Russ Hamilton's Contribution to Blackjack

Of all the names that you might come across in as far as poker, and blackjack in particular is concerned, very few would draw the kind of attention that Russ Hamilton’s name does. This is indeed a name to reckon. There is so much that he can be associated with in as far as blackjack is concerned, and his contributions to the game of poker are legendary to most. Hamilton excelled both in poker and blackjack, and according to credible reports, this is a trait that got one of his professors recommending to him that he would really profit from playing poker than being in school, advice that he took seriously. Within a short while Detroit underground poker games were abuzz with is name, and from there he upgraded to Vegas where he reigned supreme.

Much as he had moved to Vegas to play poker, Hamilton was enticed by the allure of blackjack and from then on he started playing blackjack on a serious note. He would later on team up with a host of other blackjack players who were equally good in the game, and their prowess was legendary to say the least. So good were Hamilton and his friends that at some point casinos begun to bar such pros from playing blackjack, especially because of their ability to win big. Casinos were really losing so much to them anyway. Base on this hitch, he switched back to poker.

Achievements and Contributions

In the 1994 WSOP Hamilton managed to beat Hugh Vincent and as a result took home $1 million and silver worth so much as it was measured by his body weight. It is from here that he went back to blackjack where he came up with elimination blackjack. For those who are conversant with the tournaments in poker, this has rounds of elimination like in tournament formats. Therefore as the game goes on, the players get eliminated one by one. The Ultimate Blackjack Tour that he featured alongside other players was so highly watched and was aired for some 2 seasons. This gave a lot of poker enthusiasts an idea into the game, and how the players made their move. He really was riding on success at this point. However, despite all the success that he had gained from playing poker and his blackjack success, scandals caught up with him.

Hamilton was involved in a major scandal on the Ultimate Bet Poker website, and this will always taint his name as a result of all those whose money were fraudulently taken from them. Even with his glory in the contribution to the game of blackjack, his scandalous deeds still make his name go down the wrong way with lots of those who were scammed. As a consultant for the Ultimate Bet Poker website, he was able to come up with a way to gain access to the hole cards of their opponents, together with quite a number of his colleagues. Since he was considered the main recipient of the $22 million that was fraudulently stolen from players, he has since lost all the respect from the blackjack and the poke world even with is contribution to the game.