IPhone Card Counting

Use of a card counting application for the iPhone and iPod Touch has been reported in California gaming houses and has been banned in Nevada. Card counting—keeping track of cards played during a blackjack game to improve the odds of winning—is not illegal in most gambling houses, but using a device to assist in card counting is a felony under Nevada gaming laws.Las Vegas Review-Journal: INSIDE GAMING: Maybe that iPhone user isn't just taking calls (February 15, 2009)

Card-counting is a way of increasing your odds of winning the casino game Blackjack, by keeping track of the cards as they are played. Invented by a group of students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology led by Jeff Ma, card-counting is legal in casinos, but devices which assist in card-counting are decidedly not.

There are several versions of card counting applications for the IPod and IPhone. One version of the software is 21 PRO: Blackjack by Avalinx. This iPhone application was created, so the marketing webpage says, by professional card players to teach the game and help experienced players "fine tune" their skills.AvaLinx: 21 Pro: Blackjack

According to a review published in CrunchGear, the first page of the counting strategy warns that "Card counting is not illegal, as long as no external device is used to assist the player. However, players who excel at it may be asked not to return to the casino, since his or her business is no longer welcomed."Crunch Gear: iPhone App Review: PRO casino games (February 15, 2009)