The Legend of Ken Uston: The Gamer Gambler
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
- Ken Uston (pronounced "Houston") was a brilliant man with an amazing life story. Learn all about the journey of the first video game celebrity. (Chapter markers and more below...)
Episode Information
GTV 124 "The Gamer Gambler" Season 7 Episode 2
Original Airdate: April 13, 2022
Produced December 19-24, 2021
Recorded at Butsudan Studios and edited on my all new 14” MacBook M1 Pro! Edited and produced with Photoshop and Final Cut Pro, which my job paid for!
0:00 Max Cares!
0:07 GTV ID: Always a sure bet!!
0:15 Introduction: 15 Minutes of Fame
1:15 Chapter 1: Who is Ken Uston?
2:40 Chapter 2: The Skill of Card Counting
4:52 Chapter 3: The Big Player
6:37 Chapter 4: Mastering Pac-Man
9:42 Chapter 5: A New Career Path
12:29 Chapter 6: The Final Years
GTV is now on Odysee! Join us!! odysee.com/$/invite/@GTV-Japan:d
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Some clips made possible thanks to 9th Key Pattern. Other clips from C-Span, 60 Minutes, KSNV-TV and from the Uston Family. - Hry
If the dealer's up card is 7, do you split 9s?
I believe the book answer is no, but hard to resist the urge to split. Maybe if I've been counting cards and I know the shoe is thick with 10s then I could split with MUCH more confidence :p
@@warehousedave7937 just count cards. Anyone who says you shouldn't either can't do it, or stands to lose money playing against you.
Depends on the count
The answer is in the video! The one page talks about splits and 9s are tricky because the odds of a 10+ are very high and the odds of a push are low.
The only winning move is not to play
I was 12 when Ken's Pac-Man book came out in 1981 and I bought it. I studied the maps but the strategies didn't really stick as I had no way to practice. An older kid that used to hang out at the pizza shop next to school showed me the patterns during lunchtime. Within a couple week's time I could play for the duration of lunchtime on a single quarter. The pizza shop owner banned me from playing. 😂
That’s awesome to hear! I remember the books but wasn’t old enough to get into them. They were actually real books. Not magazine style guides like today. But I read them for this video and they were very smart and I miss that kind of writing style that you don’t see in games anymore. Thanks for watching day one as always!♠️
Billy Mitchell learned to read from this book
My favorite book of Ken's is "Ken Uston's Guide to Buying and Beating the Home Video Games" from 1982, a 675 page book covering five video game systems, and 185 game cartridges. His daughter hosted his website for a while, and I asked if there were any plans to republish more of his works, his Pac-Man, and Poker books seem to be the only ones recently republished. But she didn't seem to know if she'd do that. I think I first heard of him from the Intellivision game with his name on it.
That’s craY to think of that he wrote one book covering so much and he has tons of books out in a short time actually. The website is thill there but it’s kind of inactive. I wonder what interest in reprinted books would be? Thanks for watching on day one! ♠️
My favorite Ken Uston book is "Million Dollar Blackjack."
I've known of Ken Uston for several years and have read some of his books and worked with his level 3 card counting system called the Uston Advanced Point Count (UAPC). It's a beast of a system to master and it's not for a beginner at card counting by no means as it's difficult to master because every card is assigned a point value and has to be accounted for except the Ace, which is side counted.
I can religiously count down a 52 card deck using UAPC and several other card counting systems in under 30 seconds, normally it takes me about 20 seconds or less depending on the system used. I've bought several of his video games (sealed) over the years and they hold a high place within my collection because of who Ken Uston was and still is and the contributions he gave to video games. A few years ago I briefly corresponded with Ken's daughter Beth Anne about some memorabilia. If you have that full length 60 Minutes episode with Ken Uston I would like to watch it in it's entirety but don't know how to find it. Ken Uston made great contributions to the gambling world and the video game world. Ken's a personality, no doubt about it!
I’m sorry I do not have it. I tried contacting the family too but that site they run/ran doesn’t seem to be active. The never replied and I emailed them for a year
@@GTV-Japan I wish you had it. I would have to figure that 60 Minutes Episode would be archived somewhere.
Never bet against the Amico!
Sorry I had to get that in there. 😂
@@pferreira1983 Lol, Intellivision better do something and come out with some real good news soon.
Ken’s grandkids found the video and liked it! So maybe there is hope they can share something we’ve never seen before.
