Quantum Memory Power Page 10

  Your spaceship lands. You open the hatch, and there to greet you is a beautiful little girl. What’s her name? Venus. She’s a beautiful girl. She’s small, because Venus is a small planet.

  Venus is very kindly. In case you get homesick, she’s given you a big pile of earth just in case you got a bit lonesome, to remind you of Earth. She’s dumped this next to your spacecraft, because Earth is the next planet.

  On the top of the mound, you see a fiery little man. He’s angry because Venus has dumped all this earth on him. He’s the god of war, and he’s eating a Mars bar. He must be Mars. Why is he a little man? Because Mars is a small planet. It’s also the next planet after Earth.

  Suddenly you hear this thump, thump, thump, and the ground shakes. You look in the distance on the horizon, and you see the lunar landscape. From behind the mountain, you see this giant, who is Jupiter. He’s a giant because Jupiter is a big planet. He’s also a sun worshiper. He has a T-shirt on, and you can see the letters S-U-N. That’s a clue for the next 3 planets: Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

  Just from that image, you have encapsulated the planets beyond Jupiter: Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. So you know they’re all big planets.

  OK. From the letter N, you see a little lead that goes off into the distance. It’s a dog lead. You know what’s going to happen next. The lead is attached to a small dog, because it’s a small planet. Yes, it’s Pluto.

  Do you have that story in your head? Let’s go back over the story and see if you can get the planets in order. Remember, you’re in the spaceship. What’s the first planet from the sun? You look at the thermometer. It has to be Mercury, and you know it’s a small planet.

  Open the hatch: Venus. What has she brought for you? Earth. What comes out of the earth? It has to be Mars. Thump, thump: Jupiter. Look at the T-shirt: Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. What’s attached to the end? It’s a lead that goes all the way back to Pluto. Wonderful.

  If I ask you, is Saturn a large planet or a small one? it’s obvious, isn’t it? It has to be a large planet. What comes after Saturn? Uranus. What comes before Saturn? It has to be Jupiter.

  You have those ingredients again: imagination, association, and location. All you have to do is think about that story again tomorrow and in about a week’s time, and you’ll have that information for a long, long time. Wasn’t that enjoyable to learn?

  The mechanism by which memory works is association. Allow your vibrant, creative imagination to find a link to bridge the gap between a word and its meaning. Look for patterns in words to help with spelling, like the symmetry of cemetery.

  Let your imagination go on an interplanetary trip so you can memorize the planets. Look for links between foreign words and their meanings. The German word for rain is regen. Simple. What’s the link? Imagine lots of Ronald Reagans falling from the sky.

  Maybe you’re a student where you take regular business trips abroad. Use these techniques to learn vocabulary in a foreign language. This is the lazy man’s way of soaking up knowledge. Use these techniques and the power of association and imagination to boost your word power. Become a walking thesaurus. That’s quantum memory power working for you at its best.

  NUMBER ONE HITS

  In the summer of 1993, I had the pleasure of working with a number of well-known presenters and celebrities on a radio road show in England. I was billed as the Memory Man, and the public were invited to test my knowledge of number 1 hits spanning the last 40 years. A random date from those years would be called out, and I was expected to say what was number one on the charts on that day, who the singer was, how many weeks it was number one, and the record label for that particular hit.

  For example, if someone shouted out, “What was number 1 on February 21, 1956?” I would say it was “Memories Are Made of This,” sung by Dean Martin. It was on the Capitol Records label, and it was number one for 4 weeks.

  Unlike my audience at the time, who thought I must be born with unique powers of recall, you should have a pretty good idea of how I was able to memorize so much information. I was, of course, referring to a series of mental journeys and recalled images and scenes from them.

  To remember 40 years of number 1 hits, I needed 40 separate journeys, each consisting of about 20 stages, depending on the number of hits for that particular year. The routes I chose were mostly located in and around the beautiful city of Prague in the Czech Republic. I happened to be in Prague on a gambling trip organized by a newspaper, and in between visits to casinos, I would grab a list of two or three years’ worth of hits and proceed to explore interesting parts of the city.

