One of the biggest upsets in Casino history was accomplished when a small group of MIT students (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) set out to beat the big casinos with their style of blackjack playing which involved a system they themselves had perfected. Although it was soon considered card counting and was frowned upon by casinos, their style was not illegal and they made a hefty profit from many casinos from the mid 1990’s to the 21st century. Although the MIT Blackjack Team were not what you would call traditional professional blackjack players you could say they were impressive.
Ironically enough this infamous team started from an after school club that originally focused on using cards as a mathematical exercise, but soon found them as a way to unwind after a long hard school day. Being MIT students they were always raising the bar until a few players saw definite reason in the hands and figured a system could be utilized to make a few bucks under the right conditions. This was great idea and soon their success at the tables was recognized by some major investors who soon wanted to take advantage of this expertise and created a corporation called Strategic Investments.
The bankrolling of this new corporation allowed them to use hundreds of thousands of dollars to put their theories to the test and it seemed to pay off big time for many who invested, because it not only showed a whopping 154% payback on one investment alone, but the others as well all showed a substantial return. The team soon dissolved after making over 5 million dollars and the rest is history. That doesn’t mean though that there are not many excelllent Professional blackjack players keeping the game of blackjack alive and well.
Erica Schoenburg is actually known as both a “blackjack babe” and a “poker babe.” She is an Aries and was born on March 25th 1978 and is from Akron Ohio. Erica starting her betting at an early age for simple things like pocket change, and with her parents as well to get out of doing house chores. Even at that age she won many bets and soon found she had an affinity for math and logic. She soon started playing blackjack and was hooked on the excitement and thrill this game had to offer. Erica actually received some blackjack training from the famous MIT blackjack team. She has played in many blackjack tournaments and is still raking in the big wins and following simple blackjack rules. Although blackjack is still her main game, the popularity of poker has enticed her to dabble in that game as well. Keep an eye out for her, she is worth watching.
A member of the prestigious Blackjack Hall of Fame, James Grosjean is not your average blackjack player. He is a master card counter and has written many popular books on this exciting game. One of the most sought after books, by many players is called “Beyond Counting: Exploiting Casino Games from Blackjack to Video Poker. This book is considered the bible for any serious gambler and it made James famous all over the world. He is also well know for his legal battles with casinos in regard to counting cards and his victories in the court room have been a great asset to the gambling community in general.If anyone knows the extent of blackjack rules then it certainly would be James Grosjean one of truly professional blackjack players of all time.
