Meet the mystery man who won millions playing casino games!
It is no secret to players around the world that in the long-term, the casino edge always comes into play. Casino table games like blackjack offer players the opportunity to apply their skills to reduce the house edge and win big in the interim. One such player by the name of Don Johnson managed to consistently beat the house in several casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, on his way to winning $14.8 million.
Documentary Reveals Winning Blackjack Tricks
A documentary on Bloomberg television now features the story of Don Johnson, and it is titled The Player: Secrets of a Las Vegas Whale. Don Johnson’s successful run of form lasted for a total of 4 months during 2013. Contrary to belief, Johnson did not use a card counting system to beat the casinos that he played at; he managed to negotiate a high discount rate at each of the casinos that allowed him to wager as a casino whale. The rate that Johnson managed to negotiate was 20% of his losses. This meant that for every $500,000 that he lost, he would only owe the casino $400,000.
Johnson is a veteran gambler and a skilled mathematician. He has developed computer software that assists gamblers with horse-racing bets at bookmakers. Johnson is also widely reputed to have put his mathematical and statistical prowess to the test in developing software for blackjack systems. When interviewed about how he managed to beat the house, Don Johnson made reference to the blackjack odds charts that casinos readily give to their patrons. These gaming guides for blackjack provide betting advice for players, but according to Johnson they simulate millions of hands.
Johnson Brought Porn Stars to Distract Dealers
For him, the more pertinent issue is playing several hundred hands and the associated winning and losing streaks that are likely to occur within that period of time. There is a much greater degree of variance over the short term as there is over the long term, and that’s precisely what Johnson used to win millions of dollars. Johnson also managed to negotiate different rules for the table in terms of splitting, and doubling up to 4 times per hand. He also applied pressure to dealers by forcing them into making errors, thus turning the house advantage into a disadvantage. Analysts believe that he preyed upon dealer errors to record his monumental feat. Johnson reputedly bet up to $50,000 per hand, which resulted in millions of dollars in winnings.
During several of the sessions, he brought porn stars to the tables to distract the dealers. At other times he was obnoxious. This resulted in free bets which gave him added advantage to win more money at the tables.
