Hypothetically, if a person with eidetic memory wanted to use their power to become a blackjack card counter, how would they hide their card counting from the casinos?
Eidetic, often called photographic, memory is a rare ability to recall an image in perfect detail for a short period after it's no longer visible. An eidetic memory would provide a significant advantage in card counting, though it's far from necessary.
The misconception that you need a photographic memory stems from movies like Rain Man, but real card counting is arithmetic, not eidetic. You don't track card positions or sequences, just net highs vs. lows. Success at card counting relies on working memory (short-term mental math) and practice, not perfect visual recall.
That said, since you ask hypothetically, a card counter with a perfect memory would take measures similar to "regular" card counters to avoid detection. The imperative isn’t hiding memory, but hiding behavior. Eidetic-memory players wouldn’t be recognized as such; they'd be detected only if their playing decisions and betting patterns revealed the advantage play.
To get away with the money, card counters might deviate occasionally from optimal plays, make small “mistakes” at random intervals, flat-bet sometimes even when the count is favorable, celebrate wins histrionically, feign table superstitions, be chatty, drink (or pretend to), tip the dealer (gasp!), play short sessions, move tables frequently, mix blackjack with other games, etc.
Card counters try to employ cover plays and camouflage, lean on social engineering, create distracting noise around behavior -- in short, play in a way that looks like a normal human, not like a probability computer. The big secret is counters don’t get caught for counting, they get caught for acting like card counters.
An eidetic memory provides a technical advantage, but social camouflage is the safety/longevity advantage.
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Kevin Lewis
Dec-09-2025
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steven Runyon
Dec-14-2025
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