I learnt how to count cards when I worked surrvilenance in a casino. The one big thing people miss on these stories is his impact on casino policy, after him casinos stopped using just one deck, using upwards of 12 decks in some casinos but usually 6-8 to spread the count out. Along with that they cut those decks in about half generally if they think there is a counter present as it makes it so his count never actually gets to be a high enough percentile.
Card counting is perfectly legal as well. This can be traced back to the first computer cheats, who when first arrived on the scene also had no laws preventing electric cheating methods as the laws for casinos were older than electronics/computers. This lead to a rash of casinos loosing their shirts to computers in peoples shoes that would more accurately count and eventually passing a law that you can't use mechanical or electrical mechanical devices to gain an advantage, but you can still use your brain.
Ken also wasn't the first to release a book on it, the inventor of the method was the first to release a book on card counting back in the day and it sky rocketed him to fame. HIs name is Dr.Edward Thrope and he would be on all the game shows in the 50's due to his fame. Eventually he used his math knowledge to go on to make index funds and the S&P that made Warren Buffet all his money.
Yes. That’s very true! This was in my rough draft but I cut it because it was so longvv be and technical but it used to be like 3-4 decks and now it’s more. It’s the only recourse casinos had.
Amazing Story, I didn't Know Ken Uston, and is strange, because he has a very interesting Bio, related to both Gambling and videogames, which are 2 of the most popular subjects nowadays, this deserves a film, or a TV series
Yeah I agree. I wonder why a made for TV movie never happened
I remember those How To Beat Video Games books. They would always be at our school book fairs in the cafeteria. What a crazy, cool life he led. I'm guessing him and his card counting team were the inspiration for the movie, 21.
I don’t know this movie but it’s possible! ♠️
That was interesting. Never heard of the guy before. Nice one!
Thanks! Unfortunately he died just as the golden era ended. It seemed like he was making a transition into politics or to become an ambassador in his last 2 years. The c span interview he did had zero mention of blackjack or video games. It was about the impact of live tv for congressional voting which was interesting too. Had he lived longer who knows what his next step would be. Thanks for watching day one! ♠️
I love seeing these kinds of personality-pieces on GTV. There are so many amazing characters in this world, and GTV always shines a light on them. :)
Thanks I appreciate that! Looking back I really have covered a lot of celebrities. It wasn’t my plan but it’s just fun to talk about. And there’s still dozens more to go. Thanks for watching day one!♠️
I found the Mastering Pac-Man book at a used book store a few years back for just a couple of bucks. Grabbed it right away. Ken was a very interesting individual.
He was! There are many interviews from him in old magazines that are very fascinating. Smart guy with the right amount of hucksterism. Thanks for watching on day one!♠️
Ken's Pac-Man book came out the year I was born. It wasn't until years later that I found out about Ken Utson. I find his story to be extremely interesting. This video filled me in on things I didn't know. Fascinating stuff.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I didn’t include links but most of those books are available for sale for less than $1 and pdf scans are out there for anyone interested. Thanks for watching on day one!♠️
Fantastic video. As a kid I worshipped this guy--well I didn't know anything about him other than from "Ken Uston's Home Video '83" which I read over and over and probably somewhat memorized back then. The fact that he also had a video game named after himself was mind blowing to me at the time--even though I never got it for my ColecoVision and had no real interest in Blackjack. I never knew how to pronounce his last name until now.
Me too. I saw his name around but never connected the dots. I only learned how to say his name from making this video. Because the interviewers at the time introduced him. I always thought it was ussstin but since he made his name up I wonder why he spelled it that way?
I had never heard of him before but his story is extremely fascinating. I'll probably pick up a book about him just to hear more about his incredible life.
I dot. Know if there ever was a biography but his first 2 books cover his life story in some parts ♠️
Only vaguely recall hearing about Ken when I was young so was really cool to get more details on his life. Another excellent and informative video, like always looking forward to the next!
Same here. His name was always mentioned at the time and he had a lot of books and then just nothing. So I had to find out what happened. Thankfully there was a lot of information in old magazines, interviews and stuff. He even wrote a joystick review column way back when. Thanks for watching as always!♠️
Awesome story! Thank you for the history lesson.
