Ken Uston’s ‘Strongest and Simplest’ System

Ken Uston: The Big Player « « BlackJack. Born in 1935, Ken Uston was a student at Yale University by the time he was 16 years old. After graduating, he went on to receive his MBA from Harvard University and established a successful management career. Ken Uston is perhaps the most famous winning Blackjack player noted for his expertise in team play card counting. Uston won millions over his professional Blackjack career from casinos around the world, earning him celebrity status in the 1970’s and 80’s. Ken authored several best-selling novels on the subject of Blackjack and Casino gambling strategies. Million Dollar Blackjack is a great book, but not for the reasons you might think! Written decades ago many other blackjack books have since been written with stronger, easier to apply, and simply more effective card counting systems. So if you're looking for 'the system' look elsewhere! Uston APC – Uston Advanced Point Count is an advanced, Level 3, balanced strategy with a large number of indexes optimized for Playing Efficiency. This is one of the more complex card counting strategies. Found in Ken Uston's Million Dollar Blackjack, Gambling Times Inc., 1981. This is one of several strategies sold under Uston's name. Ken Uston is perhaps the most famous winning Blackjack player noted for his expertise in team play card counting. Uston won millions over his professional Blackjack career from casinos around the world, earning him celebrity status in the 1970’s and 80’s.

Ken Uston had already made a name for himself in card counting circles after the publication of ‘Million Dollar Blackjack’ in which the author detailed two separate successful card counting systems (the Uston Advanced Plus-Minus and the Uston Advanced Point Count). A few years later Uston teamed up with renowned card counters Arnold Snyder and Sam Case to develop the Uston SS, which stands for ‘strongest and simplest’. While undoubtedly strong, it’s not perhaps the simplest of systems, although an experienced card counter will find it straightforward.

The Uston SS is an unbalanced system, meaning that the count at the end of a shoe will be different from that at the start (a balanced system will both start at end with zero). This card counting system will start at a negative number and the remaining cards will only be deemed beneficial to the player if the count rises to a positive number. When (or if) this positive number is reached, it will be time to increase the bet sizing.

This blackjack card counting system is considered a level III system, as the values assigned to each card range between -3 and +3. This will make the card counting more complicated than many other systems, especially those with a simpler +1 and -1 range. However, one advantage you’ll have in using the Uston SS is that you’ll not have to convert the ‘running count’ into a ‘true count’, which is the case with most balanced systems. Here, all you’ll need is the running count.

The Uston SS Blackjack Card Counting System – How it Works

The first thing you need to do when using this count is to find your initial running count. This is found by multiplying the number of decks by -2. For example, if you are playing with 6 decks, the initial running count will be -12. You’ll now add or subtract the following values to and from the running count:

A five adds 3 to the running count.

A two, three, four or six add 2 to the running count.

A seven adds 1 to the running count.

An eight is considered neutral so the running count remains unchanged.

A nine subtracts 1 from the running count.

A ten, jack, queen, king or ace each subtracts 2 from the running count.

All the time the count remains negative you should keep your bet sizing to a minimum, but when the count becomes a positive one, it’s time to increase that bet sizing.

It can also be useful to keep a track of the aces as a side count. If there are more aces than there should be in the shoe (if there were 10 aces to come out with just a couple of decks remaining for example) your chance of hitting blackjack is increased, so this would be another reason to increase the size of your bets.

The Uston SS Blackjack Card Counting System – Example

You’ve been sat at a table for a while playing blackjack with 6 decks. Your initial count was therefore -12, but now the count sits at -2. The next hand sees the following cards make an appearance:

A three, a five, a seven, a nine and a queen.

The three adds 2 to the count, the five adds 3 and the seven adds 1, to make the new count +4. However, the nine subtracts 1 and the queen subtracts 2, meaning the overall count is now +1. The running count has now turned from negative to positive, meaning that the bet size can now start to be increased. As the running count has only just made it into positive territory (+1 is obviously the minimum amount), you shouldn’t increase the bet sizing too much, only doing this when the number is a high positive.

