Tag Archive: Blackjack

Stanford Wong was the pen name of the blackjack author and team manager, John Ferguson. Having been interested in card games in his youth, he later was to form 2 very successful card counting blackjack teams, who would take casinos to the cleaners. But money was never his driving force. That was to better his knowledge, and he often took much less of the profits as he regarded the data collected from their adventures to be the most valuable commodity. Eventually, his identity was revealed on TV.

Ken Uston was a natural blackjack player, in that he understood the maths and the game play. So it wasn't long before he was invited to join a professional blackjack team. They would travel from Las Vegas to Europe, visiting one casino after another, and taking each one to the cleaners. But in the end, even the best disguise can't hide your face, and he was banned from all casinos. So Ken turned his hand to video gaming and became a champion at that. He also loved jazz piano and would play daily

Though no one knows for sure, the general consensus is that the history of blackjack started in Ancient Rome. Though the game developed into different forms as it made it way around Europe, it really became the game we know today, after the French colonists bought the game to the Americas in the 1800s. Thanks to the efforts of a French woman, the games popularity grew and now is the staple table game found in casinos the world over. Whats great about the game is that it combines skill with luck.

By recruiting the smartest and most daring students at several top universities across the US, Bill Kaplan was able to form the greatest card counting team in the history of Blackjack. The MIT team devised a system of play and set off to conquer casinos up and down the country. Using a spotter to see when the game play was hot, another team member would then take a seat at the table to clean up with high stakes bets. Their efforts made them all millionaires in their early 20's.

Having seem the movie "21" about the HIT blackjack team, we're sure that many of you were thinking how cool it would be to have your own blackjack team and head off to Las Vegas to break the bank. If only life were so simple. First you'll need to put together a functioning team. The players have to be totally trustworthy, patient, easy going enough to get on with the other team members, and super skilled at the casino table game of blackjack. They will also need to contribute to the bankroll.