  As I weaved my way around the streets and parks of Prague, I began translating the details of my pop trivia into rich, mnemonic scenes. I started to superimpose them on suitable stops along the way, much to the bemusement, and in one case the suspicion, of others. I can remember standing at the corner of one street holding a piece of paper and staring at what was probably an old government building. When a middle-aged man approached me and asked me what I was doing, I got the impression that he thought I might be spying. My answer left him with an expression on his face like that of an untipped waiter. “Well,” I said, “I’m trying to remember that ‘Wooden Heart’ was number one on March 23, 1961, and that Elvis Presley sang it.” Before I got around to explaining my strange behavior, the man was shaking his head and walking off in disbelief.

  When I eventually left Prague, I returned home with both a permanent memory of the layout of that city and a lasting knowledge of 40 years of music.

  Here’s another quick exercise for you. I’m going to give you some British number one hits from 1961. I’m going to give you 10, so I want you to form a journey, any journey you like this time, and make sure there are 10 stages. So set down the book.

  When you’re ready, I’m going to give you the song title. If you’re old enough, you might remember them. If you don’t, just turn the descriptions into a single mnemonic image.

  For example, the first one I’m going to give you is “Poetry in Motion.” These are all hits from 1961. OK, are you ready?

  First stage, use your imagination. Here it comes: “Poetry in Motion.” Next stage: “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” Third stage: “Sailor.” Fourth stage: “Walk Right Back.” Next stage: “Wooden Heart.”

  Next: “Blue Moon.” Next: “On the Rebound.” Next stage: “You’re Driving Me Crazy.” Next: “Surrender.” Finally: “Runaway.”

  Keep thinking all the time. Go back to the first stage. What are you thinking of? Something in motion—“Poetry in Motion.” Again, see if you can think of the images before you read the titles: “Poetry in Motion,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” “Sailor,” “Walk Right Back,” “Wooden Heart,” “Blue Moon,” “On the Rebound,” “You’re Driving Me Crazy,” “Surrender,” and “Runaway.”

  How did you get on?

  Once you have those songs along your journey and you know them well, you can start connecting the artist to the song. This time, go back over the journey and try to connect the artist to the image that you formed for the song. You’ll probably know some of these names. Others will be completely alien to you.

  For example, for the first scene that you created, “Poetry in Motion,” the artist is Johnny Tillotson. You’re going to need all the powers of your imagination here and creativity to connect those—“Poetry in Motion” and Johnny Tillotson.

  Now move on to the next stage: Elvis Presley. Next, Petula Clark. Next stage: the Everly Brothers. Next: Elvis Presley again. Next: the Marcels. Next: Floyd Cramer. Next stage: Temperance Seven. Next stage: Elvis Presley yet again. Finally: Del Shannon.

  Keep thinking all the time, and let’s see if you’ve connected the artist with the song. Go back again. For “Poetry in Motion,” you should have had Johnny Tillotson. “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”—you should know that one: Elvis Presley.

  The next one was “Sailor,” and the artist was Petula Clark. “Walk Right Back,” the Everly Brothers. “Wooden Heart,” Elvis Presley. “Blue Moon” was sung by the Marcels.

  “On the Rebound,” Floyd Cramer. “You’re Driving Me Crazy,” that was Temperance Seven. “Surrender” was Elvis Presley, and “Runaway,” Del Shannon.

  FEAR AND COUNTING IN LAS VEGAS

  Is it really possible to beat the casino game of blackjack? I’m always being asked this question. Back in 1995, I was the subject of a British documentary called Fear and Counting in Las Vegas. For one month, a film crew monitored my progress playing cards in several gambling states in America. The purpose of the documentary was to see whether or not it is possible to use mental skills to beat the casinos at their own game, that is, to make a profit with blackjack.

