Paul Schrader’s revenge thriller received above-average reviews from the critics on its theatrical release last September. But it is only the latest instalment in a story that Hollywood just can’t leave alone. Here, we take a look at card counting as Hollywood interprets it – and at whether it bears any similarity to reality.
Rain Man
The movie that brought card counting to mainstream attention also took the most liberties in the way it was represented. Even the most talented card counter could not walk up to a blackjack table and take the house for tens of thousands of dollars, because that’s simply not the way it works.
Card counting is not a magical feat of mental dexterity that lets you calculate what card is being dealt next – now that really would be something. By counting cards, the player merely has a better grip on the probability that the next card will be high, low or around the middle. Still, we can let that go in view of the amazing chemistry between Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. If you’ve never quite got around to seeing Rain Man, seek it out – you’re in for a treat.
21
Based on a true story suggests you are in for a good dose of realism. However, those words “based on” have been used and abused plenty of times in the past and they will be again. Jeff Ma, on whom Jim Sturgess’s character in 21 is based, sums it up when he says “It’s a cool movie about stuff that we did and a lot of the stuff that we did is very on point and true in the movie, but the storyline has changed quite a bit.”
In other words, the film gives quite an accurate reflection of how a large-scale multi-person card counting ring operates. It is only when we leave the card table that the artistic license takes over. The real MIT team did not steal from each other and hide the money in the roof, nor did they get into romantic entanglements with one another. And Mike Aponte, one of the real world MIT players, confirms they certainly did not entrust local strippers with their winning chips to cash out at the cashier desk!
The Last Casino
Strictly speaking, this is a TV series, but it provides what is probably the most realistic depiction of what card counting is all about. Distance from Hollywood has undoubtedly helped the realism – the Canadians have a generally relaxed attitude towards casino gaming and the best online casino in Canada will feature several games where anyone can try to count cards without fear of reprisal.
In a real world casino environment, players are not prohibited from counting cards. But at the same time, casino managers are not prohibited from excluding any player they wish, and they don’t have to give a reason. Whether that’s entirely fair or not is a discussion for another day.