As with any card counting system, you should ensure that you don’t appear to be using some kind of system, as the house will soon pick up on it. Varying your bet sizing is always a good idea, while anything that appears systematic is likely to see your time at the blackjack tables curtailed.

The Uston SS Blackjack Card Counting System – Good or Bad?

There is little doubt that the Uston SS card counting system works. If you use the system correctly the house edge will be turned around and it’s you that will be sitting pretty with the edge. However, this does come at a price. With the range of values to learn, this isn’t a system that can be picked up easily, and even when you do learn all the values, the actual act of card counting in the casino with all the added distractions can be a tough job. Overall, this makes the Uston SS only suitable for the most experienced card counters, although get it right and the rewards are there!

Atlantic City is different from any other major gambling destination in the world. It’s the only place that prohibits casinos from discriminating against skilled players.

Therefore, Atlantic City must be the mecca of card counting, right? You can count cards at a table without fearing the pit boss tapping you on the shoulder.

We have Ken Uston to thank for these perfect conditions. Actually, the card counting conditions in AC aren’t so great because of Uston.

You can read more on his story below along with if he’s truly responsible for destroying Atlantic City blackjack games years later.

Who Is Ken Uston?

Born in 1935, Ken Uston was a (video) gamer, early PC expert, author, and advantage gambler. He became the most famous for the latter.

Uston got into card counting in the 1970s. He linked up with Al Francesco, a blackjack legend who developed the “big player” concept.

But while Francesco developed it, Uston popularized it. He wrote The Big Player: How a Team of Blackjack Players Made a Million Dollars.

This book immortalized Uston in the blackjack world and made him seem like one of the world’s foremost experts.

Francesco would later say that Uston didn’t really make a lot of money for his particular team. The latter, though, would eventually start his own team and become a great player in his own right.

Aside from The Big Player, Uston showed his expertise in other areas by writing Mastering PAC-MAN (1981), Score! Beating the Top 16 Video Games (1982), and Ken Uston’s Guide to Home Computers (1983). This limited selection of his works show just how well-rounded of an individual he was away from the gambling tables.

In 1987, Uston passed away in his Parisian apartment at the age of 52. The listed cause of death was heart failure.

Uston’s Blackjack Career

Ken Uston met Al Francesco while playing poker. He got an inside look at Francesco’s immense blackjack knowledge during this chat.

Upon hearing about the Big Player technique, Uston was immediately hooked. He joined Francesco’s card counting team shortly thereafter.

Uston was just a “spotter” for Francesco’s team. His job was to count cards and signal the big player when the deck was hot.

The big player, meanwhile, can come in and start placing large bets right away. Therefore, they appear to be a high roller rather than a card counter who’s spreading bets wildly.

However, spotters don’t actually bring in the winnings for the team. Francesco’s notion that Uston didn’t make much money for the team came from this dynamic.

Eventually, Uston would attain big player status on Francesco’s team. After some level of success, he chose to start his own team with members like Darryl Purpose.

The team made a great deal of money playing in Las Vegas casinos. Eventually, though, they were banned from Vegas casinos and moved to Atlantic City.

Ken didn’t help his cause by releasing The Big Player. Not only was his face on the cover, but he also provided the casino with further tidbits that they weren’t already familiar with regarding team play.

Uston and His Team Take on Atlantic City

In 1976, New Jersey voters approved a referendum to allow casino gambling in Atlantic City. These new casinos attracted advantage gamblers looking for a new target.

Uston and his team were among those to shift their operation to New Jersey. Part of this move was due to the opportunity, while the other was out of necessity after being banned elsewhere.

The team lasted about a year, or so, before they received bans from Atlantic City casinos. Resorts International 86’ing the team was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Ken filed a lawsuit against Resorts International in January 1979. In the case of Uston vs. Resorts International Hotel Inc., the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that AC casinos aren’t allowed to ban card counting.

