About Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon aka “Tricky Dicky” was a card shark that partially funded his first run for Congress with his substantial poker winnings.
Nixon, a former US President’s passion for Poker, began when he was at the US Air Force base in the Solomon Islands in 1943. There, he first encountered card games like five-card stud and five-card draw. Nixon was drawn to these card games and learnt that playing tight was the way to go. He became obsessed with the game and would often pass up dinners and one special dinner in particular which was with the famous cross Atlantic flyer Charles Lindbergh.
Richard Nixon was by no means interested in the social aspect of the game. He just wanted to win money. This money assisted in getting him elected into Congress, and the rest is history.
Poker and Politics
Raised in a Quaker family that disliked gambling, Richard Nixon became obsessed with the game as it helped pass the days in the Navy and it was profitable.
A serviceman by the name of James Stewart taught Nixon strategies like play a tight hand and limit bluffs. Nixon was a high roller who played a quiet game but was never afraid of taking chances. He had the ability to smell weakness and would win the pot at all costs by bluffing.
Nixon made more money playing Poker than he did while serving in the Navy as an ensign and pocketed over $150 or more per month. One of his most memorable wins came in 1946 and the $5000 winnings he parlayed into an unbeaten congressional run, money well spent when looking back.
Conclusion
Richard Nixon’s name is synonymous with Mafia bosses and the Watergate Scandal. However, he was a brilliant Poker player and that funded his political career taking him to the White House.
About Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson
Doyle Brunson was born in Longworth Texas on the 10 August 1933. He is a well-known and revered, retired professional US Poker player who was the first player to win $1million in a Poker Tournament. He played professionally for over 50 years and held the title for winning the World Series Poker main event twice. He is also an inductee in the Poker Hall of Fame and the author of several books on Poker.
Doyle Brunson’s Poker Career
All online casino fans, including the bingo Australia crowd are all familiar with Doyle Bruno. Brunson started playing in illegal Poker games with a friend, Dwayne Hamilton. The two of them started travelling around Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana playing in bigger games. The illegal games Brunson played in were usually run by criminals and members of organized crime.
After years on the road, Brunson finally settled in Las Vegas and became a regular player at the World Series of Poker and many other Poker events, earning him a total of ten bracelets. Brunson also authored Super/System and Super System 2 regarded as authoritative books on Poker.
The Doyle Brunson Hand
Poker players know there are many colourful names for different Poker Hands. Aces are nicknamed “bullets” and Kings “cowboys “. However, when a 10-2 hand is shown, players around the table are likely to refer to it as the Doyle Brunson Hand.
Doyle Bronson won both of the WSOP titles with this hand, and it is not even a good hand when playing Texas Hold ’em. It has almost zero potential value, even to a poker player of Brunson’s stature yet he went on to win the WSOP. It is said to be the luckiest hand in Poker history.
Conclusion
Doyle Brunson is a a true legend and a man who has pushed the boundaries of chance when playing Poker.
Introduction
Dr Edward Oakly Thorp is a math’s genius who beat the dealer and the market. Born August 14, 1932, in Chicago, he has degrees from various US Universities. He is a math’s professor, author, hedge fund manager and a Blackjack researcher.
Dr Edward Thorp used computers to devise a system for uncovering mathematical advantages at the Blackjack table and thereby proving that it was not a game of luck. He subsequently published a book appropriately titled Beat the Dealer. His bestseller laid out a card counting system that remains in use today.
Testing his Theories
Thorp took to Reno, Lake Tahoe and Vegas to test his theories at the local Blackjack Tables. The experimental results proved victorious, and he won $11 000 in a single week. In addition to his Blackjack activities, Thorp also assembled a Baccarat team which was also victorious. He became an instant celebrity amongst Blackjack aficionados.
While working at MIT as a Professor of Mathematics Thorp met Claude Shannon who co-developed the wearable computer which Thorps Blackjack team wore at the casino as they targeted Blackjack and Roulette. Proof if needed that even before online pokies NZD became oular there was high interest in the casino game. In 1985 with the passing of the Nevada Devices Law the wearable computer got banned from casinos in Nevada.
Thorp also devised the “Thorp Count” which was a method for calculating the likelihood of winning certain end game positions in Backgammon which also turned out to be successful.
In a Nutshell
This Father of card counting and a mathematic genius started a revolution in Las Vegas as well as Wall Street through his card counting techniques and truly changed the game forever. He gambled against some of the greatest gamblers and proved false premise that the house always wins. Thorp’s achievements have led him to become an inaugural member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame.
About Stanford Wong
John Ferguson, also known by his pen name Stanford Wong is known as the “guru” of Blackjack, and a member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Born in 1943 Wong started playing Blackjack in 1964 while teaching finance courses at San Francisco State University.
Not content with a life of teaching, he decided to pursue his gambling career. He published his first book in 1975 called Professional Blackjack. Wong also developed a computer programme initially for personal use called Blackjack Analyzer. However, it became one of the first commercially available Blackjack odds analyzing software programmes in the market.
Stanford Wong has also appeared on many televised Blackjack Tournaments as a contestant. Furthermore, he also owns a publishing house Pi Yee Press based in Las Vegas and has published books by other authors on Gambling.
Achievements
Wong started playing Blackjack in 1964 and in 1980 he made the term “wong” or “wonging” popular. This term has come to mean a specific advantage technique in Blackjack and involves watching a play of cards in a game without wagering your own money until the count becomes advantageous. Wonging is the reason many casinos have signs on some of their Blackjack Tables saying “No Mid Shoe Entry.”
Wong has also acted as a consultant for Blackjack writers and researchers, and they include well-known aficionados on the game like Don Schlesinger and Ian Anderson. Wong also wrote a book called Wong on Dice which purported to reveal how to beat the odds on Craps through controlled dice throwing. He also has an official website Stanford Wongs BJ21 which has been around since 1997 and contains a subscribers-only area called Green Chip.
This Blackjack legend has dedicated his life to Blackjack. He has written many books on various casino games and his name Stanford, which is his alma mater name combined with Wong certainly creates the mystique of the Orient and adds to his allure.