Basic strategy in blackjack just doesn't seem that hard to deduce. There are only 23 non-trivial possibilities for the player (hard 12 through hard 20, soft 17 through soft 20, double ace through double 10) and 10 starting possibilities for the dealer. For each of the dealer's possibilities, figure out the chance of each of the 5 possible outcomes (18, 19, 20, 21 or bust). Evaluate each of the player's possibilities for each of his choices (stick, twist, or split) starting with 20 and working down. The problem is of the dynamic programming genre: by working down from 20 you avoid a combinatorial explosion.

I'd say it could be done in a few hours by a bright teenager with no calculator. It's not the Manhattan project.

Of course, you can look at the work of Euclid or Euler or Pascal or Napier and say the same thing. The real genius lies in seeing that it can be done.