Project by: Joshua Sapira (11th Grade), Victor Schwartz (11th Grade)
Project Advisor: Jess Prohias Gardiner
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Jess Prohias Gardiner, Frank Portella
Description of the Project:
Final Reflection on Learning:
Update on Progress from Weeks 1-3 (include any photos or video if relevant):
Since it’s been a little over two years since we looked at counting cards, we’ve spent these past few weeks refreshing ourselves on the practice. We reread “Beat the Dealer” by Edward O. Thorp and we played many rounds of blackjack in order to test out the various methods of card counting. So far, our card counting has been slow and we’ve needed to have some charts in front of us to help keep track of what to do in different situations based on the method we were using.At this point, we may have to narrow the number of card counting methods that we examine in order to get really good a few methods as opposed to being mediocre at many of them.
Update on Progress from Weeks 4-6 (include any photos or video if relevant):
Slowly but surely, we have become more fluent with our card counting methods. Specifically, we have focused our attention on the Hi-Lo method and the Five count method. As we have improved, we began to implement betting strategy, which is also based on the count. In one of our trial games, we doubled our chip count in under 20 rounds. While most of our games did not see an impact as large as a 100% increase, we have consistently profited, which shows that the card counting method does its job well.
Update on Progress from Weeks 7-9 (include any photos or video if relevant):
As we near the end of our honors project, we have begun to compare methods to see which yields the best results. While studies have already been conducted on which method statistically will generate the most profit, those studies only take probability into account. In practice, people will make errors, so the simplicity of the method is also important to its success. We have also begun to do some work on our poster. In our initial proposal, we had planned to write a paper, however, we now feel that the information we learned and the data we gathered will be better presented as a poster. As such, we have started graphing our data and drawing conclusions from these graphs to present on our poster.
Approved!
Description of the project:
In this project, we sought out to learn how to count cards. More specifically, we wanted to experiment with multiple methods of card counting and implement them in games of blackjack. We planned to compare methods to basic blackjack strategy to understand the magnitude of the impact that card counting has. This will also help us to understand how well these methods work in practice knowing that, especially with the more complicated methods, making errors are near certain.
Final reflection on learning:
We began this long process in ninth grade. Since then, having taken many math classes and having had more experience with mathematical thinking, our ability to count cards has improved greatly. Working in a pair, we found that we were most productive doing large chunks of work at a time, rather than spreading the work out to do a little bit at a time. By doing large amounts of work in a single meeting, we were able to get into and stay in the right mindset for counting cards. We also found that the two of us work well together. As friends, we had fun moments to balance out the hard work of taking data and reading charts. This ultimately helped us to stay more motivated, as we would be less inclined to work on the project if it was all work and no fun. At the same time, because both of us think in math-oriented ways, we understood each other easily and were able to communicate efficiently. The combination of these two factors of our partnership led to a good working relationship, which resulted in what we feel is a great result.