We’ve often referred to players who have made it into the Blackjack Hall of Fame, but what is it and how many players have received that honour? That’s what we’re going to explore in this article.
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The history of the Blackjack Hall of Fame
The idea for the Blackjack Hall of Fame was voiced in 2002. The idea came from Max Rubin who polled scores of the best players as well as authors, casino managers and publishers. Each year, Rubin now contacts those who are in the Hall of Fame and they agree on seven nominees to enter. These nominees are then voted on.
As it stands, there are 30 members and we’re going to take a look at who they are, and why they’re there.
Blackjack Hall of Fame members
Here’s a look at who has made it into the Hall of Fame, in order of their induction.
Blackjack Hall of Fame Member #1 – Al Francesco – 2002
Al Francesco features in the Hall of Fame following inventing the concept of the Big Roger team strategy
Blackjack Hall of Fame #2 – Tom Hyland – 2002
Hyland makes it into the Hall of Fame thanks to his long-term success in managing card-counting teams.
Blackjack Hall of Fame #3 – Peter Griffin – 2002
Griffin is the mathematics professor who studied the math in blackjack. This led to him writing the now-famous book, The Theory of Blackjack
Blackjack Hall of Fame #4 – Arnold Snyder – 2002
Snyder spent 20 years editing the Blackjack Forum which was aimed at professional players. He has also authored some of the best blackjack books including The Big Book of Blackjack.
Blackjack Hall of Fame #5 – Edward Thorp – 2002
Thorp is a true blackjack great and is behind the whole concept of card counting. He is also known for his classic book, Beat the Dealer.
Blackjack Hall of Fame #6 – Ken Uston – 2002
Uston will always be known as one of the blackjack greats. He was behind popularising the technique of team play. He’s also the author of some truly outstanding books, such as Million Dollar Blackjack.
Blackjack Hall of Fame #7 – Stanford Wong – 2002
A high-stakes blackjack player who has known phenomenal success. He is also behind the publishing company that is responsible for the monthly publication, Blackjack News.
Blackjack Hall of Fame #8 – Max Rubin – 2004
The concept was his, and some two years later Rubin found himself inducted into the Hall of Fame. Rubin showed players how they could get the edge when playing and also demonstrated what could be achieved with competitions.
#9 – Keith Taft – 2004
Taft entered the Hall of Fame thanks to his invention, George. This was the first wearable blackjack computer.
#10 – Julian Braun – 2005
As the author of How to Play Winning Blackjack, Braun used a computer to study blackjack. This led to him developing simpler card-counting techniques.
#11 – Lawrence Revere – 2005
The author of Playing Blackjack as a Business, Revere was the first professional blackjack player to write a book on card counting.
#12 – James Grosjean – 2006
Grosjean has the honour of being the youngest member of the Hall of Fame. He is widely regarded as a truly exceptional mathematician and perfected numerous techniques such as hole carding and shuffle tracking. He regularly contributes to one of the top blackjack blogs.
#13 – John Chang – 2007
If you’ve seen the Hollywood film “21” then you may know this name. The movie is based on Chang and the famous MIT card-counting team.
#14 – Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel and James Mcderricint – 2009
Known as the Four Horseman of Aberdeen, these gentlemen are the ones who invented the first, semi-useful, version of basic blackjack strategy.
#15 – Richard Munchicin – 2009
The author of Gambling Wizards, Munchicin is a professional card counter and also features on the podcast, Gambling with an Edge.
#16 – Darryl Purpose – 2010
Purpose will always be known as a great high-stakes player. He was a key part of Utson’s team and also appeared in others.
#17 – Zeljka Ronogajec – 2011
The first non-American to make his way into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Known as one of the best card counters that the world has ever seen, he is also believed to be the biggest gambler too.
#18 – Ian Andersen – 2012
Andersen is the man behind the book Turning the Tables on Las Vegas. His book was the first to contain a detailed guide on camouflage so that you could learn to hide your card counting.
#19 – Bob Nersesian – 2013
Nersesian is a little unique when it comes to members of the Hall of Fame. He is actually a lawyer who defends players when they have problems with casinos. He is also behind more than one blackjack book.
#20 – Don Schlesinger – 2014
One of the greatest blackjack players of all time. No one else comes close when it comes to his understanding of the game. This led to him publishing data on topics such as optimal betting, risk analysis and camouflage.
#21 – Bill Beater – 2016
As well as being a master at all things blackjack relates, Beater also went on to become an expert when it comes to analyzing horse betting.
#22 – Don Johnson – 2017
A familiar name to those who have read our other articles. Johnson is one of the most famous players to have used card counting to win big. He defeated 3 Atlantic City casinos to the tune of $15 million.
#23 – Wally Simons – 2018
Behind the development of the first electronic shuffle tracking computers. This helped Simons to go on and win millions of dollars.
#24 – Rob Reitzen – 2019
Has shown many of us how the game should really be played. One weekend, he took a reporter with him and showed how he could easily win $500,000 in a single weekend in Vegas.
#25 – Anthony Curtis – 2020
Curtis has had a gambling career that spans over 4 decades. This experience has led to him publishing over 100 books in his time and he’s regarded as being one of the most authoritative voices in the game.
#26 – Cat Hulbert – 2022
The first female to amass over a million dollars in blackjack winnings. She played as part of the Czech blackjack team and visited more than 300 casinos around the world.
#27 Blair Hull – 2022
A member of Francesco’s blackjack team but also enjoyed great success playing solo. He’s also received the Ed Thorp Lifetime Achievement Award.
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