Card Counting Research Articles

Compensating Tendencies in Disciplinary Sanctions: The Case of Hurling

This paper investigates the presence of compensating tendencies in the awarding of free shots in hurling. Probit models are estimated to examine whether free shots awarded are determined by the score margin, net free count, and net card count at the time. In addition, the effect of large attendances and home games on these compensating tendencies is captured using interaction effects. Clear evidence of compensating tendency effects if the team is behind on the score margin or behind on the free count are found. When the game is played in front of large attendances, compensating tendencies based on the score margin are amplified. In contrast, there is no evidence of a home team bias in compensating tendencies based on the subset of games played at nonneutral venues. Although efforts should be made to minimize the compensating tendencies identified, administrators should tread carefully because the direction of the compensating tendencies are procompetition.

Control of Musca domestica (House Fly) in Poultry Units using Delta Traps

Background: House fly menace is a major problem in poultry farms and nearby households. Though application of insecticides is one of the major approaches in house fly control, development of insecticide resistance is widely prevalent. Use of house fly traps is an ecofriendly alternate strategy in control of house flies. In the present study, delta traps were used to control house flies in poultry units. Methods: Red acrylic delta traps with two different pellet baits (FMP and FMPB) were placed at ground level in poultry units housing caged layer chicken with a distance of 90 cm between two traps for seven days continuously and trial was replicated six times. Trapped flies were counted, sexed and species identified. Spot cards were used to determine house fly density pre-and post-trapping. Correlation of house fly population with meteorological parameters was assessed. Result: Out of the 80410 flies trapped, 52.74 per cent (42415 flies) and 47.25 per cent (37994 flies) were trapped in FMPB and FMP pellet baited traps, respectively. Daily fly trapping pattern showed variations. Overall trap catches were dominated by female flies. Reduction in spot card count was 36.34 per cent after deployment of traps. Trap catches correlated positively with temperature, relative humidity and wind velocity. Two species Musca domestica domestica and Musca domestica vicina were identified.

A new mathematical probability based card counting strategy for blackjack using phyton

Blackjack, further known as twenty-one and pontoon, is a world-known casino banked game. This study elucidates a new card counting strategy based on mathematical probabilities where an edge could be gained on the house. While the existing strategies predominantly focus on overcoming the casino house edge in the interest of betting higher or lower, our strategy, PyCount, not only achieves this but also calculates whether a player ought to hit or stand. Python Module Random was used to construct the model. We compared PyCount with six of the most successful existing strategies. The results validate that the win plus draw rate is 58.61% for our approach, which is approximately 7% more than the figures of the other strategies.

Towards precision ecology: Relationships of multiple sampling methods quantifying abundance for comparisons among studies.

Because different sampling techniques will provide different abundance values, it is currently difficult to compare results among many studies to form holistic understandings of how abundance influences ant ecology. Using three sampling methods in the same location we found pitfall traps best confirmed yellow crazy ant A. gracilipes presence recording the fewest zero values (9.1%), card counts were the least reliable (67.1%), and tuna lures were intermediate (30.1%). The abundance of A. gracilipes from card counts ranged from 0 to 20, in pitfall traps from 0 to 325, and the full range of tuna lure abundance scores (0–7) were sampled. We then determined the relationships between these three standard ant sampling techniques for Anoplolepis gracilipes abundance. Irrespective of the data transformation method, the strongest relationship was between pitfall traps and tuna lures, and the least strong was between pitfall traps and card counts. We then demonstrate the utility of this knowledge by analysing A. gracilipes abundance reported within published literature to show where the populations in those studies sit on an abundance spectrum. We also comment on insights into the relative utility of the three methods we used to determine A. gracilipes abundance among populations of varying abundance. Pitfall traps was the most reliable method to determine if the species was present at the sample level. Tuna lures were predominantly reliable for quantifying the presence of workers, but were limited by the number of workers that can gather around a spoonful of tuna. Card counts were the quickest method, but were seemingly only useful when A. gracilipes abundance is not low. Finally we discuss how environmental and biological variation needs to be accounted for in future studies to better standardise sampling protocols to help progress ecology as a precision science.

