Taking Chances on High Tech
Keith Taft isn’t your typical professional blackjack player. He learned how to count cards through books, and his incredibly high IQ contributed to his success. He found card counting easier when he developed a wearable computer to do the job for him.
Born in 1930 in Cut Bank, Montana, Keith Taft was not exposed to gambling as a child. Such sinful activities were frowned upon by his highly religious family. A bright and capable student who enjoys unravelling problems and mysteries, he completed a physics and music degree and obtained his master’s degree in physics.
His Gambling Career
When he was 35 years old, he inadvertently tried his hand at a Blackjack table for the first time. While on vacation with his family, a new era was about to begin. They stopped at Harrah’s Auto Museum during their visit to Reno, and Taft was given some Lucky Bucks. He converted them into Blackjack chips and won $3.50. Not a bad start. At blackjack en ligne en argent réel many find that its a good place to get into the swing of things with Blackjack.
His next step was to head back to the tables, but success eluded him, and that led him to create George in 1972, a wearable card counting computer. A 15-pound computer, George ran on batteries, and Keith interfaced with it by pressing switches with his big toe. Despite significantly increasing his odds of winning with George, he lost a lot and gave up on computer blackjack technology altogether.
David was the result of Taft’s collaboration with another Hall of Famer, and it was much smaller, similar to a pack of cigarettes. The Taft system was illegal when it was developed in 1980. On the players’ belt was a device designed to watch the dealers hole card. The law eventually caught up with Taft, and he was fined $10 000 and spent 60 days in prison. It was a crafty route to go. Not one you’d find on the best american online casino sites, as it’s more of a possibility in the ‘real world’.
Final Thoughts
Over the following 20 years, Keith Taft continued to play Blackjack and develop more advanced electronics. He was finally inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame shortly before he passed away in 2006.