Student Develops New Blackjack Technology

Student Kris Zutis has developed new casino technology at university in Scotland.

A new computer system that identifies card counters at casino blackjack tables has been unveiled by a student at Dundee University.

Kris Zutis developed a program that can analyse algorithms from casino cameras and detect when card counting methods are being deployed.

His system tracks the cards being played and the gamer's betting patterns, while also spotting any errors made by the dealer.

"I do enjoy playing poker and I had originally intended my project to be related to that," explained Mr Zutis, who was born in Latvia but moved to Scotland at the age of ten.

"It turned out that blackjack was far more suited to a computer vision system and so I developed the system from there."

The inventor is due to present research on his blackjack program at an international conference in Belgium later this month.

Card counting is not illegal in casinos but gamblers suspected of practising the technique will often be moved to a new table or asked to leave the premises.

Ben Mezrich's book about the notorious MIT card counting team, Bringing Down the House, was last year made into the film 21, which stars Kevin Spacey, Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth.