Dr. Eliot Jacobson sitting at his desk with cards

Eliot Jacobson is a retired professor of mathematics and computer science as well as a retired casino consultant who was born in 1958 or the year 316 ppm CO2 as he would put it. He got his Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Arizona in 1983.

He then become a professor of Mathematics from 1983 until 1998 at Ohio University then he was a computer science professor at UC Santa Barbara from 1999 until 2009. He then joined the casino industry in 2005 right into his retirement in 2017.

Read why he is a visionary, casino expert, and how his contributions forms the foundations of major sectors.

Underpinnings Of Climate Computer Models

His experience in computer science and mathematics allowed him to comprehend the theoretical underpinnings of many climate computer models. When he joined the casino scene as a casino industry consultant, he worked on developing risk models for unlikely events in casino games

When someone claims that a specific weather event was a “once in a thousand year” flood or heatwave (or another climate disaster), I understand how that risk estimate was calculated. This is how he was able to bring science to gambling. He can accomplish a mathematical analysis to predict what will happen in a casino game. He saw no rush in the alleged unpredictability. Because, in the long run, every game is predictable, he explained. “I don’t need to see it in slow motion,” he said.

The Key Moment Of Success

Card counting is generally frowned upon as the strategy can see casinos lose a lot of money. Jacobson’s mathematics Ph.D. allowed him to successfully count cards and gain a few enemies in pit bosses. He used advantage play to beat the house advantage play is when you legally exploit structural or procedural weaknesses of casino games to gain an edge over the casino. Advantage play is legal, and Jacobson mentions in his book that “advantage players are only concerned with staying on the right side of the law. They take great pride in the distinction between what they do and cheating.”

The most popular act of advantage play that Jacobson used is card counting this act is big in blackjack and baccarat. Jacobson figured out how to apply it to baccarat as well as blackjack variations. He explored blackjack and learned basic card counting, and he practiced with an early version of a computer program. 

He still uses the same program to simulate hundreds of millions of hypothetical hands. Unfortunately trying to bring these methods and programs into California roulette or online roulette California as roulette is one of the casino games that are based on luck. Sure you can employ a few betting strategies but you cannot predict where the ball will land.

Now For The Other Part Of The Story

Jacobson has been banned from an impressive list of Las Vegas venues which include Mandalay Bay, Flamingo, Horseshoe, and Circus Circus. He has also been banned from one of Santa Barbara casinosChumash Casino which is in his hometown of California. Instead of focusing on a different game like roulette in California, Jacobson also became an independent consultant for the casino industry where he taught managers how to protect their games and spot players like himself! 

He severed ties with many of his fellow citizens. He was labeled a sellout and snitch. He then took one step forward and started publishing his strategies and research.  He did this on a free blog making all the strategies available to just about anyone and everyone.

In A Nutshell

For someone who has had a colorful career such as Eliot Jacobson, you would not say that he is one to spend his downtime volunteering at a wildlife rescue center. He also helps at a planned parenthood book sale. He spends his Sunday afternoons with friends at Alice Keck Park’s big tree to play traditional Irish music. 

He shared some amazing insight on how players can get around the house edge and while he gained a few enemies, he has also helped a lot of other players find a strategy that works best for them! Remember that advantage playing uses techniques that are best observed at a land-based casino. In online casino real money are played a little differently and make it very hard to card count, edge sort, or even hole card.