PREFERENTIAL SHUFFLING: A CARD COUNTING COUNTERMEASURE THAT COULD COST PLAYERS A FAIR GAME OF BLACKJACK

Gaming Law ReviewVol. 23, No. 3 ArticlePREFERENTIAL SHUFFLING: A CARD COUNTING COUNTERMEASURE THAT COULD COST PLAYERS A FAIR GAME OF BLACKJACKNathan SimpsonNathan SimpsonNathan Simpson is a JD candidate (2019) at the University of Mississippi School of Law in Oxford, Mississippi. He is business manager of the Mississippi Law Journal (Vol. 88) and vice chairman of the Moot Court Board.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:30 Mar 2019https://doi.org/10.1089/glr2.2019.2339AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View articleFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 23Issue 3Apr 2019 InformationCopyright 2019, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishersTo cite this article:Nathan Simpson.PREFERENTIAL SHUFFLING: A CARD COUNTING COUNTERMEASURE THAT COULD COST PLAYERS A FAIR GAME OF BLACKJACK.Gaming Law Review.Apr 2019.137-143.http://doi.org/10.1089/glr2.2019.2339Published in Volume: 23 Issue 3: March 30, 2019Online Ahead of Print:March 1, 2019Keywordsblackjackcard countingcountermeasuresurveillanceshuffling at‐willpreferential shufflingPDF download

Can plantings of partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) enhance beneficial arthropod communities in neighboring soybeans?

Grass buffer strips are often deployed along crop borders as part of conservation programs to improve water quality, filter sediments from runoff, and foster wildlife biodiversity. Addition of wildflowers in these strips can augment natural enemies by provisioning nectar and pollen resources. Here we investigated the impact of partridge pea [Chamaecrista fasciculata (Michx.) Greene] as an insectary plant to enhance natural enemy abundance in adjacent soybeans. In 2005, sticky card counts of hymenopteran and dipteran parasitoids were 72.7% higher in buffers of partridge pea and partridge pea mixed with purple tansy (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) compared to purple tansy grown alone or proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), whereas predator abundance was greater in purple tansy and millet compared to buffers with partridge pea. Similarly, communities of beneficial arthropods captured in 2006 by sticky card and pitfall traps were 79.8–72.3% higher, respectively, in partridge pea buffers compared to neighboring soybeans. Buffer effects on populations of parasitoids and predators in adjoining soybean fields were mixed and varied among taxon groups. Partridge pea was a source for dipteran parasitoids and saprovores, but density effects were generally not discernible beyond 6 m within the adjoining soybean. More significantly, partridge pea acted as a natural enemy sink for mymarid parasitoids, dipteran predators, and ground-dwelling ants, and had a neutral effect on other arthropod guilds. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Dynamic changes in the use of online advice in response to task success or failure

ABSTRACTA range of responsible gambling systems have been developed, but they are not necessarily used by consumers. This requires an understanding of factors (e.g. risk and loss) influencing response to advice. Therefore, an experiment examined the use of decisional support in response to induced success or failure. A total of 21 university students played computer Blackjack at two levels of risk, and were informed as to whether the odds were in their favour (‘card count’), and were given online advice as to card selection (Basic). Winning streaks led to overconfidence, as indicated by larger mean bets, more Basic errors, and a failure to adjust wagering upon cessation of the winning streak. Participants were more cautious in response to losses, betting less, and were more likely to comply with advice. Participants attended and complied with advice earlier at low risk, but at high risk noticed advice later and did not comply. Induced emotional states (e.g. winning or losing) are important as they influence the likelihood that people will listen to online advice. Designers of Behaviour Change Support Systems should consider methods of contingently implementing advice.

Using behavioral skills training and video rehearsal to teach blackjack skills.

A behavioral skills training procedure that consisted of video instructions, video rehearsal, and video testing was used to teach 4 recreational gamblers a specific skill in playing blackjack (sometimes called card counting). A multiple baseline design was used to evaluate intervention effects on card-counting accuracy and chips won or lost across participants. Before training, no participant counted cards accurately. Each participant completed all phases of the training protocol, counting cards fluently with 100% accuracy during changing speed criterion training exercises. Generalization probes were conducted while participants played blackjack in a mock casino following each training phase. Afterwards, all 4 participants were able to count cards while they played blackjack. In conjunction with count accuracy, total winnings were tracked to determine the monetary advantages associated with counting cards. After losing money during baseline, 3 of 4 participants won a substantial amount of money playing blackjack after the intervention.

Comparison between production controls in multi-stage multi-product manufacturing environments: two case studies

Objective: The paper presents a study on parallel CONWIP systems based on two case studies benchmarked against CONWIP and push. The performance measures are flow time and work-in-process (WIP) level.Methodology: A discrete event simulation model was constructed and was used to run experiments for individual production controls. The gathered data were analyzed through response surface methodology.Results: In case study 1, the parallel CONWIP with FIFO dispatch rule is superior at both flow time and WIP level. In case study 2, push, CONWIP, and parallel CONWIP with LH dispatch rule to be considered superior at both flow time and WIP level.Conclusion: One notable advantage of parallel CONWIP systems is the ability of the card count to respond to changes in the demand for product classes. Several future research directions are proposed, such as framework of dynamic card controlling, and implementation of parallel CONWIP aligned with lean practices.

