In 1957 a smart players had the time of their lives.
Blackjack was put under a new situation where players had finally the tools to make smart moves.
What do you get when you mix together the wisdom of four men, some free time spanning over two years, and some army calculators from 1950's?
You get a winning combination.
Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel and James McDermott were army buddies in the 1950's and all of them were equipped with great math skills. After becoming bored with poker they decided to delve into blackjack and became intrigued with the idea of finding the optimal way to play the game.
This was time before computers. Every calculation had to be done manually with simple calculators of that time. By 1956 their task was complete and they published the first accurate blackjack strategy article in the Journal of the American Statistical Association.
A year later a book followed - Playing Blackjack to Win.
Newer version of the book is still sold today.
Sadly, the book or the game itself didn't make the authors rich. But it made them famous.
Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel and James McDermott were included in the Blackjack Hall of Fame in 2008.
