The Legacy of Blackjack Pro Lawrence Revere

Some professional blackjack players became exposed to the game of blackjack at an early age. Some became exposed when they were already grown-ups. In the case of the late Lawrence Revere, he became exposed to such casino game as early as thirteen years old. As a teenager, he was already working as a card dealer at the back room of a barbershop located in Iowa.

Despite being interested in gambling at an early age, Lawrence Revere made sure that he was spending enough time for his studies. He obtained a degree in mathematics at the University of Nebraska. He used such degree to venture into professional gambling. It was in 1943 when Lawrence Revere decided to become a gambling professional.

Throughout his career, Lawrence Revere had used several pseudonyms. As a matter of fact, the name Lawrence Revere was just a pen name. His real name was Griffith K. Owens. And aside from the pen name "Lawrence Revere," he had also used the pseudonyms Paul Mann and Leonard "Specs" Parsons.

Lawrence Revere was able to write several gambling books during his lifetime, but the best among all his books was " Playing Blackjack as a Business." Released in 1968, such book was like the tutor of most of the professional blackjack players in this day and age. The focus of such book was card counting. Lawrence Revere even discussed four strategies of card counting in this book, namely, the Ten Count Strategy, the Reverse Plus-Minus Strategy, the Revere Five Count Strategy, and the Revere Point Count. The Reverse Plus-Minus Strategy attracted professional blackjack player Edward O. Thorp so much that he decided to incorporate such card counting technique in his own book "Beat the Dealer" when it was republished. A total of seventy charts were also incorporated by Lawrence Revere in this book. Such charts are still being currently applied by professional blackjack players. Some book critics commented that the book is already outdated. Nevertheless, there are still many professional blackjack players who apply the strategies discussed in "Playing Blackjack as a Business." In fact, this book is one of the most successful books about gambling ever published.

Lawrence Revere was a very popular professional blackjack player in the 1960s and in the 1970s. Aside from being a professional blackjack player, he was also a troubleshooter, casino owner, dealer and casino pit boss.

Lawrence Revere was very active as a professional blackjack player until he suffered from terminal liver and lung cancer. He died on April 23, 1977. Although his career as a professional blackjack player has ended, Lawrence Revere will always be remembered through his best-selling book, as well as through the strategies that he shared with other blackjack players.