Real-Time Monitoring School Buses Safety and Information Query System Design

The management of school buss safety and information system: achieving real-time monitoring of the school bus by making use of the IC card swiping and counting, GPS positioning, speed limiter, infrared sensors and other technologies. Information related to school bus driving collected from the vehicle terminal is sent to the network platform where parents can inquire the real-time information. Consequently, it keeps close contact between parents, schools, and students as well as fully protects the safety of school buses.

Economic thresholds of Thrips palmi (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) for eggplants in a greenhouse

Thrips palmi Karny has recently been implicated in damage to eggplant fruits. This thrips causes cosmetic scars on and deforms fruits, thus lowering their market value. To investigate the relationship between the density of thrips and the resulting damage, experimental plots with initial release densities of 0, 20, 40, 70, and 100 adults thrips per plot were established under greenhouse conditions. Thrips density (for flower sampling = x1; for sticky trap = x2) was monitored using flower sampling and blue sticky trap counts, and was found to be directly related to the proportion of damaged-fruits (y) and the reduction in fruit yield: significant relationships were found for the flower samples (y = 1.2261x1 − 0.6232, r2 = 0.8582) and for the trap catches (y = 11.667 ln(x2) − 9.5, r2 = 0.8896). The proportion of damaged fruits that could be tolerated from an economic perspective, based on the cost of controlling the thrips population chemically and the market value of the fruit, was 6.67–11.76 %; this translated into economic thresholds of 1.05–1.5 adults and/or larvae of T. palmi per flower or 4.91–10.17 adults T. palmi per four-day sticky card count.

Card Counting in Continuous Time

We consider the problem of finding an optimal betting strategy for a house-banked casino card game that is played for several coups before reshuffling. The sampling without replacement makes it possible to take advantage of the changes in the expected value as the deck is depleted, making large bets when the game is advantageous. Using such a strategy, which is easy to implement, is known as card counting. We consider the case of a large number of decks, making an approximation to continuous time possible. A limit law of the return process is found and the optimal card counting strategy is derived. This continuous-time strategy is shown to be a natural analog of the discrete-time strategy where the so-called effects of removal are replaced by the infinitesimal generator of the card process.

Card Counting in Continuous Time

We consider the problem of finding an optimal betting strategy for a house-banked casino card game that is played for several coups before reshuffling. The sampling without replacement makes it possible to take advantage of the changes in the expected value as the deck is depleted, making large bets when the game is advantageous. Using such a strategy, which is easy to implement, is known as card counting. We consider the case of a large number of decks, making an approximation to continuous time possible. A limit law of the return process is found and the optimal card counting strategy is derived. This continuous-time strategy is shown to be a natural analog of the discrete-time strategy where the so-called effects of removal are replaced by the infinitesimal generator of the card process.

Evaluation of Surveillance Methods for Monitoring House Fly Abundance and Activity on Large Commercial Dairy Operations

Relative house fly, Musca domestica L., activity at three large dairies in central California was monitored during the peak fly activity period from June to August 2005 by using spot cards, fly tapes, bait traps, and Alsynite traps. Counts for all monitoring methods were significantly related at two of three dairies; with spot card counts significantly related to fly tape counts recorded the same week, and both spot card counts and fly tape counts significantly related to bait trap counts 1-2 wk later. Mean fly counts differed significantly between dairies, but a significant interaction between dairies sampled and monitoring methods used demonstrates that between-dairy comparisons are unwise. Estimate precision was determined by the coefficient of variability (CV) (or SE/mean). Using a CV = 0.15 as a desired level of estimate precision and assuming an integrate pest management (IPM) action threshold near the peak house fly activity measured by each monitoring method, house fly monitoring at a large dairy would require 12 spot cards placed in midafternoon shaded fly resting sites near cattle or seven bait traps placed in open areas near cattle. Software (FlySpotter; http://ucanr.org/ sites/FlySpotter/download/) using computer vision technology was developed to count fly spots on a scanned image of a spot card to dramatically reduce time invested in monitoring house flies. Counts provided by the FlySpotter software were highly correlated to visual counts. The use of spot cards for monitoring house flies is recommended for dairy IPM programs.

