A Special Feature on Blackjack Superstar Ken Uston

Blackjack is one of the easiest and most prominent games in casinos. Many gamblers try to build a career in blackjack but only few players are able to create great bankrolls from profits that they get by winning in money games and competitions of blackjack. Even if blackjack is easy to play, winning in blackjack tournaments and money games maybe hard since players need to be knowledgeable about high-level strategies to raise their odds.

A mathematics expert, Ken Uston exerts efforts to attain his dream, which is to be one of the successful blackjack players in the world. Before he tries to make a great name in blackjack, Uston is a corporate executive at San Francisco, California's Pacific Stock Exchange. Since he is a genius in mathematics, during this time he already shows interest in gambling games, especially in blackjack.

It was in 1973 when Uston met famous gambler Al Francesco. They became friends and Francesco shared his knowledge on card counting to Uston. Francesco also included Uston in his blackjack team. His inclusion in the blackjack team helps him become popular to other gamblers.

Because of his popularity, some casinos do not accept him in their gaming floor. To continue his career, he filed a lawsuit in 1976 in Atlantic City against Resort Internationals for not allowing him to play in their casino. He won the lawsuit and made improvements in the gambling industry of the city.

Uston started writing and publishing books about the techniques and strategies that Al Francesco's team commonly apply in tournaments. His book "The Big Player," created controversies that affected his friendship with Francesco. Despite criticisms faced by Uston, he continued writing blackjack books which led to the publication of "Two Books on Blackjack," "Ken Uston on Blackjack," and "Million Dollar Blackjack."

Uston manifests his card counting skills in casinos, which help him win millions. His career ended in 1987 when he died from heart attack in Paris. However, to recognize all his efforts and contributions to blackjack players, some gambling experts choose him to be one of the first members of Blackjack Hall of Fame.

The life of Ken Uston, a great and excellent blackjack player, shows that if players will only allot time and commit themselves in learning various blackjack techniques, they can also become blackjack champions. Aside from commitment, players need to have passion for the game because they will easily be discouraged if they experience troubles along the way.