  When I arrived in Biloxi, Mississippi, I met up with “The Bishop” of blackjack, a guy called Arnold Snyder. If anybody understands blackjack, Arnold does. He spent a lifetime studying the game, and apart from being a successful player himself, he’s made millions out of selling willing strategies to potential players. From his base in California, he runs the Blackjack Forum, the only forum dedicated to helping professional card players beat the casinos. I asked the Bishop, “Is it possible to beat the casinos at their own game?”

  His short answer was yes. I played for 17 days in the States, and my total profit was $9,571. It’s not a fortune, but it does represent an annual profit of approximately $150,000.

  Soon after I learned to memorize playing cards, it occurred to me that there must be a way of cashing in on my newfound ability. Blackjack seemed like a natural target. Unlike roulette or dice, which are games of pure chance, blackjack involves a degree of skill.

  I was already familiar with the game, having lost many more times than I’d ever won. Like many others, I’d always thought that beating the bank was
a romantic but ill-conceived notion, the stuff of fiction, and a surefire way of losing even more money. Memorizing multiple packs of playing cards put a different complexion on things.

  Today I’m barred from casinos all over Britain, France, and the Czech Republic, and from many across America. One or two will let me in for a drink, but if I get anywhere near the blackjack tables, I’m back out on the street. They know I have a winning strategy, and if I play for long enough, I could break the bank.

  I don’t want to encourage anybody to take up gambling; there are many other ways of making money. But my approach to blackjack is a good example of what could be achieved with a trained memory.

  Before you go rushing off to your nearest casino armed with this chapter, let me issue you a word of warning. Yes, it is possible to beat the game. The trouble is the casinos are only too well aware of this fact and are constantly on their guard for card counters. Winning the game is not the difficult part. The skill is in avoiding the attention and the inevitable tap on the shoulder from the casino pit bosses.

  The primary attraction of the game is that people believe it’s beatable. Indeed the casinos advertise it as a game of skill. It’s ironic, therefore, that if you get too skillful, they’ll prevent you from playing it.

  100,000 HANDS OF CARDS

  The object of blackjack is to beat the dealer. To do this, you must obtain a total that is greater than the dealer’s but doesn’t exceed 21. The dealer must draw cards totaling a minimum of 17. Whoever is the closest to 21 wins that particular hand. For the player, the skill lies in deciding how many cards he or she should draw relative to the degree of risk.

  As is my nature, I wanted to investigate for myself whether or not it was possible to gain an edge over the dealer without initially referring to textbooks on the subject. So I proceeded to deal out thousands of hands analyzing every possible permutation. After six months, I’d studied 100,000 hands.

  I never intended to deal so many cards, but once I started, I was overcome with a relentless urge to continue playing and amassing results. The only way to test my theory satisfactorily was to carry out thousands of individual trials.

  You may find the thought of devoting so much time to a card game ridiculous or at least excessive. At the time I often wondered what was really keeping me going. I think I know now, and it’s quite uncanny.

  After I carried out all these experiments, I came across a some articles about the game of bridge. In December 1932, the London Evening Standard published a series of five articles by Dr. E. Gordon Reeve on the “Reeveu” system for contract bridge. This system was invented by Reeve himself, and in one of the article he says, “Three years of illness gave me the opportunity to work out the possibilities of scoring game. I dealt 5,000 hands, and each hand was played by all four players, north, south, east, and west, in all the denominations respectively. Thus, the results of 100,000 combinations of hands were tabulated.”

  It was a strange feeling coming across such a precedent. It was also comforting to know that I wasn’t the only person fanatical enough to be lured into the monotonous task of card permutations, but imagine the shiver that went down my spine when I discovered that this man, whom I had never met—he died in 1938—was my grandfather.

  In any event, after dealing out about 100,000 hands, I felt I’d gotten to know the heart and soul of blackjack. Every aspect of the game had been dissected and held up to the light. In the process, I developed a basic card counting strategy, and I got it to the point where if I raised my stake at the right time, in other words, if low cards had gone and high cards were due to come out, then I’d get an advantage of about 1 percent, or $1 for every $100 bet. This was just enough to show a profit.

