Brief History of Card-Counting

The birth of the most famous gambling blackjack strategy Card-counting is believed to be created by Ed Thorp. He was the author of all the modern card-counting methods but he was not actually the first to use this method.

Pre-Pre-Ed Thorp

The first book in the history of blackjack was the book Playing Blackjack to Win, 1957. The book had 16 strategy tips that formed card counting. However, this card-counting method did not include tips on varying and adjusting the size of the bet to increase players’ edge.

Pre-Ed Thorp

In 1949 Jess Marcum, a nuclear physicist that worked for the Rand Corporation, created a counting method that helped him to quit his job one year later and become a professional player.

The book I Want to Quit Winners by Harold Smith Sr. was published in 1961. In this book the author suggested to bet more when the deck had lots of Aces. Harold Smith Sr. was the owner and operator of a Reno casino Smith's Club in the 1930's.

Ed Thorp

The book Beat the Dealer by Ed Thorp was the first mathematically proven card-counting system for beating online and traditional blackjack. This book gave blackjack players amazing confidence and even bigger chance to beat the casino. However, Ed Thorp was not accepted and supported at once, not all players and game theorists approved and believed this method.