Get to Know some Pro Blackjack Players

There is a reason why pro blackjack players become famous, although it isn't always due to the amount of money they're able to win. Sometimes, their fame is derived from the contributions they've made to the way people play this casino classic over the years. Listed here are the best of the best along with their individual contributions.

Edward O. Thorpe

Edward O. Thorpe is a name that all blackjack lovers has likely heard before. His claim to fame is his study of all of the theoretical aspects of the game including how card counting can truly affect the odds. He created what is arguably the most widely-accepted method for card counting that is still in use today, and he was the first to actually prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that such a technique could win. His most notable performance was a win of more than $11,000 in a Lake Tahoe resort in a single weekend. Though it got him banned from the venue along the way, he simply concealed his identity and returned.

Ken Uston

Ken Uston is another pro blackjack player whose name is synonymous with card counting, but he went about it in a slightly different way. Rather than devise his own technique and attempt to outwit a venue on his own, he developed strategies for counting as a team. His primary claim to fame, though, was creating a New Jersey law that essentially stated that no one could be removed from a casino for counting cards. However, he became a master of disguise after being removed from several venues for communicating with people at other tables via gestures - something his law didn't legalize.

Peter Griffin

Peter Griffin is one of the most talented pro blackjack players ever to walk the face of the Earth, but this was derived from a rather unfortunate occurrence. In fact, at the time he first had the idea to apply mathematical principles to the game, he lost all of his savings in Vegas. Afterward, though, he continued to study and eventually wrote a book called "The Theory of Blackjack", and while those who have strong math skills swear by it, others say it's simply undecipherable without a mathematics degree.

Arnold Snyder

Arnold Snyder wrote several books on this title's theory, and while that is his primary contribution, there was one thing that set him apart - he wrote books that could easily be understood by the average layman. In time, more and more people picked them up and applied the strategies, hailing Snyder as a genius and providing him with a legacy that will likely never die.

Stanford Wong

Stanford Wong's contribution was his ability to create a computer program that would allow users to analyze the odds of a game at any given time based upon the cards that were showing, and this not only revolutionized the title itself, but it's also said that this is what eventually led to the creation of the software that allows individuals to face the dealer online, too.