  I began by joining as many clubs as I could all over England. Profits were modest to begin with, but there were other perks of the job. I embarked on a pleasant tour of the casinos along the south coast, enjoying what I called “free evenings.” My profit would cover the cost of travel, meals, and drinks.

  It wasn’t long before I was targeting the Midlands and certain London clubs and returning most mornings with a reasonable profit. The strategy was working. More importantly, the casino managers appeared to be tolerating my presence. I began to earn a good living, about $750 to $1,000 a week. I was learning to ride the ups and downs.

  I remember getting off to a particularly bad start on my first visit to a club in the Midlands. Within half an hour, I was $750 down. I decided that a good dinner was in order, so after dining on a sumptuous steak washed down with a delightful wine, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my dinner bill had been taken care of by the manager. In the States, this is called comping.

  The manager had spotted a gambler with potential. Managers do this from time to time to encourage you to gamble more and more money. But I returned to the blackjack table and not only recouped my losses but ended up showing a profit of $750.

  I tried to share my delight with the manager, celebrating my change of fortune and thanking him for the delicious dinner. The look on his face signaled the beginning of the end of a beautiful relationship. After two or more similar visits, I was barred.

  After a while, I got a bit greedy. This was small reward for a dangerous sort of lifestyle. I sought more and more profit and was soon taking home $1,500 a day. Then I became a marked man.

  Word travels fast in the casino world. In England, you have to be a member of a club to get into a casino. Scores of letters began to drop into the letterbox terminating my memberships in casinos nationwide. This is a letter from one London club: “Dear Mr. O’Brien, it is the decision of the committee that your membership be withdrawn from this club. This is effective immediately, and our reception has been advised accordingly. You will also be refused entry to the premises as a guest of a member.”

  THE SYSTEM

  Here’s how you get an advantage in blackjack. One third of the time, the game is pretty much level between you and the dealer. A little over one third of the time, the dealer has a slight edge, and just under one third of the time, you have a narrow edge. The beauty of card counting is that it tells you when you have that slight statistical edge, thus enabling you to make bigger bets.

  Card counting is an art and a science, much like memory itself, and it requires quite a bit of practice. The richer the proportion of high cards to low cards, the greater your chances of winning. The idea is to keep track of all the cards that have been dealt, so you know what’s left in the shoe.

  One of the best ways to monitor this flow of highs and lows is to assign specific weights to each card. You can do that by using a simple plus/minus count strategy.

  When small cards are removed from the deck, you have the advantage. For every small card you see, count plus 1. Ignore the 7, 8, and 9. These are neutral cards, and they have little effect on the balance of play. As high-value cards are removed, the dealer gains a small edge. So for each high card you see, you count minus 1.

  If you get hold of a deck of cards, and you deal through and you count as each card goes through, by the end of the deck, if you’ve been accurate, then the count should end up at zero.

  Whenever you’re in a plus count at the gaming table, you’re likely to get higher-value cards, balancing the total out to zero. That’s when you should increase your stake. This is the essence of card counting, but you’ll find it’s a bit frowned upon in Las Vegas these days.

  Unfortunately, I can’t get into any casinos in the U.K. anymore, so these days the only way I can get into a casino is if I take other people in and give them a master class on blackjack. Of course, we don’t play for profit; it’s just for fun.

  THE ACADEMY AWARDS

  Time for another fun exercise. This time, I’m going to give you the 9 films that received Academy Awards for Best Picture from 1991 to 1999. So form a journey, doesn’t matter where it is, but get a journey of 9 stages. As I read out the descriptions, turn those into memorable, colorful images.

  Are you ready? Remember, use the power of association. Use the first thing that comes into you head.

  First stage, this is 1991: The Silence of the Lambs. Next stage: 1992, Unforgiven. Next stage, 1993: Schindler’s List. Next stage, 1994: Forrest Gump. Then, 1995: Braveheart. Next stage, 1996: The English Patient. In 1997: Titanic. Next stage, stage 8: Shakespeare in Love. Finally, at the last stage, 1999: American Beauty.