The Blackjack Hall Of Fame
Gambling, Entertainment
Source: Monoar_CGI_Artis, Pixabay
Every sport or pastime has its share of heroes, and Blackjack is no different. These heroes are usually those who are the best at running the numbers, serving as an inspiration for online blackjack players the world over. Some even manage to push the game forward so much that they carve themselves a place in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Let’s step into the shoes of some of the most iconic Blackjack players of all time and see what earned them their fame as kings of the game.
A short Blackjack history
Blackjack is derived from Vingt-et-Un, a 17th century French card game that translates to Twenty-one. Twenty-one became popular in the United States during the 19th century and soon became known as Blackjack. This was thanks to a special bet by casino owners that offered ten-to-one odds to players who were dealt the Jack of Clubs or the Jack of Spades as well as the Ace of Spades. The special bet eventually fell away but the name was so popular that it stuck and remains to this day.
Blackjack is popular in land-based and online casinos across the world. The game has evolved over the decades and today there exists numerous versions of Blackjack. Some examples are Atlantic City Blackjack, European Blackjack, Progressive Blackjack, and Vegas Strip Blackjack. Each version of Blackjack offers its own ruleset that appeals to different types of players.
The basics of Blackjack
A game of Blackjack is played against the dealer, not the other players at the table. To win, a player must have the total of their cards’ value add up to, or as close to, 21 without going over. If the player or dealer’s total goes over 21 then that counts as a “bust” which means they lose instantly.
Any player that gets on or closer to 21 than the dealer and does it with fewer cards is a winner. Winners receive a one-to-one payout equal to how much they bet. If the dealer hits a bust then any player that has not hit a bust will be counted as a winner.
Players can also win if they receive a “Natural” also known as “Blackjack”. This is achieved by receiving an Ace card as well as any card with a value of 10. If the player receives a Blackjack and the dealer does not then they’re a winner. If both the player and the dealer receive a Blackjack then the player wins their bet back. Check out the Ultimate Blackjack Guide with more tips and tricks to win.
What is the Hall of Fame?
The Blackjack Hall of Fame was established in 2002 at the Barona Casino in San Diego California. It was set up as a way of honouring the greatest Blackjack experts in the history of the game. This honour isn’t reserved only for players as it also includes authors and other experts who have contributed to the game.
An induction into the Hall of Fame includes a lifetime provision for free food, board and beverages at the Barona. The only condition is that the inductee must swear to never play at the Barona’s tables.
The pick for the original inductees was made from a roster of 21 well-known Blackjack heavyweights. The first round of voting was done online by the public over the course of a month at the end of 2002. The final votes were cast in-person in 2003 at a professional Blackjack event known as the Blackjack Ball. 7 members were inducted as the first round of inductees into the Blackjack Hall of Fame.
Several more members have been added to the Hall of Fame in the years that have followed. Voting is now closed to the public however and only invitees to the Blackjack Ball are allowed to vote. While the number of new inductees was dropped to 2 in 2004 and then just 1 in 2006, 2007 saw the addition of 4 new members who were inducted as a group.
Blackjack heroes
The heroes added to the Blackjack Hall of Fame have all made some sort of impact on the game over the course of their career. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest Blackjack success stories of the modern game.
Edward O. Thorp
Edward O. Thorp is a name that any Blackjack player worth their salt should be more than familiar with. Aside from being a brilliant mathematician and a successful hedge fund manager, Thorp is also known as the inventor of card counting. His wildly popular book titled Beat the Dealer popularised card counting as a mathematical formula for winning at Blackjack. While card counting is illegal in many casinos, his book did help to drive interest in Blackjack in casinos around the world and is considered necessary reading for any aspiring Blackjack player. Thorp was also one of the pioneers of using computers to analyze Blackjack odds. Together with engineer Claude Shannon, the pair invented a wearable computer for roulette in 1961 that is believed to be one of the first wearable computers in the world. This device eventually led to the banning of such devices in casinos in 1985.
Source: Mariamichelle, Pixabay
Arnold Snyder
Arnold Snyder made a name for himself as a professional Blackjack player and later as a gambling writer. Snyder spent many years playing low-stakes Blackjack and reading as much as he could to learn as much as possible about the game. He became particularly interested in the way that casino dealers shuffle their cards and eventually developed a Blackjack technique based on card counting and shuffling styles. His first book on the subject was The Blackjack Formula, and with several more under his belt Snyder is regarded as a fully-fledged gambling author in his own right.
Snyder has also been a big advocate for professional gambling rights and has testified as an expert witness on several high-profile Blackjack court cases. He also owns and runs Blackjack Forum Online which is a popular online portal for all things Blackjack related.
Don Johnson
Don Johnson is a professional Blackjack player best known for the feat of winning a massive total of over $15 million from 3 three Atlantic City casinos over the course of 6 months in 2011. What’s even more incredible is that $800 000 of that was won in just a single hand of Blackjack. Though it was decided that Johnson had not used card counting to win, he was still banned from Caesars casinos worldwide. Johnson is a big fan of the high-roller lifestyle and still plays hard and parties hard with celebrities and the like around the world.
Stanford Wong
Stanford Wong is the pen name of John Ferguson, a gambling author best known for his 1975 book simply titled Professional Blackjack. Though he started out as a finance teacher at Stanford University, Wong soon grew tired of teaching and instead used his skill with numbers to pursue a career in gambling.
He is the inventor of a Blackjack system known as “wonging” which involves watching play without wagering until the count of cards becomes advantageous. This system is the reason that some casinos today have rules that state “No Mid-Shoe Entry” which forbids players from entering the game until the cards have been shuffled.
Wong was also the creator of Blackjack Analyzer which was one of the first commercially available software applications for analyzing Blackjack odds.
Stanford Wong set up the website BJ21.com which publishes a popular newsletter of Blackjack news and tactics. He still publishes content for the website to this day. He also owns a publishing company called Pi Yee Press which publishes books from other popular gambling authors.
Source: BruceEmmerling, Pixabay
Ken Uston
Ken Uston rose to fame in the Blackjack scene during the 1970s as one of the pioneers of team-based card counting. Throughout this time he earned millions of dollars from casinos worldwide. He was subsequently banned from casinos all over the world and was forced to resort to dressing in disguise in order to enter and play.
He was also the winner of a lawsuit that disallowed New Jersey casinos from banning card counters without a valid New Jersey Casino Commission regulation. Many casinos had to change their systems in order to increase the house edge against card counters as a result.
In addition to being a successful gambler and businessman, Uston was also a popular author. He wrote several books about Blackjack, video games and home computers during his career.
Sadly, Uston died in 1987 at the age of only 52. He was found dead in his Paris apartment. The cause of death was determined as heart failure.
Make a mark on the game
These pioneers of the game laid the groundwork that has made it possible for so many aspiring Blackjack players to thrive to this day. Players who would like to learn from these masters should look into their work and in our Ultimate Blackjack Guide with tips and tricks. Online Blackjack at Spin Casino means that players can try out the genius methods of these iconic Blackjack masters without having to set foot in a casino.
