Overview of Mikohn / Bourgogne et Grasset® SafeChips™ for Poker Tournaments
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Originally posted in April, 2002.
Mikohn's own description from
http://www.mikohn.com/products/systems/TableLink/ChipTracking.cfm:
[This page no longer exists and was replaced by http://www.mikohn.com/systems/tablelink.cfm.]
Mikohn SafeChips™ are practically impossible to counterfeit. Each SafeChip is encrypted and encoded with its denomination and a unique code transmitting authenticity and value. On the outside, SafeChip looks like a standard gaming chip. On the inside it is embedded with a tiny radio-frequency (RF) microchip. When a SafeChip is placed on the table, a detector plate reads the frequency emitted by the transmitter, recognizes the value of the chip and relays the data to a central reader board, making it nearly impossible to counterfeit.
European casinos have been using this technology for several years. The largest
customer is Holland Casino, with 12 locations. The techology is also in use in
Argentina and under testing in Australia.
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To the right is an image of a Mikohn SafeChip™ with a clear cover showing its interior. The chips can be made to look
and feel just like regular casino chips. The chips cost about $2 each.
Inside each chip is a coil of copper wire that acts as an antenna, connected
to the microchip transponder (manufactured by Philips).
The chips are powered by low-frequency RF waves, so there are no batteries that need to be replaced.
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Mikohn SafeChip™
Click for larger image
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The detector plates are simply coils of copper wire, of virtually any shape.
You can see two detector coils in the pictures to the right being revealed by pulling up the table covering.
The coils can be made virtually any shape and size and can be placed very close together. (The coils
in the picture are each a little bigger than a standard playing card and are almost touching.)
Since the detectors plates are just copper wire, it is not too expensive to outfit an entire table with several
detectors per player.
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Two detector coils
Closeup of the coils
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A table full of detector coils are connected to a reader board which switches between the
detector plates to read the chips. The reader board then passes the data to a CPU for
further processing. To the right is a picture of an entire blackjack table set up to use SafeChips™.
It should not be difficult to adapt the system to poker tables.
A hundred chips can be read in about 8 seconds (and the technology is steadily improving). Stacks more
than 20 chips high can be read with 100% accuracy.
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Blackjack table outfitted
with TableLink® technology.
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If your main concern is accuracy of chip count and not catching every possible attempt by cheaters to
remove or add chips into play, you don't need detectors in the tables. The chips will work
fine with stand-alone and portable readers. Before a tournament, you can use the readers to check in every chip to
a specific table, or even a specific seat. You could use a single portable reader to track the movement of
chips as tables break. The portable readers can also be used to speed up color ups and make them more accurate.
If you have a multi-day tournament, you can use the portable reader to get
a fast and accurate count of players' chips at the end of each day. (As an added benefit, the
chip counts can be available instantly.)
If you want better chip tracking, but don't want the expense of custom tables, a single movable detector
could be used at each table to track all the chips that go in and out of every pot. In addition
to preventing chips being introduced from other tournaments, these detectors should catch when a player shorts a pot.
They could also verify split pots and count large bets in no-limit tournaments. You won't be able to
easily track whether chips are passed between two players at the same table.
If you went the whole 9 yards, you'd have a detector plate for each player's bets, with boxes printed on
the felt to show the borders of the betting areas. Optionally, you'd also have a detector for the player's chips
and one for the pot, but these could all be calculated from the bets. With this system, you could
do everything you could do above. Plus, you could detect chips passed between players at the same table.
You can record all bets and detect suspicious betting patterns over a long period (as some online
casinos do), possibly indicating collusion.
The technology currently might not be fast enough to detect string bets or raises, but you can detect short bets
and short blinds and alert dealers, possibly in time to prevent further problems. The system could keep track of all players' stacks throughout
the tournament, and all tables could be linked to provide real-time tournament standings. (With a very
small additional effort, this data could be provided live on the Internet. Internet spectators
could even "see" the action bet by bet at every table!) If the cost of these fully-outfitted tables
are prohibitive for the entire tournament, they could be limited to the final 1-3 tables.
For a complete system, you could install an automatic card shuffler and dealing shoe at each table. An automatic shuffler will reduce time consuming dealer errors, dealer cheating, and opportunities for players to see or track cards during the shuffle.
In addition, the shoes can have integrated card readers, ensuring that
boards are not misread and pots are pushed to the correct players, and making it even easier
to detect team play. Spectators (both live and online) can be treated
to a real-time, accurate display of the board cards and all showdowns. Plus, the hole cards can be
recorded for a later video or broadcast of the tournament. If cost is prohibitive, the card
readers can be installed just at the final table(s).
[There is a U.S. patent, number 5,451,054, that
covers certain implementations of a poker table with card readers for poker tournaments.
I've studied this patent and I don't believe it covers this system, although licensing the patent might be more practical than risking a lawsuit.]
Cost:
There are at least four expenses that must be considered: (1) the cost for the new set of chips;
(2) the cost (including licensing fees) for the detectors and readers;
(3) development cost of a system geared towards poker tournaments; and
(4) training and operating costs.
The chips cost about $2 each. This is a factor of 2 to 10 times as expensive as conventional chips, but not so expensive if you
figure in the cost of replacing regular tournament chips prematurely because of chip lossage.
Because each chip is uniquely identified, they can be reused in other types of tournaments and the
same set of chips could even be used in satellites and super satellites. I estimate that a tournament
the size of the World Series would need roughly these denominations and amounts:
Denom Amount $ Value
$5 5000 $25,000
$25 6000 $150,000
$100 6000 $600,000
$500 4000 $2,000,000
$1000 2000 $2,000,000
$5000 800 $4,000,000
$10000 400 $4,000,000
$25000 200 $5,000,000
Total: 24,400 chips
Cost: ~$50,000 one-time cost for a WSOP-sized tournament.
Smaller tournaments would need much fewer chips. To save money on chips, you can use SafeChips™ only
for higher denominations, such as $100 and up. In such a case, the chip requirements might become:
Denom Amount $ Value
$100 4000 $400,000
$500 2000 $1,000,000
$1000 500 $500,000
$5000 300 $1,500,000
Total: 6,800 chips
Cost: ~$13,000 for most major tournaments,
using SafeChips for only $100 chips and higher
An initial investment of just $13,000 could get this going.
To keep costs even lower, a single set of chips could rotate between
poker tournaments -- that could be an area for the TDA to facilitate.
Mikohn currently licenses the detectors and readers. They haven't concentrated on poker tournaments,
so the pricing model is unclear. Their real target market is casino games, so I brought up with
them the idea of a sponsorship deal in exchange for the use of the chips. This could benefit them
twofold. First, they would have a showcase for their TableLink® technology. Second, they could
advertise their table and slot games both to poker players and spectators. Mikohn might be receptive
to such a deal. Bud Jones might be another sponsorship source. (Bud Jones is a subsidiary of Bourgogne et Grasset® - merging with Paul-Son -
and the American manufacturer of SafeChips™.)
Some money would have to be spent on development of a system geared towards poker tournament.
If I was motivated (financially or otherwise), I could do some or all of the development work myself,
or it could be contracted out to Mikohn or a third party, or become part of the licensing fee.
Dealers and/or floor people would need a small amount of training in using the system. One or
two people would need some additional training for setting up and operating the system.
Addtional links:
Sources: emails with Mikohn employees, on-site visit to Mikohn in January, 2002, Mikohn literature and website.
Copyright 2002 Andrew Bloch.
All pictures Copyright 2002 Andrew Bloch.