Blackjack Famous Casino Gamblers
Famous Blackjack Gamblers
Blackjack has been enjoying a growing roster of reputable tournaments, including the popular World Series of Blackjack (WSOB), the biggest annual blackjack tournament on the East Coast, now about to get bigger as it's been picked up by the Game Show Network (GSN).
The Las Vegas Hilton Million-Dollar Tournament is said to be the world's most prestigious blackjack tournament, and other known blackjack events include The New Frontier Live Money Blackjack Tournament and The Oasis Resort $10,000 Spring Fling Blackjack Tournament. Deemed the world's most popular casino card game, blackjack took the cue from the massive popularity of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and World Poker Tour (WPT), the latter air on the Travel Channel, which is now also exploring blackjack on TV.
Stanford Wong (A professional gambler for over 40 years now, he reigns as the Godfather of Blackjack, has authored several bestselling blackjack books, including "the bible" of blackjack tournament play, Casino Tournament Strategy, and is named to the Blackjack and Video Poker Halls of Fame.)
Micky Rosa (He is most known for authoring the M.I.T. thesis on blackjack, and is featured in the New York Times bestseller, Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas For Millions.)
M.I.T. Mike (2004 WSOB champion, he also had a hand in the M.I.T. blackjack thesis and is featured in New York Times' bestselling Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas For Millions.)
Anthony Curtis (Among the world's most recognized gambling authorities, he is the publisher of the prestigious Las Vegas Advisor, and author of Bargain City - Booking, Betting, and Beating the New Las Vegas, and The Art of Gambling Through The Ages.)
Don Schlesinger (Top blackjack expert and strategist, he wrote Blackjack Attack, a definitive blackjack book in the library of serious blackjack players, and other bestselling blackjack books,)
Frank Scoblete (Considered America's #1 bestselling author of gaming books, he wrote the bestselling Best Blacjack, and many other popular blackjack books.)
Regina Guzior (Legally blind, she is credited as one of the best female blackjack players in the United States.)
James Grosjean
Michael Konik
Ken Einiger
"Hollywood" Dave Stann
Jimmy "Pay the Little Man" Pine
Henry Tamburin
Ken Smith
Rene Angelil
Jerry Patterson
Kamila Lis
Rick Jensen
Joe Maloof
Richard Taraska
Chuck Gorson
Erica Schoenberg
Robert Blechman
Viktor Nacht
Eric Kiel
Brian "The Wiz" Zembik
Joe Pane
David "Legend" Page
Kevin Blackwood
Previn Mankodi
Ashwin Patel
Roger "Skip" Samad
Angie Moneytaker
Michelle Richards
Russ Hamilton
Rick Swogger
Richard Munchkin
Nick Dillon
Cat Hulbert
Bobby J.
Joanna "Queen of Spades"
Bradley Peterson
Frank DeRocco
General Blackjack Rules
In reality, blackjack rules are variated from one casino to another, whether land-based or online, according to a few variables that the house itself will have set. But there are a few too basic constants to get out of the way so you can move on to the meat of the game.
Blackjack uses a standard deck of 52 cards. The suits of the cards are irrelevant, only their numerical values matter. The card values are as follows:
10, J, Q, K = 10
Ace = 1 or 11
Other cards = face value (example: 7 = 7, 8 = 8)
Splitting, doubling down, and getting a natural blackjack are all only possible with a two-card hand. To split, the two-card hand must be a pair.
The common payoff of a natural blackjack is 3:2, or 150% of the original bet. If both the player and the dealer get a blackjack at the same time, it is known as a push. In a push, the player neither wins nor loses, he simply wins back his original bet.
After splitting two Aces, one of the two hands being played may make a blackjack (if a second card just happens to be a 10). Often in these cases, the blackjack resulting from a split is not considered a natural blackjack. Thus, its payoff is 1:1, and not 3:2 as would be for a natural.
As earlier mentioned, the dealer follows his own separate set of blackjack rules. As a standard, if the dealer's hand totals 16 or lower, he must hit; if his hand is 17 or higher, he must stand. These rules are set, which means the dealer does not get to bend the rules in order to gain an advantage over a player.
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