The blackjack world has seen many successful players over the years. But no name reverberates in the gambling world as much as the MIT Blackjack Team.
This group, or corporation, of card counters terrorized casinos from the early 1980s until the late 1990s. It’s immortalized in the 2008 film 21.
Much is known about the MIT Blackjack Team and their methods. However, no information exists on their exact winnings.
I’m going to explore this topic by quickly rehashing the team and looking at variables that can provide a ballpark figure on their profits.
Massar, a MIT member, was among the first few students at MIT who had attended the 1979 course 'How to gamble if you must' where the team had originated. He along with a few players had started the very first Blackjack team at MIT.
He had already graduated from MIT (in l992) but had been accepted to Harvard Law School, and it was the Blackjack Team that funded his tuition (a hefty $41,500 a year), and all his living expenses, as well. HOW IT ALL STARTED. In 1979 there was an Independent Activities Program offered to the MIT students called “How to Gamble if You Must.”. Bloch was an MIT student, earned a law degree, and then turned to poker to earn a living. He says his largest individual win at blackjack was $100,000. The Reptiles were led by Mike Aponte, Manlio Lopez and Wes Atamian. Aponte convinced Jeff Ma (who inspired the lead character Ben Campbell in “21”) to play on his team of card counters. Bringing Down The Houseby Ben Mezrich, a book that describes how a team of MIT students won millions playing blackjack, has sparked a lot of interest from the general public in blackjackandHenry Tamburinis the editor and publisher of the Blackjack Insider Newsletterand author of the best-selling Blackjack: Take the Money & Run.
What Is the MIT Blackjack Team?
Blackjack card counting teams usually consist of a group of players who stick together for a few years. When they break up, their team dissolves and they’re left looking for other opportunities.
The MIT Blackjack Team differed greatly from this model, though. It wasn’t so much a team as it was a corporation that included leaders, players, and even investors.
Everything started in 1979, when professional blackjack player Bill Kaplan was strolling through the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He found a flier that called for students to join the MIT Blackjack Club.
The club was looking to capitalize on the new casinos in Atlantic City. After helping the club in the beginning, Kaplan didn’t feel that the team had enough skills to win long term.
Massar wanted Kaplan to critique his team as they played in Atlantic City. The latter felt that the players were good, but they were using an overly complex counting system.
In exchange for staying with the team, Kaplan required that they agree to the following standards:
- Corporate-like structure
- Kaplan and Massar at the top
- Funds split between investors and players
- One card counting system for the entire team
- Training sessions
- New members undergo a difficult trial
The MIT Blackjack Team was officially born in 1980. They started with $90,000 in investment capital and quickly doubled this amount.
This success continued for years with players making $160 per hour ($80/$80 split with investors). The team’s capitalization hit $350,000 by 1984.
The team members continued growing as well. By 1984, it featured 35 members from a combination of Harvard and MIT.
At its height, this squad had 80 members. Teams were spread throughout the world in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Caribbean countries, and Europe.
Why Was the MIT Team so Good?
Many believe that this team was so good because it was filled with genius students. In reality, though, the MIT squad had success due to their unique corporate structure. Kaplan said as much when speaking with Boston Magazine.
“Most teams fail on the money management,” he said. “They never make it to the long run.
“There are tens of thousands of people who tried to win at the game. But MIT was the only team who really won year over year, because we ran it like a business.”
The rigorous training process that Kaplan and Massar put the players through also had an impact on their long-term success.
“Training, extensive training, checkout procedures, two hours of perfect play, leaving the table right,” explained Kaplan. “It was really run more tightly than most businesses.”
The investments and dozens of players working across the globe also helped MIT become the legendary standard in blackjack.
“[Card counting is] hard to do, as an individual. One of the reasons you play as a team, you can pool all your capital, but you’re able to get to the long run sooner.”
Variables to Calculate the MIT Team’s Winnings
No published figures exist on profits for the MIT Blackjack Team. Furthermore, key members like Massar and Kaplan don’t discuss it either.
Therefore, variables are needed to come up with a rough estimate on their winnings. Here are some key pieces of information that I’ll draw from when deciding how much the team made.
Number of Players
As mentioned earlier, the MIT Blackjack Team featured up to 80 players at its height. However, it also has as few as seven members, too.
Players entered the team and left in a steady stream. I’ll just take the lower end of the average and say that there were around 25 players at all times.
Days Played Per Player
The team didn’t play five days a week, every week. Instead, travel time and other pursuits were factored into the mix.
Additionally, some members were students while others were full-time players. Taking everything into account, I’ll assume that members logged an average of three days per week.
