Famous Blackjack Players Who Have Changed the Game Forever

Blackjack has always been the most talked-about gambling game with innumerable appearances in Cinema and Literature. The game had some legends too. Over the years, a vast number of Blackjack players had their skills tested on the board. A lot of them had success in small to mid-scale. But, only a few of them could make it so big that they became an instant celebrity. This article is about them and how they beat the house by millions of dollars. Without further ado, let’s begin the tail of six such extraordinary stories where the unthinkable had happened.

Ken Uston

Ken Uston is the person who introduced the team play concept in Blackjack and made it famous instantly with his winning rampage. At one point in time, he became so excellent at implementing this concept that casinos from all around the world had to ban him from preventing their loss. however, he was seen in casinos after that in disguise. The story of him winning the lawsuit against an Atlantic City casino was the talk of the town back in the 80s’. He was inducted in Blackjack’s Hall of Fame in 2002. 

The Four Horsemen

Roger Baldwin, James McDermott, Wilbert Cantey, and Herbert Maisel are four US Army servicemen who had one of the most significant accomplishments in the history of Blackjack. They developed the very first effective Blackjack tactics, the way of acting in every situation during the game. They figured out the basic math involved with Blackjack in the 50s’ when computational mathematics wasn’t a thing. Their extensive research and hard work showed the world that a game like a new approach to gambling. These gentlemen were introduced into the Hall of Fame in the year 2008. 

Lawrence Revere

The author of the book ‘Playing Blackjack as a Business’ Lawrence Revere is a notable Blackjack strategist who developed various card counting tactics. His strategies involve a simple approach, yet some complicated calculations. His most famous strategy, known as Revere Point Count, is still in use by many Blackjack aspirants. Apart from being a professional Blackjack player, Mr Revere was also a casino pit manager. This job of him gave an inner perspective of a casino’s working, which provided him with valuable knowledge of how to keep a low profile and avoid being detected as a card counter. He has been a Blackjack Hall of Famer since 2005.

Edward Thorp

Edward Thorp is the godfather of Blackjack card counters. His book, ‘Beat the Dealer,’ came out in 1962, was the first-ever published card counting strategy demonstration document. Talking of certain firsts, he invented the first-ever wearable computing device and developed the first-ever modern application of probability theorem. His strategies, along with his computational tech, were so spot on that he overcome the house edge to a great extent and eventually got himself banned from multiple Vegas casinos. Along with Ken Uston, Mr Edward Thorp was also included in the Hall of Fame in 2002

James Grosjean

James Grosjean is a world-renowned professional Blackjack player turned author. He got the public attention mostly through his legal victories against some big casinos. He successfully asserted his player’s rights against the casinos, which is considered an act of heroism among Blackjack players. His lawsuit against Imperial Palace that fetched him a handsome amount of $599,999 was the trending topic of discussion in the US during that time. He also won lawsuits against Caesar’s Palace and Griffin Investigations. Mr Grosjean still plays Blackjack to this day. He participated is Ultimate Blackjack Tour, a 10 week series by CBS. His inclusion in the Hall of Fame happened in 2006. 

MIT Blackjack Team

The best is reserved for the last. They are arguably the best Blackjack team ever. The team includes students and professors from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and Harvard Business School. Started in 1979 from Atlantic City, they keep on operating till the beginning of the 21st century. Though the core group remained intact; however, the rest of the team faced a lot of changes throughout the years. Casinos eventually caught them in 1993 when the group was disbanded temporarily just to make a grand return in 1994. The team seeks inspiration from the movie ’21’ while the film ‘The Last Casino’ is loosely based on them. Multiple members of the team have been inducted into the Hall of Fame till now.

Wrapping Up

Blackjack has seen quite some legends who damaged the casino’s business with their talents. Due to short of space, we couldn’t tell you the stories of Don Johnson, Bryce Carlson, and Stanford Wong. I guess those stories are for another day.

The summary of this article is how much ever the casinos try; they cannot stop card counters from beating them. History has seen them, and in the future also they will appear and overturn the house edge.