The gambling world has had professionals, or those who have earned their keep by the practice, since the early days of the American West. Even though the games have spun off new variations and the casinos are grandiose resorts, the professionals still gather to practice their skills and trades.

Poker Pros

The poker world of the Wild West was gritty and often dangerous. The poker players were often winners by the might of their guns, as opposed to skill. Prior to recent years, poker was a relatively inconsequential card game. In fact, most casinos did not even have poker card rooms. The serendipitous event of cable network’s airing of a popular poker tournament a few years ago changed the face of poker altogether.

Today, the names are those of Johnny Chan, Stu Ungar and Miami John Cernuto, and even celebrities like Ben Affleck, who populate the most notable poker tournaments, such as The World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour.

Stu Ungar, regarded as one of the best No Limit Hold ‘Em poker players, was born in New York. His father was a bookmaker. Stu became a gambler at a young age, eventually taking poker as his main pursuit. Troubled by alcohol and drug addictions, Ungar died prematurely at the age of 42. Starz Cable Network has aired a movie based on his life, “High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story.”

Blackjack Pros

It has only been recently that Blackjack tournaments have won some of poker’s spotlight. However, blackjack pros have been around for years, especially since the invention of card counting and shuffle tracking strategies developed in the 1960s and 1970s.

Blackjack pros have been practicing their crafts and doing battle with casinos all the while. During the late 1970s Tommy Hyland, a blackjack player and card counter, formed a card counting team known among blackjack players as the Hyland Team. This group of expert card counters and shuffle trackers, often called advantage players, worked various casino blackjack tables for years, ultimately managing to make off with millions through structured teamwork and serious blackjack skill. In 1994, members of the team were arrested in an Ontario casino under the pretense of “cheating.”

Tommy Hyland battled the casino in court, successfully arguing that their tactics were solely based on skill and were not cheating.