Edward Thorp

Edward Thorp is older than the other legendary players of blackjack are. While some players could have used cards counting before, he is considered the inventor of this technique, as he was the first player to write a book on this topic. He was a mathematics professor in Chicago, and he was always passionate about this than about blackjack. This is why he never managed to become a blackjack millionaire. Beat the dealer is his most important blackjack related book, and it is successful even today.

Beat the Dealer

Although the technique is somehow obsolete now, as the casinos would find players using it in a second, the future blackjack techniques were all developed using this book as a model. Beat the Dealer is not only a great book for blackjack, as some mathematic professors are using it for their classes.

The technique can easily be used online today. As there are no Pit Bosses and other casino's players involved, the player could easily apply it in online casinos. However, some online casinos introduced techniques to find those players; therefore, you might need to search for a while before finding the best online casino that gives you a decent chance to win using the cards counting system.

Computer card counting

Edward Thorp used computers for blackjack since 1970. As the computers were only considered an extravagance that would easily disappear from the market, he could easily apply those techniques in real casinos. A simple IBM 704 was his main console, as he managed to calculate the probabilities of winning and he developed some advanced techniques to eliminate the house edge.

However, the computer was useless without the player's experience. "Yes, the 704 was a real help for me, but without my 20 years of playing blackjack, I was lost. John Kelly was an inspiration for me, and I could say that 40 percent of my technique is based on his ideas.

Although the casinos were in danger of losing some serious money with Edward Thorp at the tables, they always tried to get him to try new strategies. His name was a warranty about the casino's quality, so they considered the lost money as marketing investments. However, the card counting technique is useless if the deck is flushed every time, and more casinos are imposing this rule in order to prevent cards counting.

Edward Thorp was also involved in other games. As he always said that mathematics is more important than the game itself, he tried to apply those advanced techniques on baccarat or poker. He was unsuccessful with poker, as there were too many possibilities to consider. He is expected to write a book about craps, a book that will change the face of the game completely.