Blackjack is an iconic and popular casino game. Initially, it seems easy to understand, but it is ultimately complex enough to feature stories of people becoming blackjack legends. There are players who, over the years, have not only played but also beat the game.
They used their math knowledge, understanding of people’s psychology, and self-discipline to get the desired result. Sometimes, they could even “convince” the gaming houses to change their rules to ensure steady wins.
1. Edward O. Thorp
In the blackjack world, pointing out the figure of Edward O. Thorp is a must when you recall the best players – he’s the first one. In his book Beat the Dealer, published in 1962, he claimed that being a math professor at MIT skilled in probability theory and using early computer simulations (an IBM 704) was not only the key but also the starting point.
Thorp has proved that blackjack can help gamblers make money, and learning how to do blackjack card counting was the main thing that helped them do this.
His method, the Hi-Lo Strategy, has been the core of almost every card counting technique ever since. What made Thorp’s method stand out was its scientific basis—that is, it was not based on mere luck or instinct but on rigorous data and math.
2. Ken Uston
Although the responsibility for the popularity of card counting goes to Thorp, Ken Uston’s personality personifies its sleek nature.
Ken Uston was the primary star figure among blackjack enthusiasts of his generation. Uston was the key person who successfully led and managed a couple of blackjack teams to the top of the list of money earners in the 1970s and 1980s.
Team play was actually Uston’s main contribution. He helped counters and introduced the concept of team play, whereby counters would signal in high-stakes players after the deck became favorable. The story was published in his book Million Dollar Blackjack. While Thorp was a very private person, Uston was the complete opposite. He even managed to make appearances in the media, and he didn’t mind putting on disguises just to go to casinos that had banned him.
Uston was also involved in legal disputes, including one that led to the Atlantic City casinos not being able to blacklist card counters. The man’s oozing with charm, wit, and intellect made him a living legend.
3. The MIT Blackjack Team
A group of students and alumni from MIT, Harvard, and other top universities came together to form the MIT Blackjack Team, probably the most famous story in the history of blackjack. The team was in operation from 1979 through 2000, and its main focus was to take money from casinos by using card counting, team signaling, and stealth plays, which are the most dominant tactics.
What distinguished this group from the others was the strict management and sound corporate structure. The presence of trainers, managers, investors, and strict accountants was all part of their ingenious corporate structure.
The team touched the sky in terms of the amount of money they made. According to the sources, the team had made millions, and individual members had raised thousands of dollars in a single session.
4. Tommy Hyland
One respected guy who has been playing professional blackjack for a very long time is Tommy Hyland. He launched his blackjack team in the late 1970s and remains their manager to this day, besides training new players; in other words, he has the longest-running team in the world.
Hyland succeeded due to his systematic strategy that included rigorous team training, bankroll management, and strict ethical standards. Hyland’s team used to run its operations both in the U.S. and abroad, mainly under the radar. He is a renowned card counter, teacher, and team builder in the blackjack community.
In 2002, he was elected to the Blackjack Hall of Fame, a reward given to the finest individuals in the game’s history.
5. Don Johnson
Unlike all the people mentioned here, Don Johnson didn’t rely on card counting. He didn’t use it, in fact. What he did was negotiate the odds, mastering the game, and ensuring that he had a good bankroll at his disposal to take advantage of a casino during a weak moment.
In 2011, the Atlantic City casino industry was experiencing the aftermath of the recession a bit slowly. The casinos were very desperate for high rollers at the time. Johnson smelled the opportunity and went to the casinos to negotiate the rules that would allow him to play there to his advantage, which included the following:
- Losses were reimbursed at 20%,
- 6-deck shoe,
- The dealer is on the soft 17,
- and he could bet up to $100,000 in a single hand.
Given these terms, Johnson not only emerged as the man who defeated one but three of the city’s major casinos- Tropicana, Borgata, and Harrah- amassing over $15 million. The story of Johnson’s success was a slap in the face to the gambling industry and a vivid example of how advantage play doesn’t necessarily have to involve card counting but simply be the result of a smart player outdoing the house.
