Wednesday, May 22, 2013

5 Blackjack Icons To Thank For

Blackjack owes its popularity not only to its inventor and players. More than anything else, the credit goes to the people who spent time and effort in developing their blackjack expertise and for pursuing the most effective strategies to beat the game.

Aberdeen’s Four Horsemen
The four horsemen refer to Herbert Maisel, James McDermott, Wilber Cantey and Roger Baldwin. But they’re not just ordinary men, they are soldiers who first laid down the foundations of card counting. It is believed that these soldiers spearheaded the idea of coming up with a formula that can beat blackjack.

Eleanor Dumont
Dumont, or more popularly known as Madame Mustache is one of the  greatest blackjack players that mankind has ever encountered. As a matter of fact, she is also recognized for introducing the game to Nevada.

MIT Blackjack squad
Comprised of intellectually gifted students of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who would’ve thought that these young braniacs stormed through land-based casinos, brought down the edge and collected millions in just one night?

Indeed, these students have managed to literally bring down the house. If there’s any team who has been very successful in card counting, there’s no doubt that the MIT Blackjack group is one of them.

Cathy Hulbert
Hulbert is Dumont’s protégée. She left her promising career in the senate, decided to become a dealer and transformed into one of the finest players that stormed and drained every casino that she played. There was even a time when she was asked to leave.

Ken Uston
Ken Uston is said to introduce the most successful approach to card counting and that is team play. In the early days, card counters work individually. But as casinos used card counting to counter the practitioners, card counting became more difficult. However, when working as a team, card counters were able to take control without being suspected of applying such strategy.


Blackjack is a great and exciting game. But if not for the above-mentioned individuals, blackjack shall not have the prominence that it enjoys now.