Blackjack, mathematics, card counting, counting cards, Ken Uston, basic strategy.


BEING THERE: Blackjack, mathematics, card counting, basic strategy, Ken Uston on CBS's 60 Minutes

Blackjack, card counting, counting cards, Ken Uston, Edward Thorp 'Beat the dealer'.

Posted by Mr. T on August 15, 2000.

I read with great interest your opinions on Ken Uston and Edward Thorp. I am a former professional card counter but I currently make my living at the baccarat tables (with great success). Some of what you say has some reality to it regarding Ken Uston. But, for the most part your off base. He did work for the casino at the end of his life, but not for the reasons you imply. I witnessed Kenny play many, many times. He was simply the greatest. Whatever point you are making about John Scarne would seem to be moot since he has long been deceased and can't possibly know what anyone including Thorp has done since.

But, despite that, everyone can only agree that Uston was named Blackjack Player of the Century by Blackjack Confidential Magazine. His playing ability was highlighted in a segment of CBS's 60 Minutes with Harry Reasoner sitting next to him at Caesar's in Atlantic City and watching him kill them on national television. It was mainly due to Thorp and Uston that the casino industry changed the rules of the game of blackjack. I was there the day they changed the game following a court decision. It can be related to the Wilt Chamberlain effect on basketball by having the lanes widened due to him.

So I suggest you keep those things in mind and respect them until such time as you are named lottery &/or roulette player of the century or have the rules of those games changed due to your impact upon them.
Good luck with your numbers.

Blackjack card counting system by Edward Thorp.

Ion Saliu's note
Card counting, as devised by Edward E. Thorp is a footnote to gambling history now. It offered a slight advantage in one-deck games, one player against the dealer only, and especially towards the end of the deck. Ideally, a player could destroy the blackjack game IF knowing the composition of the deck AND the sequence of the remaining cards in the deck. The latter part is the REAL problem: Nobody will ever be able to know the SEQUENCE of the remaining cards in the deck.

Edward Thorp, gambling, blackjack, BJ, cards, counting, penetration, high, low, positive, negative, neutral, count, casino, deck, permutations, card counting.

Blackjack mathematics, card counting, counting cards, Ken Uston, Edward Thorp.

Blackjack: Software, Content, Resources, Systems, Basic Strategy And Card Counting.
See a comprehensive directory of the pages and materials on the subject of blackjack, baccarat, software, systems, and basic strategy.

Of major interest: Blackjack, Black Jack: Basic Strategy, Card Counting; Charts & Tables, Probability, Odds, Software.

  • Blackjack Split Pairs Strategy Table.
    Color-coded chart to learn the best Split Pairs strategy. When you get your first two cards, look at this table first. The pairs occur the least in a blackjack game. If your hand is not a pair, move to the next chart: Double Down.

  • Blackjack Double Down Strategy Table.
    Color-coded chart to learn the best Double Down strategy. After consulting the Split Pairs table, look next at this table. The Double Down situations occur more often than pairs at blackjack. If your hand is not a Double Down situation, move to the next chart: Hit or Stand.

  • Blackjack Hit Stand Strategy Table.
    Color-coded chart to learn the best Hit or Stand strategy. After consulting the Double Down table, finally look at this table. The Hit or Stand decisions are by far the most frequent and important situations in blackjack.

  • Blackjack Basic Strategy Tables Split Double Down Hit.
    All three color-coded charts in one file, in the best decision-making sequence: Split Pairs, to Double Down, to Hit or Stand.

  • Basic Strategy Chart for Multiple Deck Blackjack.
    The traditional method of learning the Basic Strategy: all decisions in a table. The dealer up card is listed across (horizontally), while the player's first two cards are listed vertically in the leftmost column. For example, dealer's up card is 5. Player's first two cards: A+4; the right move: D (Double Down). It makes it somehow more difficult to learn the best decisions.

    Thorp and blackjack math: card counting, counting cards, Ken Uston.

    Subject:

    Comments:

    Blackjack, software, systems. Socrates Home  Search Web on blackjack counting cards. Search  Random numbers generator.Random Generator, Odds Calculator  Message Board, Forum: blackjack, counting cards, systems.New Writings, Pages  Links to blackjack, plus basic strategy.Sitemap, Content  

    Ken Uston and the legend of blackjack card counting on CBS 60 Minutes.