Blackjack Hall of Fame: Julian Braun
He Was a Computer Geek and a Blackjack Hero
Julian Braun's claim to fame was being the man behind the blackjack scenes. Everyone has heard of Edward O. Thorp's book, "Beat the Dealer," and most serious blackjack players are familiar with Lawrence Revere's card-counting systems. But what many people don't know is that Julian Braun was the brains behind the books and the techniques.
He himself published only one book — "How to Play Winning Blackjack" — but almost all the systems used by successful blackjack players for many years were developed by Julian Braun. For this accomplishment , he was granted posthumous entry to the Blackjack Hall of Fame in 2005 (Braun died 5 years earlier, at the age of 71).
Julian Braun was a computer genius who knew how to apply his knowledge to the game of blackjack. When Edward O. Thorp came out with the High-Low system for counting cards (in the second edition of "Beat the Dealer"), it was Braun who did the computing and programming. Braun was a computer expert who became enthralled with the mathematics of blackjack after being handed Thorp's book.
Braun Was the Father of the Basic Blackjack Strategy
Using an old IBM computer (he actually worked for IBM for most of his life), Braun ran billions of simulations to develop the blackjack strategies put forth in Thorp's later books. His work was also the foundation for the all-important blackjack basic strategy, without which millions of non-card-counting blackjack players would be lost at the tables.
In 1975 Braun published a report, which caught the attention of author Lance Humble (a pseudonym used by a blackjack-loving college professor). Many of Braun's ideas and reports are published in Humble's book, "Blackjack Super Gold." Julian Braun is credited for developing the Hi-Opt card-counting system along with Humble, a blackjack card-counting system considered less obscure and simpler for the general public than previous systems. |
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To grateful blackjack players the world over, Julian Braun represents the place where blackjack, math, and computers all intersect in one brilliant mind. Whether you count cards in a land-based casino or win with the blackjack basic strategy in an online casino, Julian Braun is the man to thank.
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