island casinos.
- Aruba – Excelsior Casino.
- San Juan, Puerto Rico – El San Juan Hotel & Casino.
- Windsor, Canada – Casino Windsor.
- Monte Carlo, Europe – Sun Casino.
The team would blitz casinos in short periods during optimal playing conditions, sweeping up huge winnings before casino surveillance could identify them as card counters and ban them from play.
How did casinos try to stop the MIT Blackjack Team?
Once casinos realized how much money the MIT Blackjack Team was winning, they deployed countermeasures to try and stop them. Some things casinos tried included:
- Identifying known team members and banning them from play.
- Increasing the number of shuffles per shoe to reduce card counting advantage.
- Removing or lowering blackjack table betting limits.
- Encouraging drink offers to impede MIT players’ mental acuity.
- Advanced surveillance technology like facial recognition software.
- Profiling and banning players suspected of card counting.
Despite these efforts, the MIT Blackjack Team was often able to continue beating the casinos by disguising their identities and skills. When one member was banned, they could simply send in a new player unknown to casino security.
Why did the MIT Blackjack Team ultimately end?
By the late 1990s and early 2000s, a confluence of factors ultimately brought the MIT Blackjack Team to an end. These included:
- Casinos getting smarter – Advances in casino surveillance and anti-card counting technologies made it much harder for players to go undetected.
- Fatigue and turnover – Many of the original players got tired of the demanding travel and play schedule.
- Infamy – Their fame made it almost impossible to play without being recognized.
- New opportunities – Many members moved on to lucrative careers in business, finance, law, technology.
- Blackjack no longer beatable – Shuffle tracking was less effective as continuous shuffling machines got adopted.
- Spread of legalized gaming – More jurisdiction legalized casinos, increasing competition.
So while the MIT Blackjack Team dominated for over 20 years, the advantages that once made them so successful had diminished by the early 2000s. Players moved on to new endeavors, and the era of the MIT Blackjack Team’s global blackjack dominance had come to a close.
Were the techniques used by the MIT Blackjack Team legal?
Yes, the MIT Blackjack Team used entirely legal techniques to gain an advantage against the casinos. Specifically:
- They did not use any devices or technology prohibited by casinos.
- Card counting is not illegal as long as no external device assists the players.
- The team’s techniques like shuffle tracking and ace sequencing violated no gambling laws.
- Their play styles involved no collusion with dealers or manipulation of casino equipment.
Players can be barred from casinos for suspected card counting, but the play itself is entirely legal. The team’s skilled use of mathematics, memory, and strategy stayed within the boundaries of the law.
How accurate was the 21 movie about the MIT Blackjack Team?
The 2008 film 21, starring Kevin Spacey as an MIT professor training students to card count at blackjack, was largely inspired by the real MIT Blackjack Team but did take many creative liberties. Some accuracies and inaccuracies in 21’s depiction include:
Accurate | Inaccurate |
---|---|
MIT students and professors were members | The professor organizing everything was fictional |
Used disguise identities and cover play | Wild parties and relationships portrayed did not happen |
Actually played and won big in Vegas and other casinos | No violent encounters took place with casino security |
Code words and signals used | Players did not illegally work with dealers |
So while 21 conveyed the general spirit of the MIT Blackjack Team, many specifics and the characters were highly fictionalized for drama. The real players were more sober and academic in personality.
Where are former members of the team now?
After their playing days ended, many former MIT Blackjack Team members went on to tremendous success in business, finance, technology, academia, and other fields. Here are a few examples:
- Bill Kaplan – Went on to launch a successful asset management firm.
- Mike Aponte – Became an acclaimed blackjack and gaming consultant.
- JP Massar – Founded successful ecommerce company Afternic.
- Andy Bloch – Went to law school and had a career as a patents attorney.
- Jeff Ma – Worked as a software engineer at internet startups.
- John Chang – Continued blackjack play and founded a hedge fund.
Many have cited the mental acuity, composure under pressure, and mathematical skills required to win at blackjack as foundational to their later career success. So while the MIT Blackjack Team’s card counting days at casinos ended, their human capital and talent clearly continued to bring them success.
Are card counting teams still possible today?
While profitable card counting teams are still theoretically possible, continuous shuffling machines, advanced surveillance technology, and increasing countermeasures at casinos have made them far less profitable. Some factors making successful teams tougher today include:
- Continuous card shufflers eliminate shuffle tracking edge.
- Higher complexity shoe penetration recognition needed.
- More legal heat and casino countermeasures.
- Plummeting Vegas table betting limits – can’t properly capitalize on counts.
- 6-5 blackjack reduces ability to maintain edge.
- Larger startup costs and organization required.
So while a modern Blackjack Team could still gain small edges in the right conditions, the extremely lucrative days of the MIT Blackjack Team dominating casinos globally are mostly in the past.
Conclusion
In summary, the MIT Blackjack Team was a legally pioneering card counting team that outsmarted casinos globally for over 20 years. Their mathematical prowess, academic pedigree, cutting-edge techniques, disciplined management, and teamwork allowed them to accumulate winnings of over $10 million from 1979 through the 2000s. While casino countermeasures, evolution in the gambling world, and waning opportunities ultimately brought the MIT Blackjack Team to an end after their legendary run, their exploits left an indelible mark on the history of blackjack and what skilled players could legitimately achieve.