Grass Thrips (Anaphothrips obscurus) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Population Dynamics and Sampling Method Comparison in Timothy

Sampling studies were conducted on grass thrips, Anaphothrips obscurus (Müller) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), in timothy, Phleum pratense L. These studies were used to compare the occurrence of brachypterous and macropterous thrips across sampling methods, seasons, and time of day. Information about the population dynamics of this thrips was also revealed. Three absolute and two relative methods were tested at three different dates within a season and three different daily times during four harvest periods. Thrips were counted and different phenotypes were recorded from one of the absolute methods. Absolute methods were the most similar to one another over time of day and within seasonal dates. Relative methods varied in assessing thrips population dynamics over time of day and within seasonal dates. Based on thrips collected from the plant and sticky card counts, macropterous individuals increased in the spring and summer. Thrips aerially dispersed in the summer. An absolute method, the beat cup method (rapping timothy inside a plastic cup), was among the least variable sampling methods and was faster than direct observations. These findings parallel other studies, documenting the commonality of diel and diurnal effects on sampled arthropod abundance and the seasonal effects on population abundance and structure. These studies also demonstrate that estimated population abundance can be markedly affected by temporal patterns as well as shifting adult phenotypes.

Turning Rejection Into Success?

Are piles of unwanted lemmas and corollaries collecting dust in the depths of your office? Send them to Rejecta Mathematica , a new open-access online journal launched to publish mathematics papers that other journals won't. Mark Davenport, a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas, says he and a colleague dreamed up the journal while discussing a rejected paper they had written about card counting in blackjack. “We realized this could be the sort of paper that people might find interesting and educational but also might have no natural home among existing journals,” Davenport says. “I think it's an entertaining way to publish some decent papers that haven't been published for whatever reason,” says Richard Thomas, a geometer at Imperial College London, who sits on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed journal Selecta Mathematica . Rejected mathematical papers are already available on the Web, Thomas notes. But he says that if the new publication can encourage serious comments and “help the refereeing process while filtering the nutters, then this should be watched with interest.” Davenport agrees that maintaining standards is key: “We do not intend to provide a home for the world's mathematical cranks.”

A Combinatorial Proof of Vandermonde's Determinant

(2007). A Combinatorial Proof of Vandermonde's Determinant. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 114, No. 4, pp. 338-341.

Economic Thresholds of Western Flower Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) for Unripe Red Pepper in Greenhouse

This study was conducted to develop economic thresholds of western flower thrips ( Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande) for unripe red pepper in greenhouses. To investigate the relationship between the density of thrips and resulting damages, experimental plots with five treatments (0, 4, 16, 48, 96 adults per plot) as initial release densities were established at the National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, Suwon, Korea, in 2004. Western flower thrips density was monitored using flower samplings and yellow sticky trap (8×13 cm) counts. Western flower thrips density was directly related to increased numbers of damaged fruits and reduced fruit yield. The number of marketable fruits produced decreased as the thrips densities increased. The major damage to pepper fruits caused by thrips was cosmetic scars that resulted from immature feeding. When flower samples or yellow trap caches were used to determine the density of thrips, which were collected on a previous sampling date, thrips densities were determined to be related to the percentage of fruits that were damaged, and a significant relationship was found for the flower samples (y = 0.3219x + 1.0792, r 2 = 0.8640 and for trap catches (y = 11.9209 log(x) −2.158, r 2 = 0.8306). The economically-tolerable ratio of damaged fruits based on control cost and market values under current greenhouse cultivation was estimated as 3.4 to 8.0%. Economic thresholds of western flower thrips ranged from 0.7 to 2.1 adults or nymphs per flower, and 2.3 to 5.7 adults per four-day sticky card count.

Optimal Betting in Casino Blackjack II: Back-Counting

The card counting technique known as ‘back-counting’ is treated analytically. The true count at which the back-counter should optimally enter the game is derived, based on maximising his effective yield. That entry count is found to be in the range of +2 to +3 for a typical 6-deck game, depending on the back-counter's risk profile. If he also adopts an ‘exit’ strategy (abandoning play at a table whose true count has dropped below a lower threshold) and optimises the entry and exit counts simultaneously, he can improve his performance slightly further; the optimal exit count is between − 2 and − 3. Because the risk of ruin is very low, he may in addition choose to bet more aggressively than he would if not back-counting—or, conversely, to ‘flat bet’. Criteria are examined for ‘departure’ (abandoning the observation of a table whose true count has yet to reach the entry threshold).

On the fundamental theorem of card counting, with application to the game of trente et quarante

A simplified proof of Thorp and Walden's fundamental theorem of card counting is presented, and a corresponding central limit theorem is established. Results are applied to the casino game of trente et quarante, which was studied by Poisson and De Morgan.