MindPlay

[tedloc]

MUST READ ALERT!!!!
Just read these articles about MindPlay..
http://www.lasvegastribune.com/20041022/headline4.html (Archive copy)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2004-11-02-managing-tech2_x.htm http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,60049,00.html
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/050523/23casino_4.htm (Archive copy)
http://www.technologyreview.com/article/404459/the-digital-pit-boss/?CMT=1
It's a system, where they track the cards and the bets. According to Arnold Snyder in "Blackbelt in Blackjack", this will help them, with card counters. He also points out, that as the deck gets depleated and they know that the players will win the next 2 or 3 hands, they could signal the dealer to shuffle up. Can you see it, you wait all night for the deck to become very positive, you bet the top of your spread and the dealer shuffles.

 

[SystemsTrader]

This is scary and troublesome for us advantage players. The future really looks bleak for blackjack with all the CSM's and MindPlay programs showing up. If they can use a computer to track cards then I should be allowed to sit down at the table with my laptop.

 

[zengrifter]

MindPlay is out...

... it is an optical-based system that the casinos have largely rejected. On the other hand there are similar systems emerging that use RFID tech to accomplish the same tasks. It will be quite some time before these systems are in place at any but the most highline clubs. It should be noted that the systems are not designed to cause +count shuffle-up, though they can be abused in this manner. They are only secondarily intended to catch counters. One of the primary intended purposes is to catch/indentify COMP COUNTERS and other reward-system abusers. zg

 

[tedloc]

You may be right but....

... it is an optical-based system that the casinos have largely rejected. On the other hand there are similar systems emerging that use RFID tech to accomplish the same tasks. It will be quite some time before these systems are in place at any but the most highline clubs. It should be noted that the systems are not designed to cause +count shuffle-up, though they can be abused in this manner. They are only secondarily intended to catch counters. One of the primary intended purposes is to catch/indentify COMP COUNTERS and other reward-system abusers. zg

....they are telling everyone that is to be used to track players for comps. It will just be a matter of time before they use it to track the play of suspected counters. Instead of checking the tape, they will look into the computer and see what you bet along with the running count. Call me pesimistic but, it is not unreasonable to assume that sooner or later, when they see the dealer will lose the next 3/4 hands, they will reshuffle. Especially in a 2 deck game.

 

[BlackjackRebel]

If the technology is available and the only thing preventing casinos from taking the actions cited (shuffling up whenever the count goes positive) is their sense of ethics, you can count on increased profits for the casino overcoming ethics in a very short time. The only thing that will change the casino's mind is the legality of such a system. If it stays legal, it will be used.
Ya gotta keep those shareholders happy.

 

[zengrifter]

If the technology is available and the only thing preventing casinos from taking the actions cited (shuffling up whenever the count goes positive) is their sense of ethics, you can count on increased profits for the casino overcoming ethics in a very short time. The only thing that will change the casino's mind is the legality of such a system. If it stays legal, it will be used.

Its legal for the uses intended but not for selective shuffling, per Reno court-settlement. As I said the Mindplay optical-based system is falling by the wayside and the future of such systems will be magnetic strip-embedded cards and RFID chipped chips. zg