Daily Winnings
The average hourly profit for the team was $160. Assuming each team member played five hours a day, they’d earn approximately $800 per day. Multiplying the 25 players by $800 each day, the team as a whole would earn $20,000 daily.
Monthly Winnings
Here’s the math on how much the squad would make each month:
- $20,000 daily winnings
- 3 days per week x 20,000 = $60,000 per week
- 4 weeks per month x 60,000 = $240,000 per month
Annual Winnings
Here’s the math on how much the team would earn each year:
- $240,000 per month
- 12 months x 240,000 = $2,880,000 annually
Longevity of the Team
This blackjack group started with Kaplan, Massar, and a few others in 1980. It ran really strong until the early 1990s.
Kaplan, Massar, and John Chang revived the squad as Strategic Investments in 1992 so that they could take advantage of the nearby Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.
“Team Amphibians” and “Team Reptiles” continued the tradition from then until 2000, when the MIT group ceased their play completely. All told, I’ll count the longevity as 20 years.
Expenses
MIT Team members were responsible for covering their own travel costs and meals. The investors merely fronted the bankroll money needed to play.
Therefore, I won’t count expenses against winnings. After all, the corporation didn’t need to pay for the players.
How Much Money Did They Win?
I’ve consolidated the variables to just two: annual winnings and the team’s longevity. Now, the only matter left involves figuring out how much the team made in its lifetime.
Here’s the math:
- 20 years
- $2,880,000 in annual winnings
- 20 x 2,880,000 = $57,600,000
Based on all the variables, both known ones and speculated, I believe that this blackjack team made $57.6 million.
This is no doubt a tremendous amount. Of course, it was split between investors and players with dozens on each side.
Why Did the MIT Team Stop Playing?
This blackjack squad might still be going today if casinos let them. However, gambling establishments hate losing serious money to card counters.
Mit Students And Blackjack
Casinos networked to end this card counting team’s reign. Griffin Investigations, a private investigator, matched yearbook photos of MIT and Harvard students to identify much of the team.
Griffin realized that many of the previously caught players lived around Cambridge. They were able to piece together the rest from here. Individuals also quit playing off and on. Many came to understand that professional gambling isn’t as glamorous as it seems.
Others were merely part-time spotters who didn’t get rich from their gambling endeavors. They were perfectly fine walking away from the casino world when a potentially lucrative career awaited them.
Heat from casinos also caused a great deal of stress for many players. Nobody likes having unpleasant conversations with the pit boss and, much worse, worrying about security.
As if all this weren’t enough, players had to continually earn their spots every time they were out in the field. Team management would verify new members’ results to ensure that they earned their keep.
The MIT Blackjack Team as a whole, though, was a fruitful pursuit for most involved. They no doubt made millions and quite possibly close to $57.6 million overall.
Conclusion
I’ll admit that my variables may not be spot on. Only a few team members would know the exact numbers on players, days played per week, winnings, etc.
However, I believe that my variables and ending figure could be somewhere in the ballpark of how much the MIT Team earned playing real money blackjack.
You may have your own thoughts on the matter, especially with the longevity and what counts as actual team play. Maybe you don’t consider the Amphibians and Reptiles teams to be the true MIT squad.
Whatever the case may be, though, this blackjack team accomplished something that no other squad has or will in the gambling world. They successfully crushed casinos for nearly two decades and earned millions in the process.
TheMitBlackjackTeam.com
Welcome to the website devoted to the most popular card counting team in the history of blackjack game - the MIT Blackjack Team! Here you will find answers to all your questions concerning appearance of this team, development, success and fails.The biggest nightmare of all casinos was created in 1980s by six former students of Massachusetts Institute of Technology who wanted to use all their knowledge for playing and winning. Some of these techniques can be used for other games like bingo and poker.
Famous Members: J.P. Massar
J.P. Massar was one of the very first MIT students who decided to gather the counting team: he had been the member of the MIT team for 10 years, and was both a player and a manager of them. J.P. Massar was the one who found Bill Kaplan and invited him to the team.
They travelled to Las Vegas together and were able to win a lot of money thanks to the team play and card counting.
Card Counting
If you know the MIT blackjack team you should know all strategies and systems they used for winning: card counting was the main of them and it really worked for the team. Edward Thorp explained the concept of card counting to all average players in 1962 when published his book 'Beat the Dealer'.
All professional blackjack gamblers use card counting today: this system is checked and proved to be workable.
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Casinos vs Counters
Card counting was considered to be the method of cheating first and casinos did everything to detect counters. Even today such gamblers are not welcomed to casinos and new rules were developed for them, even for online blackjack.
Read the facts concerning how casinos try to prevent the cases of card counting and what they do if they notice a blackjack card counter at the table.
