Well 09 was a crazy year over here at Blackjackapprenticeship.com. We don’t like to brag nor am I a huge fan of new year’s resolutions but this can be a great time of year to pause and reflect on the previous year and set our sights on the next year. So here is what went down in ‘09 at BJA:
- We completely re-designed our site so it doesn’t look like a piece of crap
- Lead a series of bootcamps in Vegas that we received massive amounts of positive feedback on.
- I don’t want to be too exact with the number but let’s just say we profited from clearing out more than 6 figures worth of $chips$ from casino racks.
- Wrote, designed, and published “How I went from Waiting Tables to playing professional Blackjack” – which is available for free
- Outlined 3 other books for the website. 1 of which will be free and 2 for sale.
- Responded to every personal email sent from members of the Card Counting Army
- Built a new infrastructure for the forum
- Released 3 Training Kit sets for new counters to practice easier.
What we hope to have accomplished for 2010:
- Publish 4 books through the site. More information coming soon!
- Release iPhone training software (we’re 95% done with this)
- Write a minimum of 1 post on the site per week that is applicable and awesome for card counters
- Release 2 more series of posts written by authors/card counters (we already have 1 that will be release in Jan and are currently working on a undercover surveillance operator)
- Release some awesome t-shirts that card counters would want to wear.
- And just generally overall continue to make a site and culture that is awesome for people wanting to be trained in counting and/or for fellow professionals.
Allright, enough about us. Do you have any goals for 2010? Here are some ideas (pick, choose, CUSTOMIZE and post as a response in comments):
- Training: Basic strategy, Deviations, Counting speed/accuracy?
- Casinos: Dollar amount you want to win? Amount of EV you want to generate? Travel on some trips to play in some new places?
- Personal: Have any goals you want that are related too blackjack? or not? Write a book? Run a marathon?
Well, Looking forward to another awesome year. Thanks for all of your support for the site and we hope you the best of results in accomplishing your goals for 2010!
Saving the World, one card at a time.
Hey guys,
New to the site and the Army, just thought I would say hey and comment on the post.
I am super excited to have found this website, I am new to Blackjack and I am reading to CRUSH IT and take the casino money and put it to good use.
Blackjack is just one of the 20+goals for ‘10. They include reading 10 books, buying a new car, writing a play and sky diving. As well as proposing to my girlfriend.
Going to be the best year yet!
Cheers,
Dom
P.S.- Thanks, and keep up the good work!
Hey guys
Sitting thinking the other night and the thought came to mind, “I wonder if I can learn to card count.”. Second thought, “I wonder if there’s anything on the internet.”
Within a couple of minutes I’d arrived at your video on youtube and then at your site. I downloaded your How I Went From… book and stayed awake til 0400 reading that – great read.
I’ve been practicing the basic strategy since then with the help of an iPhone app and the download you guys provide.
QUESTION: Do I have to be smart like the guys in 21 (watched that today)?
QUESTION: I live in the UK. We have 140 casinos, apparently. I’ve NEVER been to a casino and I have NEVER played a game of cards in my life. I’m 53. Can I do this?
I don’t want to become a gambler. I want to learn how to apply the rules and make a living.
Any thoughts would be gratefully received guys.
Royce
Royce,
No, you don’t need to be Rainman or a super-genius. You have to be hard working, sharp, and be able to handle unique situations.
I have not played in the UK, so you’ll need to check out the casinos yourself to make sure they have games that you can count (I.E. they don’t use “Continuous Shuffle Machines”. If you’re not sure what those are, read my blog post on them: http://www.blackjackapprenticeship.com/2008/07/07/shoes-shuffles-and-shoddy-machines/)
To not become a gambler, it takes self-control to not let your emotions get the best of you. But the reward is well worth it!
So i’ve been practicing counting and using basic strategy using CVBJ and noticed that im having a little trouble between counting and looking at my hand. I was wondering if you count the cards then look at your hand, or look at your hand and then count. i try to look at it as i count simeltaneously but its not that easy for me. And just to clarify, by looking at my hand i mean look at my dealt cards and comprehend what they are. Hope this question makes sense. Thanks in advance.
Danny,
You always want to count the cards first, then worry about your hand. But with every additional card that comes out, the first thing you need to do is update the running count.
Just keep practicing it. It takes a while to master, but you’ll get better at it with time.