| The dream of capoting a casino is as old as the | | | | Jess Markum also went down to history as probably |
| notion "casino" itself. Every gambler wants to win. | | | | the first man thrown out from the casino because of |
| Every other invents his own "system". Every | | | | cards. Though at that time casinos did not |
| hundredth attempts to carefully analyze the game. | | | | understand that such system existed. Jess lived in |
| And only the few of millions succeed. | | | | Las Vegas for about a year. The casino owners |
| The most famous achievement in the sphere of | | | | exchanged the information when they gathered at |
| "system" game against the casino was the so called | | | | the general meeting. And they were terrified. After |
| "card counting" at blackjack - mathematically based | | | | that Markum was not admitted at all Vegas casinos. |
| methods of game allowing to get some advantage | | | | He went to Reno. The same story- in half a year |
| over the casino. The casinos, surely, knows about | | | | after unbelievable "luck" the casino owners started |
| the existence of "counters" and are trying to oppose | | | | making inquiries about the incredible gambler. Then |
| them - from changing the rules to banning the game. | | | | other states and cities. Then Cuba, the Bahamas. |
| Sometimes even exceeding the limits of reason and | | | | Nobody knows how much money he has won during |
| legality. In fact, all the history of the blackjack is the | | | | that time. One thing is known for sure- in fact, Jess |
| struggle between the gamblers and the casino which | | | | Markum started the war between the gamblers and |
| is more clever. | | | | casinos in blackjack, that is still going on and getting |
| More than half a century passed since the first | | | | more and more strained. |
| attempts of beating the casinos in blackjack, based | | | | He did not share his calculations with anyone, and |
| not on the marked cards and intuition. There has | | | | completely gave up playing against casino after a |
| been a peck of salt eaten since then, but the | | | | wide public publication of blackjack methods by other |
| struggle is still going on.... | | | | authors. |
| Mammoth. | | | | Jess Markum died in 1992, at the age of 72. |
| Probably the first person in history who applied | | | | The four of Neanderthals. |
| mathematic analysis to the game blackjack was Jess | | | | The next effort of great influence on the blackjack |
| Marcum (originally Marcovitch) was born on 30th | | | | math was made in 1956 by the group of four |
| December 1919. | | | | mathematicians- Roger Baldwin, Wilbert E. Cantey, |
| It happened at the turn of 1949 and 1950, when | | | | Herbert Maisel and James McDermott. |
| Jess, being an excellent mathematician and | | | | These people had never played in casino before, |
| physicist-theorist got to Las Vegas. Then his | | | | having spent a great number of m/hr, they created |
| mathematic flair prompted him that most possibly not | | | | basic strategy of playing blackjack according to the |
| everything depends on intuition in blackjack. | | | | most popular at that time rules and published it |
| Marcum started analyzing blackjack. First, the | | | | together with the calculation methods in the |
| uniqueness of his attempt is that he performed | | | | specialized math journal for statisticians - Journal of |
| absolutely all calculations with his pen on the paper, | | | | the American Statistical Association entitled "The |
| on principle without using any technologies whatever | | | | Optimum Strategy In Blackjack". |
| weak they might be at that time. Second he had | | | | They made several slight mistakes in calculations |
| found the solution! | | | | which is nothing serious taking into account their |
| Jess manually developed what is now called basic | | | | enormous contribution. A year later they issued a |
| strategy and counting systems ten years before | | | | small book Playing Blackjack to Win, which is now a |
| someone else has done that. He counted that | | | | bibliography rarity. |
| theoretically he had an advantage over the casino of | | | | In fact their book and the article did not spark much |
| about 3% -under the conditions of that time it was | | | | furor, and remained almost without attention |
| quite real. Moreover, Markum had been playing | | | | regardless of their innovative approach. However, the |
| blackjack in all known to him casinos- both in the USA | | | | word almost turned out to be the key for all the |
| and abroad. His name appeared on the pages of the | | | | gambling industry, as someone did paid close |
| newspapers as an example of "lucky man" who | | | | attention to the research of the excellent four. |
| managed to hit the jackpot. | | | | |