Tracking the game of blackjack
Menard, Gabriel · eScholarship@McGill (McGill) · 2008
In this thesis we present a system that identifies the cards dealt during a game of Blackjack, as played at the game tables in a casino. In a first place, the tracking of a game of Blackjack is done to validate the work of the dealer by correlating results with an external bets and payouts tracking system to determine if the player actually won or lost. In a second place, this system is intended to detect card counting activities at the Blackjack table. Such practices are not illegal but given that it gives an advantage to the player, casinos prefer to decline the playing privilege to these players. To perform tracking of the game, the system utilizes a standard resolution video feed from a camera above the game table. This is an important aspect to facilitate the implementation of the system since such video feeds are readily available in typical casino installations. The field of view encompasses all seven players' dealing spots as well as the dealer's dealing spot. The system recognizes the cards being dealt and reports the results to an operator. The system is implemented using a FPGA device and the latter acts as the video processing engine that interfaces the video camera. The hardware is specifically crafted to adapt the devised algorithm.