This judgement, which still stands today, initially seemed like a victory for card counters everywhere. However, Atlantic City gambling venues weren’t about to start paying advantage players’ way.

They responded by adding decks, letting dealers hit on a soft 17, and moving the cut card up in the shoe. Local card counters soon found themselves dealing with tougher conditions than at Vegas casinos.

Uston’s team broke up after this ordeal. He went back to counting cards in Vegas casinos while using various disguises.

Fellow blackjack legend Arnold Snyder recalled how Uston once disguised himself as a Hoover Dam worker. He fooled the casino into letting him spread bets from the table minimum to the table maximum.

The Aftermath of Uston’s Fight Against Atlantic City Casinos

Uston Blackjack Player

Atlantic City gaming establishments may have been new when Uston took Resorts International to court. However, they weren’t naïve.

Casinos quickly adjusted to having to accommodate all blackjack players—from the person splitting 10s to the advantage pro who incorporates shuffle tracking.

The rules changed not long after Uston won his court battle. This legal victory wasn’t really a win for advantage gamblers or amateurs (based on increased house edge).

The house increases by 0.58% from a single to eight-deck game. This lone rule change gave Atlantic City a much bigger advantage than before.

Casinos also began having dealers hit on a soft 17, rather than stand. This rule discrepancy boosts the house advantage by 0.2%.

The biggest death knell to counters was the casinos that placed the cut card earlier. Dealers shuffling the shoe earlier prevent adequate deck penetration.

Long story short, the Atlantic City blackjack scene sucked for both counters and amateurs alike after Uston v. Resorts International.

Should Card Counters Hate Uston?

Ken Uston’s legal win may have hastened the bad conditions that are still present in AC blackjack today. However, these changes were coming anyways.

You can’t find any gambling destinations today that make it easy for gamblers to count cards. Las Vegas, at least much of it anyways, is notorious for having poor blackjack rules.

Many Vegas games only pay you 6:5 on natural blackjacks. This payout increases the house advantage by 1.39% compared to 3:2 payoffs.

Sin City isn’t the only place that has terrible rules. Everywhere from Biloxi to Reno has changed the game to thwart counters.

East Coast card counters and anybody who moved there in the late 1970s most likely did hate Uston. After all, he forced Atlantic City’s hand earlier than many gaming destinations around the world.

But it’s not like his legal battle did anything that wasn’t coming already. Vegas had been, for years, altering rules to their benefits before AC gambling even become legal.

Does Card Counting Still Work in Atlantic City Casinos?

Rather than hating Ken Uston, today’s advantage players should thank him to some degree. Atlantic City still features beatable conditions in certain cases—and you can’t get thrown out!

You can find AC tables that offer profitable counting opportunities. You can also look to use more-advanced methods, such as hole carding and shuffling tracking in some instances.

Of course, Atlantic City is still no card counter’s paradise. The rules are, on average, a little worse than what you’ll see in other gambling hubs.

Ken Uston Blackjack

Furthermore, pit bosses can still bring heat by closely watching games, chatting with you, or even citing some minor infraction you’ve done.

Ken Uston Blackjack

The key, though, is that you can’t be 86’d for counting cards. Assuming you’re able to exploit a casino for winnings, then you can keep doing so until the conditions change.

Uston Blackjack System

Conclusion

Ken Uston became one of the most-famous people to play blackjack due to his skill, authorship, and legal fight with Resorts International.

Ken Uston Blackjack Book

The latter changed Atlantic City into a strange place that can’t legally boot card counters. Here, casinos must welcome advantage gamblers by law.

Uston Blackjack

AC casinos are just like anywhere else, though, in that they alter rules to stop counters. Most notably, they can tell dealers to shuffle the shoe earlier and stop deck penetration.

Ken Uston Blackjack

Nevertheless, this city still offers susceptible tables in some cases. You can take advantage of them without being kicked to the curb too.