Monica Kochelee

When personal computers first came out everyone seemed mesmerized by playing solitaire on their PC when they had a few minutes to spare. 

As the Internet came into our lives, there popped up gaming websites that offered a large variety of games.  Some were free sites created just for fun; others were gambling sites that cost money to play and offered cash prizes.  Some examples of the gambling games are blackjack, poker, backgammon, and spades.  I’ve never learned how to play backgammon myself; I don’t even know what the rules are!  But I do know that it is a very popular game.  Maybe I SHOULD learn how to play it! 

I’ve heard that there were some MIT students who formed teams of card counters who beat the odds in the Las Vegas Casinos.  There was a book written about that titled “Bringing Down the House” by Ben Mezrich.  And then there was a movie called “21″ starring Kevin Spacey that was based on the book. 

These students developed a software program to help beat the odds, and Backgammon Masters Online has decided to put the program to the test and see how well it works for their customers who play their online backgammon games.