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 Roger Baldwin
There are those that feel that blackjack expert Edward Thorpe
merely took the findings of Roger Baldwin and developed them
further, thus giving all the plaudits to Thorpe and denying
Baldwin his due. However, it is widely agreed that Roger
Baldwin was the first person to actually apply mathematics
to the game of Blackjack.
Baldwin’s most famous contribution to the world of blackjack
was his invention of the Basic Play Charts or Basic Strategy.
This is the set of basic strategies often found on cards handed
out to players in casinos or featured in books. Baldwin released
his findings in a ten page paper he wrote entitled “The Optimum
Strategy of Blackjack” in 1956 which was featured in the Journal
of the American Statistical Association.
Instead of using computers to calculate mathematical relationships
in blackjack as his predecessors had, Baldwin utilized calculators
and statistics to reduce the house advantage and give the
player the edge. Casinos reacted to these findings by changing
the rules to their advantage, but patrons revolted and refused
to play with these new rules.
Baldwin wrote, with Wilbert Cantey, Herb Maisel, and James
P. McDermott, the 92 page classic, “Playing Blackjack to Win:
A New Strategy for the Game of 21" in 1957. This celebrated
book is the premier forerunner to future card counting strategies.
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