Is Card Counting Legal?
The method of card counting does not demand any special devices from gamblers: everything players use is their memory and brains; anyway, all counting techniques were considered to be illegal in many states, as well as in blackjack online. Roulette 77.
Read about the laws which were developed to prevent card counting, and meet Ken Uston, a gambler who was able to prove the fact players could use counting freely.
Detection Devices
Casino securities always tried to develop some special equipment which would be able to detect card counters; various computers and other devices were nightmares for counters and brought them many problems.
Read about the certain devices used by casinos and their security services; it is clear that gambling houses do not like players who always win. Card counters are such players!
MIT Stuff
The well-known fact is that MIT blackjack team used the strategy of card counting for playing and winning really big money: Hi-Lo system was their favorite one and it usually worked for them.
Nevertheless, this system could not be called the only one used by these clever and outstanding people. Read about some other counting systems and strategies used by the MIT team for winning millions.
Famous blackjack team consisted of students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, and other prominent colleges who had come together to become one of the most successful teams in the history of card counting at the world of blackjack. In the 1990s' there were rumors that they had won millions using different techniques of card counting and advanced game strategy, that are still widely used today both in real and online blackjack. They were the first group of people who worked together in order to beat the dealer, and it must be said, that they have proved that it was quite possible to beat the dealer and win a lot of money using no cheating methods, but the mental abilities. Today you will not find such players and groups of players, as gambling has completely transferred to the online mode. You have no need to go throughout Europe to play at casinos, as online you can enjoy your favorite games wherever you want. You can try Spanish, Norwegian, Dutch, or even Swedish casino right now!
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The time is running, and gambling possibilities increase, but there are some aspects in casino history, which any modern player should know, as it not only helps to understand all the principles of gambling, but also some of the strategies, which, in spite of the technological development, are used till now. MIT is one of those episodes, which have influenced gambling history greatly, especially history of blackjack game.
History of MTI team was immortalized through books, television shows and films that helped it become a true legend of blackjack. People from all over the world got to know about the team due to the bestseller 'Bringing Down the House' by Ben Mezriha. The story of that team also was shown by Robert Luketic and his 21 movie. The game of blackjack became very popular and playable all over the world due to the story of those guys, and even now, when that team had stopped its activity, thousands of players are inspired with their history and achievements.
Today every gambler can use all those tips and strategies the MIT team introduced to the world playing blackjack at any gambling website which allows to play blackjack game. Of course, not all the gamblers prefer blackjack game, some of them play slots or roulette only, some like to play different games, depending on their mood and desires. But you can be sure, that you find a lot of different casinos which offer you to play blackjack online.
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Playing in online casinos, as well as in traditional gambling houses, it is important to be well aware of all gambling aspects, especially those which are connected with gambling laws. The matter is that each country, and even state, has its own regulations concerning games and casinos, and you must be sure that you do not break law accidentally. Risks of this kind should not be taken by you, as jail or fine have nothing common to successful gambling. You can become a low risk winner in no time, all you have to do is choose the right strategy and master it. Even loses can bring you positive emotions, though you must do as much as possible in order to avoid them. So, learn the game rules, as this is the first step to increase chances of your winning!
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Many books have been written on gambling, many games have been played, many strategies have been developed. But there is always place for “more”. You can be the one who develops the best working strategy, or the one who wins the biggest jackpot. You can also become a player who outshines the MIT and starts the new era in gambling. With online gambling everything is possible, so start your way to gambling fame!
Card counting Fathers
Edward Thorp
Edward Thorp was the first one who explained the concept of card counting to average players in 1962.
Tommy Hyland
Tommy Hyland has been managing the most successful blackjack team for thirty years already (since 1979).
Ken Uston
Ken Uston was the best blackjack player, author, card counter and manager of blackjack card counting team.
Team History
Speaking about the MIT team history it is important to mention every period of its development.
The years of their triumph were 1990s when they beat all Las Vegas casinos out of really big money and were not noticed and caught by casino security guards.
MIT TEAM ORIGINS
The story began in 1979 when a group of MIT students organized the courses 'How to gamble if you must'.
MIT TEAM: 1980s
1980s were the first attempts of the team to win big money in Atlantic City; they were not successful anyway.
MIT TEAM: 1990s
Mit Students Blackjack Book
This period was the Golden Era for the MIT blackjack team when they won millions of dollars in all casinos.
Low Risk Winner
MIT Books
Bringing Down the House
by Ben Mezrich
Price on Amazon: $11.21
Mit Students Vegas Blackjack
Busting Vegas
by Ben Mezrich
Price on Amazon: $11.21
Million Dollar Blackjack
by Ken Uston
Price on Amazon: $11.21