Eliot Jacobson Ph.D.

Beating casino promotions has been the bread and butter of savvy players since promotions began back with casino junkets in the early 1960’s.   Players have beaten up free play, match play, multiple point days, cash for points, loss rebates, non-negotiable chips, RFB, and so on.

"Gambling with an Edge” is a weekly talk-radio broadcast where Michael Shackleford and Bob Dancer interview a top name in the gaming industry, usually an expert in some field of advantage play (though not necessarily a player). The radio show airs 7 PM (PDT) on Thursday nights on KLAV Talk-Radio 1230am in Las Vegas. I first appeared on this show on March 1, 2012.

Card counting has been around since the days of the dinosaurs (in casino years). Edward Thorp published his infamous book on card counting, "Beat the Dealer," in 1962. Since that time, hundreds of books on card counting have been written. Movies such as Rainman, "21" and The Hangover have featured card counting.

One ongoing method to beat baccarat is to use the knowledge of the rank of exactly one card in the shoe to gain an edge on one hand per shoe (see this post). One card out of 416 may not seem like a lot, but to the "known-card" AP it's a pot of gold.

Phil Ivey and Cheung Yin Sun brought edge sorting to the attention of millions when Ivey admitted he edge sorted at Crockfords Casino in London in 2012. As you surely know, in October, 2014, Ivey lost his lawsuit to recoup his $12M in winnings from Crockfords.