Hey Dave! Good to see ya! Maybe now his games and books can go up in value as “hidden gems” thanks for watching day one!♠️
Hahaha! Yes! And it will be all thanks to GTV :p
Shoot now I want to buy some copies on ebay
It’ll be a better investment than revenge of the bird king
@@GTV-Japan I talked to JJ Hendrix at Pricecharting and I got Ken's game "Puzzle Panic" listed on Pricecharting several years ago. I made sure to a small extent that Ken's video games would not be forgotten about. Atari 400/800.
That was awesome! I hadn't heard of this guy.
Sadly he died too young but had he lived his potential windows vs Mac books would have been cool. ♠️
Great stuff! I have a long standing fascination with the pre-NES video game paperback boom, so I definitely have a few Uston books on my own shelves.
That’s awesome! The world before Nintendo string armed their way in is a fascinating one! Thanks for watching as always on day one!♠️
What a great and fascinating topic that I never would've known about without this video! It's sad that he died he so young, but not a lot of people live their lives as fully as Ken did. We should all be so lucky to get that much out of our time on Earth. Thanks for another terrific video!
I think that's great advice to follow. It is a little sad to think about but who knows if we will wake up tomorrow. Don't have regrets! Thanks for watching.
Always saw Ken Uston in my Colecovision booklet. Never knew anything about him.
Now you know the rest of the story!♠️
Only getting around to watching this now but wow that was really fascinating! Excellent episode as always!
Thanks Kevin!
Didn't know what to expect but it was definitely worth watching! I thought for sure he was gonna lose that law suit
That’s why he was the ultimate gambler!
@@GTV-Japan he knew how to hold em'
He knew how to fold em'
He knew when to walk away
He knew how to play the game boy, because he learned to play it right.
Fantastic video my friend!
Thanks for watching!
You are great at telling a story.
Thanks Rocky!♠️
Ah wow, this is fascinating dude, I really enjoyed it!!!
Wasn't the poker game a pack-in title with the Coleco too? They must have really banked on his name to sell the console (no pun intended) :D
As far as I recall Donkey Kong was the pack in game. It could have changed or was added in. However the INTV pack in game was Las Vegas Blackjack and Poker which is nearly identical, causing confusion. Glad you liked the video. Day one stop bys are always the best ♠️
@@GTV-Japan Aah, confusion on my end there. Thanks!
But yeah, love hearing about these people outside of the usual circle of mentionables. Most excewllent work Sir!!!
Thanks Larry. It’s funny because it will be the worst performing video ever right after the best ever for me but I don’t care! I just want to tell interesting stories and that’s it. There will be at least one more super obscure celebrity endorsed game covered later this year. Probably more so than this
@@GTV-Japan Oh, don't be too hard on yourself dude, these kind of videos tend to be slow burners, they'll get the views eventually, but the trick is to stick them inbetween topics you know will get views.
BTW if you ever want any more interesting people, look up Chris Sievey, he's a musician, most famous for playing Frank Sidebottom (which had a movie about him a few years ago) but he bought a ZX Spectrum 81 to program music videos and games on, which became so popular, it rocketed sales of the computer.
No seriously I don’t care but I’m sure someone will think I’m crazy for doing that but this is how I want to do it
I will always think of him in conjunction with the ColecoVision Poker & Blackjack game!
For the time that was a pretty advanced game! Thanks for watching ♠️
Uston looks like a casino-dwelling Bob Ross lol
Haha or Brad Delp or Jeff Lynne or pretty much anyone from that time ♠️
I was wondering when the new episode would come out and I went over and watched this on Odysee about 2 hours ago. :)
It should be every other Friday but check Odysee for a preview 😉
Quality content GTV!
Thanks for watching ♠️
Wow from gambler to gamer amazing, beat las Vegas and Pacman, and quetion how pronnunced his last name as Houston or jiuston in English. great video camarada.
Houston like Sam Houston, first president of Texas. The spelling though, is unexplainable
Loved this story!
A ♦️ J♠️
Thank you GTV. I enjoyed this video👍
Thanks for watching day one! This was one of the fun videos I’ve ever made ♠️
@@GTV-Japan Thank you. Because of your channel I learned a lot from Japan culture to history of peoples that affected the gaming world.
Thanks! This is one of those non japan vids but the next one will be a pretty deep one about a certain rpg series
Ken Utson also had a general guide to home video games, one specific to 1983 releases, as well as a voice game newsletter - which is virtually impossible to find. I have the two books; it was there where I learned about systems that came out in the 1970s but gained little traction in the market place.
