Ken Uston

Ken Uston is not only well-known because his memorable games and millions of dollars won on blackjack. He is also a legend because of his unusual blackjack methods. Many of blackjack players use such methods nowadays playing in the most popular casinos like paddy power, for example. As any other famous blackjack player, Uston graduated an important university: Harvard. He later moved to San Francisco, pursuing his talent for the stock exchange market.

However, he considered his life boring and dull. This is why he used his weekends to play in casinos, making blackjack his favorite game. He was not one of those players that would see blackjack just like an entertainment method. Being a smart player, he managed to become a feared name in the casinos. Of course, he managed to make many friends amongst the blackjack elite players of those times, and the most fruitful collaboration was the team with Al Francesco.

Blackjack team

Al Francesco was not such a great player. In fact, his most feared weapon was his charisma. He managed to gather all the best players in his team, but his most valuable acquisition was Ken Uston. The precious advices and experience of Francesco, along with the talent and dedication of Uston created the best team of those times. In their first weekend as a team, the team swept away 40 000 dollars from a well-known casino.

Maybe for our times, this is a sum gambled by one player in a night, but for 1960, this sum could assure you a luxury life for some years. Uston was disappointed, as his share from that sum was only 2000 dollars.

Making demands

As the strategy was based on cards counting, the most important player of the team was Uston himself. Sure, Francesco was in charge of finding the best tables, and the other team members were responsible for keeping the casino's personnel distracted. However, without Uston, the team was useless. Therefore, a 5 percent share was unsatisfactory for him.

During the year 1978, Uston decided that he needs more. This is why he started his own blackjack team, taking some of Francesco's people also. A casino in Atlantic City managed to expose Uston's schemes; therefore, he was banned from the majority of casinos. Ken filled a lawsuit against the casino, but the procedures were slow. This is why he had to use disguises to play until the final decision. At the end, the legal court declared Uston as a winner, forcing the casino to pay him some serious money.

The player died in 1987, but he is still considered a blackjack badge even today. Every team takes him as an example, and his books are the beginning of every successful blackjack career.