Lance Humble is known to the general public as a co-author of "The World's Greatest Blackjack Book," which he wrote with Kenneth Cooper. It is one of the most popular books about blackjack and Lance has a reputation of a respected expert with many years of successful experience in various casino games.
Prehistory
Interestingly, Humble became a professional player partly by accident. Anyway, he does not belong to the category of people who were addicted to games for money since childhood and prepared themselves for such a career. Lance led the lifestyle of an intelligent person, and he learned blackjack as a source of additional income only in adulthood.
It all began in the early 1970s, when he was a professor of psychology at York University in Toronto, where he taught a course on gambling. His lectures were devoted to the interest bets on the racetrack, and he more or less understood. However, many students have asked how to win at the casino, and Humble has also become interested in this issue.
Interest in Blackjack
Lance went to the library for books on gambling to make lectures more meaningful and informative. When it became clear that there was relatively little literature about it, he turned to the Book Club located in Las Vegas, where they sold the best works of the most eminent authors. According to the memoirs of Humble, Edward Thorp's "Beat the Dealer" made a memorable impression on him.
Lance gradually became increasingly interested in blackjack. He learned how to determine the most profitable game versions, mastered the basic strategy, learned several card counting systems, and decided to try this knowledge in practice.
Early Success
One student took him to the Sahara Casino in Las Vegas. As Lance remembered later, he was very nervous, but won more than six hundred dollars. It was then that he decided he would be engaged in it. Thus. He began a brilliant career as a professional blackjack player.
Later, he managed to reach Lawrence Revere, who gave him some private lessons for which he is still very grateful.
In six months of 1971, Humble won more than forty thousand dollars, an awe-inspiring amount in those days. Later, Lance bought a house for that money, currently estimated at half a million.
Year after year, Humble sharpened the tactics and strategy of playing. He often started at minimum bets, but then could not climb up to five hundred dollars for each of several boxes, if the bet was very high.
An excellent knowledge of psychology also helped him in playing. He brilliantly hid the fact that he was counting cards. He could determine a timid dealer at a glance. Lance could always control himself, without falling into a rage when he was lucky, and not succumbing to panic at "black" bands.
Humble's Gambling System
Humble did not stop to learn from other players, such as Barry Meadow, Stanford Wong, and other masters. Later, he developed his own system of counting cards, called Hi-Opt I and Hi-Opt II, together with Julian Brown, a professor of programming from Chicago.
The first method is simple enough for any novice player, and the second can be mastered only by more experienced players. Now these systems are among the most popular in the world.
The World's Greatest Blackjack Book
But his main creation is The World's Greatest Blackjack Book", which he wrote together with Kenneth Cooper. So, the immodest name appeared not once. The authors suggested several other options to publishers, but they were rejected. Then, the unpublished book about blackjack was chosen by the American Library Association, which prompted the choice of name.
The book covers all aspects of professional blackjack. It has recommendations based on the author's personal experience and the achievements of many other experts. It is a must-read for everyone who wants to win in the casino regularly.
| Name | Soft | Return to player | ||
|
|
99.78% | ||
|
|
99.7% | ||
|
|
99.69% | ||
|
|
99.65% | ||
|
|
99.6% | ||
|
|
99.59% | ||
|
|
99.54% | ||
|
|
99.54% | ||
|
|
99.54% | ||
|
|
99.42% |
Lance Humble Now
Now, when Humble has more than forty years of a successful playing career, he rarely sits at the blackjack table. This happens several times a year. Lance prefers to bet on the racetrack by phone and watch runs on TV.
P.S. The most interesting thing is that none of the students who asked the professor about blackjack are interested in this game. Studying the strategy, bets, and other methods seemed too complicated and tedious to them. Most of them are addicted to craps and bookmakers, while the rest of the students can only boast of knowing the famous blackjack player who wrote a popular book.