That’s cool! I saw he made many many books. Haven’t read them all I wonder if it’s mostly recycled or ghost writing because there were so many in a short time
Interesting story, thanks for telling it! I wonder what Ken's next big obsession would have been once he got bored of video games?
It appears he was trying to get into politics or an ambassadorship. His cspan interview hints at that and does not mention blackjack or games at all!
Ken would have gotten into video games had he not passed away in Paris. He can only imagine what the industry has turned into from those early days.
@@GTV-Japan From what I recall he did some work in Kuwait I believe involving accounting I believe.
You know, I swear I see Ken holding $1,000 notes. I always thought those would be useful, especially now with current American inflation. I wonder if anyone is thinking of bringing those back. Hmm. Anyways, killer video as usual, GTV. Thank you very much.
Nixon discontinued all notes over $100 in 1969 to curb organized crime even though their use was still legal. I always saw them on let’s make a deal too. With things like Apple Pay I doubt we will see a comeback but who knows? If so, blame the big guy I say! Thanks for watching day one ♠️
The only reason I beat the house... Because I owned it.
The house always wins
This is crazy history, I love learning and this fused card and gaming but at the sametime, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Good stuff.
Thanks neo! Funny also that casinos call gambling “gaming” if you’ve ever noticed.
A real life Ocean's Eleven. Way cool ! 🃏
Only much cooler because leisure suits and frizzy hair beat the rat pack. At least in my opinion ♠️
@@GTV-Japan True. I miss retro styles and fashion. That's why I watch commercials from the 70's, 80's, and 90's on CZcams all day.
It's difficult to get some work done, sometimes.
I think I'm addicted to CZcams. 😂
It’s a shame what’s happened. It used to be that people wouldn’t dare step outside looking unprofessional and now it seems like every 30 year old grown man is a fat 300 pound slob covered in tattoos wearing a ninja turtle tshirt and more concerned with his “collection” than starting a family. Of course I’m sure that’s not everyone. This is why I’ll never leave Japan. It’s like 1955 here forever!! Everyone is in shape, clean cut, dressed up in suits, dads walk to work, mom stays home, the kids walk safely to school. It’s the way it should be while looking back at “the old country” it looks like another planet. One I can’t recognize
@@GTV-Japan It's a scene all of it's own.
I can dig it. Like wow, Man.
Japan really is the place to be.
When the world changes so quickly, it's nice that someone somewhere carries on traditions and culture.
That's heavy.
Forget anime and games. That’s not what japan is really about. The reason to be in japan is for the way of life. It’s not perfect. Nothing is. But there’s virtually no murders no drugs no broken homes and the list goes on and on.
That sounds crazy, but it's probably true. I was a kid in the 80s and don't remember hearing Miyamotos name until the 90s. Igarashi, Suzuki, Naka and Kojima in the mid to late 90s.
Yeah they kept developers names secret back then for sure. But whose have thought a strategy guide would give someone so much star power? 😂
I actually came across the beating the top 16 games book - he had reviews as well, and IIRC really liked Omega Race.
Wish I still had the book with a modern copy of MAME but cheap paper meant the pages crumbled over the decades.
That’s too bad! But I like that style of book. If I ever write a book it will have to be like that.
Oooh yes!
Enjoy 😊
Funny that you should mention 21 (the age, not the Blackjack score), because Ken Uston died in France, in 1987. The legal gambling age in France, the country where he died, was lowered from 21 to 18 that same year.
I didn’t know that! By then he was on to his next big image as an international big shot but we never saw where it’d lead. Thanks for watching day one!♠️
I had one of his video game strategy guides.
Awesome! Was it helpful?
@@GTV-Japan It was a long time ago, I don’t really remember.
Oh ok
y'know I remember at one point I checked out 'mastering pac-man' from the library, so I have heard of him! I might still have the digital copy of it on my hard drive somewhere, one of these days I might have to try and learn pac-man! I did hear about the gambling stuff though, although casino's aren't really my thing. might have to track down the other book (and physical editions of both)
I’m sure the books are in low demand. It’s just a matter of how many survived. Most scans are on archive dot org so I’d start there. Thanks for watching on day one!♠️
That’s interesting a gambler turned gamer
And also funny how casinos today use the word “gaming” and not gambling.
This dude needs to be the subject of a biopic (and one that isn't exclusive to Apple TV)
As long as I get to play him!
Interesting video! I love to gamble myself (whether that statement lowers my self worth or not it doesn't bother me). Last night I actually won over 2.5k and started with only 20 bucks in Black Jack. Was a great night
Woah! Sounds good! I’m better at horse races myself but whatever gets ya paid!
