The First ‘Big Player’ Card Counting Team

Card counting can help any blackjack player get the vital edge over the dealer – however nothing compares to the killer blackjack teams who can take millions from a casino before they’re spotted.

The question is, just how can a team of players remain hidden underground while playing legally? The answer lies with a man called Al Francesco and his discovery of the Big Player – the simple concept that changed the face of casino gambling forever!

Francesco first used card counting and gambling secrets during the 1950s to make over $5000 a year playing cards – a decent sum of money for the time.

However, during the 1960s Francesco’s card counting methods become infamous – causing him to be banned from any serious casino.

As fate would have it, banning Francesco from the tables ultimately delivered a blow worth millions to the casinos.

Francesco stumbled upon his master plan when playing a casual game of small stakes blackjack with his brother in a Lake Tahoe casino.

Francesco chatted near-by and decided to play off the moves of his card counting brother – whenever his brother placed a minimum $1 stake, Al placed no bet – but if he placed a max $5 bet, Al would stake $100. When the time came to join his family for dinner, the dealer urged him to play for a little longer – assuming he was merely a lucky casual gambler.

This a truly eureka moment for card counting – Francesco had discovered that the casinos could be fooled by having a small stakes card counter at the table and a secondary player moving in when the count was positive – the concept of the Big Player was born!

Al Francesco took his revenge on the casinos starting in 1971 – recruiting a team of six counters and one Big Player. When the secret signal came from the counters, the Big Player would move in and place huge bets – for all the casino knew, this player was merely a rich punter with no concept of the game.

One thing that the casino got right was the rich punter – within a few years the team had generated millions of dollars!

Francesco’s counting team was finally smashed by a team member, Ken Uston, in his book ‘The Big Player’ – however, by this point Francesco had milked the casino’s dry.

Francesco’s methods have inspired many attempts by professional card counting teams to make millions – including the famous 1996 MIC Students’ card counting coup.

The chances are you’re not looking to be the next Al Francesco, however by using simple card counting techniques online, you can be a counter and a Big Player, without the stress of the casino manager breathing down your neck.