Blackjack advantage player series
Of
all the casino games, blackjack is one of the very few (and only in most
casinos) that actually offers advantage players a mathematical edge over the
house and a consequent likelihood of long term gains. What's an advantage
player? I like to think of them as the Robin Hoods of the casino world.
Taking from the rich (the casino) and giving to the poor (well themselves really
- but still part of the poor player collective!).
In less romantic terms, they are simply players who
intimately understand the game of blackjack and know how to play it optimally to
beat casinos. Many of you, having been repeatedly burnt at the blackjack
table may scoff at the suggestion that there are people out there that
consistently beat casinos and make a good (sometimes very, very good) living
doing it professionally. But it happens.
As casinos continue to try and shut the door on advantage
players through better counting detection and counter measures as well as
employing more miserly rule variations, advantage play is becoming more
difficult according to some. But the legend of the advantage player will
always live on, particularly in the well documented exploits of some players who
took on the house and won big - over and over again.
Following is a series of true stories of advantage players who beat casinos,
starting with perhaps the best known - the MIT blackjack team.
The MIT Blackjack Team - taking down the house
Edward Thorpe - the father of the count
Al Francesco - the inventor of team play
Arnold Snyder - fighting for rights of advantage players
Ken Uston V Atlantic City Casinos
Stanford Wong - the art of Wonging
Thomas Hyland - team counting mainstay
James Grosjean - suing the casinos
Coming soon: Max Rubin
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