Ken Uston Blackjack Team

If the game of blackjack had a celebrity icon, it would be Ken Uston, who in addition to his ability to get attention was, by all accounts, one of the more skillful and successful blackjack players in the world.

Born Kenneth Usui, Uston, who was an Ivy Leaguer, had been working as a vice-president of the Pacific Stock Exchange when he met a man at a party who would change the course of his life. Al Francesco was doing something Uston was largely unfamiliar with - taking teams of card-counting blackjack players to Nevada to work in unison to beat the casinos. They were using techniques that were completely unknown to the general public at the time, and Uston was intrigued - enough that he eventually joined up with Francseco's team and set out to become a blackjack professional.

Uston experienced great success from the start, working his way into every role on the team, including that of the "Big Player," the member of the team who took the appearance of a high-rolling gambler while getting the signals from counters at other tables, headed toward those tables that were at high levels of advantage and plunked down what were frequently one-off bets. The effect was that he simply looked like someone who was throwing money around randomly, but the reality is that what he was accomplishing for the team was to bet the largest amounts - proportionally speaking - in those situations where the deck or shoe was most advantageous for the player.

The precision required to pull off a success with this method was considerable. There were "foot soldiers" – or blackjack teams - at the tables, grinding things out, usually playing for small stakes, and keeping a meticulous count. That was essentially their job, and when they had a situation where things were at something of a strike point, they would call in the Big Player, or BP, as he was generally called. If the BP did his job effectively, there would be no one in the pit who would suspect that he was part of a counting operation.

Uston continued in his role for Francesco, then later, after quitting his job with the Stock Exchange, set up his own blackjack teams, who spanned the globe looking for the best blackjack opportunities and the richest blackjack games. All told, they won millions of dollars from casinos around the world and funded Uston's rather lavish lifestyle, which became part of his persona. He also documented his exploits in a book called, most appropriately, "The Big Player," one of a group of narratives that are probably essential reading for any blackjack aficionado.

Uston's book was supposed to be made into a movie, but it never happened. Years later, the book "Bringing Down the House" was adapted to the screen in the movie "21" which detailed a story about blackjack team play. The betting techniques in the film were essentially derivative of what Francesco and Uston had been doing back in the 1970's. The concept known as blackjack "Team Play" was the most popular, and for some, the most profitable way of playing blackjack and winning big money from casinos.

Beyond setting up hugely successful blackjack teams, Ken Uston was also responsible for designing advanced blackjack betting systems used to beat the casino. The more popular blackjack systems included the Uston Advanced Point Count, Uston SS Count, and the Uston Advanced Plus-Minus. If you enjoy playing blackjack, these blackjack strategies may be of interest for you to learn and practice at your favorite online casino.