MENU
Who are the best blackjack players of all time? I wanted to know, so I did the research: six people stood out. It’s difficult to say who is number one because each could be considered the greatest in their own way.
Some of these top blackjack players changed the game completely, devising clever card counting systems, winning legal victories over casinos, and pocketing millions of dollars by beating the house at its own game.
Let’s investigate the most famous blackjack players and what they accomplished. Then, you can decide who’s the very best!
Edward O. Thorp
The “father of card counting” title is a clear sign that the guy bearing it is among the great blackjack players. Edward O. Thorp was a math professor at the University of California, Irvine. He’s the author of one of the most popular blackjack books, Beat the Dealer.
Thorp’s book was the first to mathematically prove card counting could beat the house. He even developed a wearable computer that could count cards.
Thorp’s estimated winnings sit at over $1 million, making him one of the best blackjack players of all time. Few people in history have had as much influence over the game as Thorp.
Dana White
UFC boss Dana White is best known for creating the greatest fight championship ever, the UFC.He also has earned the reputation of an expert blackjack player with insane card counting skills.
White learned how to count cards while working as a bouncer at a Las Vegas casino. He later returned to use his skills against the house.
White’s blackjack exploits are legendary; he got banned from several casinos after winning millions of dollars at the tables.
The UFC founder uses a simple card-counting system called the Hi-Lo system. This system assigns a positive (+1) value to high cards and negative (-1) values to low cards. This allows him to keep track of the number of high or low value cards left in the deck.
There’s no doubt Dana White is one of the richest blackjack players; his net worth is around $500 million. At least a few million of those dollars came from Las Vegas casinos, making Dana White one of the most notorious blackjack players of all time.
Stanford Wong
I don’t know about you, but when I think of the name Stanford Wong, I think of a rich Chinese card shark. However, Stanford Wong is just a pen name, and the man behind it is called John Ferguson.
Wong’s total blackjack earnings are unknown, but he’s a legendary player with several books and his own card-counting system. His best-known publication is Professional Blackjack. His system, Wonging, teaches players to only play when the count is in their favor.
Wong started playing cards back in the 1960s when he was a Ph.D. student at Stanford University. Since then, Wong has gone on to become a 21 legend, hosting multiple blackjack tournaments.
Today, he is a member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame and has his own publishing house for gambling books.
Ken Uston
Ken Uston is one of the smartest, most successful blackjack players in history. In the ’70s and ’80s, he and his team rinsed casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City for millions, eventually earning himself a lifetime ban.
However, Uston wasn’t going to take this lying down. He successfully sued Atlantic City casinos, winning a landmark New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that proved card counting was not cheating.
Uston went on to reveal his secrets in his book The Big Player. Few legendary blackjack players can say they’ve won a Supreme Court case related to the game, making Uston a true blackjack legend.
Don Johnson
Johnson is known as “The Man Who Broke Atlantic City.” This famous blackjack high roller may have won more money playing 21 than anyone else on this list. He won $15 million from three Atlantic City casinos in 2011, taking home $6 million from the Tropicana in one night.
Johnson wasn’t a card counter, so how did he do it? Because he was a high-stakes player, he negotiated special rules with the casinos. These included being able to split and double certain hands. This eliminated the house edge and gave him an advantage, allowing him to clean the house.
Naturally, Johnson is considered one of the best blackjack players in the world. His story has been featured in books like The Blackjack Underground.
Tommy Hyland
Have you ever read a book that changed your life? Tommy Hyland did; in the 1970s, he read Blackjack As a Business by Lawrence Revere, took it to heart, and went on to create one of the most successful card counting teams of all time.
While he started off card counting by himself, Hyland quickly realized bigger profits could be made by building a team.He did just that in the ‘80s. His crew traveled all around the USA, winning millions and remaining under the radar.
Some of the stories about Tommy Hyland and his team are legendary. For example, in a single night in 1984, they won over $1 million at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. Hyland goes down as one of the most successful card counters in history and has a place in the Blackjack Hall of Fame.
Are You Good at Blackjack?
If you’re any good atplaying blackjack, you can play it at almost every online casino these days. There’s no need to travel to Las Vegas or Atlantic City to try card counting techniques or other blackjack tricks; you can now do it from the comfort of home.
If you want to play from within the USA, I strongly recommend checking out Wild Casino. It has multiple high-quality blackjack games to choose from and regular blackjack tournaments with guaranteed cash prizes up for grabs.
If you’re from elsewhere, I recommend blackjack at Betway Casino. With lots of live dealer games, including Lightning Blackjack, which adds extra multipliers to special cards, this UKGC-licensed casino is one of my top-rated blackjack casinos for a reason!