@@GTV-Japan horse races lol nice.
Get em all
I have to wonder how Uston would feel about RNG manipulation and speedrunning, almost a combination of his two biggest legacies (in spirit at least).
I don’t really know but after reading nearly everything recorded about him he seems to only favor what would benefit himself first. So if there’s money to made in these he’d be all for it! He was always an opportunist first is all I can say b
Playing a million games of Pac-Man to glean determinism out of a seemingly random system, effectively made him a human TASbot
A world record Donkey Kong run is hours long and I don’t think he’d be the sort to go for that.
52…too young to go. 😕 I never heard of Ken Uston until now. Interesting.
Yeah it is too young. It used to be people just had heart attacks and died. It seems like that doesn’t happen much now, medical advances. But anyway he could have done a lot more had he lived. If he were alive today he’s be like 86!
yooo that’s my grandpa!
Seriously? 🤩
not so fun fact but he changed his name to uston (his sisters kept usui) because of all the anti-japanese hatred he endured after WWII
@@GTV-Japanseriously! i just sent this video to my mom (katie) and aunt beth. i’m sure they’ll be excited to see it
Oh man! I wish I could have asked them about him before I made this video!!
Seriously though when your family sees it and give their thoughts write back in a new comment and I’ll pin it to the top.
Never heard of this guy before so I found this very informative. Just to be clear if I went into a casino with this book and used it when gambling would I be thrown out or do casino owners not take the book seriously enough? 🤔
If you had a book they would throw you out. But if you memorized it.. hey hey!
@@GTV-Japan What about having the book via a PDF on my phone? 😁
Good! Abandon all physical media!
@@GTV-Japan No but it's a good way of using the book while not physically having the book in front of you. 😉😉
Yeah! Perfect life
Please do a video on Mike Tyson & street fighter 2
I kind of did one about Mike Tyson and the song from punch out. So check the list and you’ll find it!
@@GTV-Japan But will u do a video on Street Fighter 2,& the Mike Tyson connection?
No. That’s not on the list for this year. It’s too obvious and a little too “gamer” for me. Sorry
Wanna hear something Non-"gamer"? Sonic the Hedgehog 1 has more similarities with the 1987 Silver Surfer run than with Dragon Ball Z. The story with Infinity Gauntlet and its SIX Soul Gems takes place throughout various metaphorical planes of existences, perhaps a kind of a ZONE, you might say, maybe of the Twilight variety.
Another topic on western media in japan, I find it probably that Castlevania AND Jojo's bizarre Adventure BOTH take cues from the Hammer film Kronos the Vampire Hunter, not from each other. Which, itself, is strongly influenced by Count of Monte Cristo.
Oh yeah. I knew that!
I wonder if this is the story the Simpsons episode on card counting is based on or if that is from another story that learned from this because this arena like the OG card counting story.
Also, GTV is ALWAYS a sure bet!
Sorry there’s like 1000 simpsons episodes so which one had card counting? I remember the casino episode but that’s all
@@GTV-Japan "Sky Police" S26E16 :)
@39zack 26! 😯 yeah sorry. No wonder I can’t recall it. It’s long after my time. But I’ll look it up and see
@39zack ahhh I got it now. It’s a send up of 21 which is a card counting team at MIT and they do look up to Ken Uston but has no connection otherwise. That all happened long after he died anyway
@@GTV-Japan maybe someone there had read his book 😁
0:17 is that Kitano???
yes. certainly.
Maybe another time you should probably review "Momotaro Dentetsu" or "Momotaro Densetsu" from Hudson Soft. I'm a really big Bomberman fan and I'm trying to get into others Hudson soft games, but I don't know Japanese. It would also be a good video for your subscribers.
This has been on The List for a while but I never seem to get around to it! Be aware that I will eventually do that. Just don’t know when.
It's a Darn Shame that Ken Uston kicked the bucket before Videogames really started to get Intense courtesy of the NES
Games were already intense I say. But it is sad we would never see his opinion on the games that came later for sure
Why do you call him "Ken Houston"? Can you read? The man's name is pronounced "You-ston." It's not that difficult.
If you truly want to create a tribute to him, you should re-record your narration.
I followed what contemporary interviews referred to him by. They all pronounce his name like Houston And since he was being interviewed in person if he had some objection to that I’m sure he would have said so.