The story, in context
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Elliot Frome, author and gaming analyst, has made an attempt to look differently at blackjack strategy in an article on GamingToday.com.
Back in the eighties, the only casino game that involved any strategy was blackjack. As long as players struggled with strategy, casinos were happy as they could make a profit. However, over the past three to four decades, the gaming quality of blackjack players improved and casinos got worried. Players got better at playing the game chiefly because of free online blackjack games, which gave them the chance to learn the rules and perfect the strategies without risking any real money.
The only way casinos could deal with the situation was to introduce several blackjack variants with higher house advantage. Six to five blackjack games were therefore introduced, reducing the payback percentage of blackjack by over two and increasing the house edge by over 400 percent. New casino games such as Three Card Poker, Caribbean Stud, and video poker games were invented and promoted.
In other words, new games were introduced into the industry chiefly because players learned proper blackjack strategies. Knowledge of strategy revolutionized the gambling industry and caused it to thrive over the past three to four decades instead of dying.
What has changed since this story was published?