Discipline and consistency are the sum total of what you need to win at blackjack.

After losing some money at the casinos, Joe748 determined he was going to take card counting seriously. He bought a Membership to Blackjack Apprenticeship, watched all the videos (at least once), then followed the BJA Membership training regiment EXACTLY.

He was already a winning player when he came to the BJA Bootcamp, but the Bootcamp helped him to hone his skills, connect with other trainees, and meet a few real working card counters, not to mention get his game tested and tightened by us (one weekend).

He put together a betting strategy based on his bankroll, found someone to practice with, and then played. He didn’t play a little. He played a lot—every chance he got. Even better, he played aggressively and didn’t flinch at heat coming from the pit. One time, Joe was at a table with someone who was clearly also counting. The casino was giving Joe and the other counter heat. The other counter left because of it, but Joe played on. He got another 20 hours over the next two days, in fact.

“I’ve always just let the trip end when they say it’s over,” he said. “That way I have no regret about the hours I may have missed out on.” He has been backed off from over 200 casinos and grinded away through a 200-hour losing streak.

Joe kept at it through all the ups and the downs. He spent months on the road, hunkering down in one casino at a time until they cried “mercy!” Then he simply moved on to the next casino. Sometimes he lasted weeks at a time in high end suites. Sometimes he slept in his car. His stories of grinding against the casinos day in and day out inspire us—because while everybody wants the thrill of the big win, it often is the willingness to keep grinding that makes all the difference.

At our most recent BJA bootcamp, Joe stopped in. He got a chance to tell his stories, and he got a chance to sit down with the great Tommy Hyland. Strangely enough, it was the legend himself who took the most away from the meeting, inspired at the grit of the rookie, and encouraged to know that people were still out there learning the game and sticking-it to casinos. Take a lesson from Joe…

With discipline and consistency you WILL see success in card counting. But it all starts with the right training—one day, one week, one month, and one weekend at a time.
You can read an interview we did a year or so ago with Joe748 here.