Peter Griffin
2002
A mathematician and theoretical pioneer and author of the classic book The Theory of Blackjack.
Peter Griffin
Peter was the math genius who first proposed using the mathematical “shortcuts” developed by statisticians for estimating answers to highly complex problems to analyze and compare blackjack card counting systems. He was the first to break down the potential gains available from any card counting method to two prime factors: the Betting Correlation (BC) and the Playing Efficiency (PE).
These two parameters facilitated highly accurate estimation of any system’s potential win rate in any game using any betting spread, without extensive computer simulations. He described how these methods could be used to evaluate the differences between single-level and multi-level counting systems, as well as the value of using multi-parameter methods (keeping more than one count). This book was a milestone for system researchers, developers and players, the most important analysis of card counting systems since Thorp’s Beat the Dealer.
Blackjack researchers have been using Griffin’s methods ever since. Any proposed counting system, regardless of its level of simplicity or complexity, can quickly be broken down to its BC and PE, and its comparative value to other systems and methods can be determined.
Over a period spanning 20 years, Griffin published dozens of technical papers in mathematical journals and at academic conferences, all gambling related. Even in his most technical writing, wit and off-the-cuff quips are the hallmarks of his style. Peter Griffin died in 1998 at the age of 61.
Griffin authored two books: The Theory of Blackjack (1978, revised many times since, published by Huntington Press), and Extra Stuff: Gambling Ramblings (1991).