Re: BJ odds question
 

That's very interesting... I was interested in counting cards for a while, but the book which discouraged me from pursuing it at all was "Bringing Down the House". One of the requirements to join the MIT blackjack team was that you couldn't be a white male (which I am) because the casinos would be much more suspicious of your play than if you were Asian or any other minority, and any card counting tactics were very likely to be caught.

I don't know how true this is, but that combined with the fact that I'm a long ways from Vegas made me lose interest, and a year or so later when I finally made it to Vegas I just played poker. Doing the whole drunken routine sounds like an ingenious way around drawing unwanted attention, so I'll be sure to begin a daily regiment of vodka and cards to practice up for some blackjack on the next trip to Vegas. Thanks for all the good information...