Mark Billings: The Ultimate Edge — Beating Blackjack in the 1980s

Mark Billings — author of The Ultimate Edge — joins Bob Dancer and Richard Munchkin to talk about beating blackjack in the 1980s: shuffle tracking, hole-carding, and computers strapped to players' legs. Mark tells the stories behind the plays, from the "slicing and dicing" cut-card move to the shoe computer busted at the Desert Inn — including the gaming agent who went on TV and completely made up how they caught the team. Plus the time Richard's brother Jake had to stand up in a casino and swear he wasn't a card counter. Originally aired April 4, 2013.Show Notes[00:00] Throwback episode context[02:03] News about a structuring charge[04:31] Munchkin’s brother, Jake, was asked if he was a card counter[07:04] Introduction of Mark Billings, advantage player, and author of The Ultimate Edge[10:03] Slicing and dicing hand cuts[12:12] Shuffle tracking with computers[16:49] The small world of card counting in Las Vegas and Atlantic City[18:25] Sharing advantage play secrets[21:10] Shuffle tracking computers in shoes[25:13] Casino eavesdropping on in-room phone calls[27:45] Building shoes for the computers[30:00] Richard’s shoe making story[31:50] The Ultimate Edge method, computers and video laws[38:34] Does Mark feel like his teams caused device laws to change?[42:07] How is blackjack different today?GWAE Episodes Referenced:https://youtu.be/Wj1DTHlkaIAhttps://youtu.be/PrrFP3-XwB0