I love how he acts like losing a thousand dollars in a night, not out of a bankroll, just gambling, isn't a huge amount of money to spend at a blackjack table
After watching u non stop for 1 week and counting a deck all day every day I went to my casino. I started with 500 went down to 100 then in 2.5-3 hours I went to 1.3k. And I was doing base bets of 15. I can't wait to see my progress, will be joining your website soon! Can't wait to get more knowledge.
@Blackjackapprenticeship omg fan girling here lol.... I'm currently listening to all ur podcasts and doing the free drills. I can currently do the free counting drill at check every 10 hands... I plan to get a membership after I complete all pod casts and all UA-cam videos..... I also watched piñata man last night hahahh and I also watched ur documentary.
It's possible the dealer and the player were a team and the player was paid extra money on purpose, then later they split that money. When a dealer and player work together against the casino, it's security's worst nightmare because of how hard they are to catch. But it's a felony and both get years in prison if caught so it's just not worth the risk to most people. Also, maybe what you thought was a $30 bet was actually a $60, then the $120 payout makes sense. It's possible the dealer made an honest mistake and paid double by accident. After many hours of standing and dealing, dealers get tired and make mistakes.
Unless you have at least $50k and are able to keep it at $50k with other sources of income, it will be very hard to make a living playing Blackjack full time
How are hours calculated when tracking progress? As simple as what time your sessions started and ended? In my case with limited games available I am stuck with dead time of waiting for shuffles, slow tables with many players playing side bets and trying to sit out some of the negative counts.
Its not that complicated. Time you started playing, and time you stopped. Remove time from longer breaks. If you want it to be super accurate you have to also remove toilet brakes and shuffles but who even cares about that. Its a couple minutes out of hundreds of hours of playtime. Barely even matters in the long run, which is what counting is about (long term gains).
I treat it like work, I clock in when I get there, I clock out when I leave. In a situation like yours, that dead time is a part of the 'job', so I'd count it.
It's not that granular generally - when we start until when we stop. While the hands per hour can vary dramatically based on the environment, we are simply counting the hours at the table to get a general idea of timekeeping for stats.
Thank you Colin. Watched a ton of your videos. You're phenomenal. I just bought the 5 dollar little app to learn the basics. From knowing nothing to training for just 72 hours. I can keep the count 90 percent of the time. I know I need to be at 100 percent always but the point im making is, I never thought I'd pick it up this quickly. That's not being said in a cocky way. I plan to train at least 4 hours a day for the next 5 weeks to see where I'm at before I even think about trying my local casino, and even then it's just as a basic training session. I won't be focusing on the stack of my chips. I accept like I have in my career that it takes money to make money.
Im interested in this as a PT gig as well. My ambition is not to make millions or even thousands, at least not for a long while. If I take home anything thats a good day in my book.
My question is.....when do you know it's time to go to the high limit area? I'm guessing when the bankroll allows it. But is it the best idea? Is it better to just blend in on the main floor?
That would probably get more attention than just raising your bet. People randomly raise their bet all the time, but rarely randomly start playing 3 hands especially right when count gets juicy
Love this video, just one question! When you said "El Cortez, Treasure Island and South Point are probably the sweatiest casinos in the country", what exactly did you mean by that? I don't play professionally, wish I did, but one thing I do always look for is 3/2 and no continuous shuffle machines. I enjoy playing (and almost exclusively only play) on Fremont St., particularly at a the D and Golden Gate. Places aren't crazy swamped and the rules are okay, for a casual like me. I have noticed that South Point offers a lot of 3/2 games as well when I checked it out last month. But again, just curious what you meant when you said those 3 were "sweaty". Thanks Colin! ✊🏼
Pit bosses like to see little variance in bet spreads that most gamblers make, because it means their casino will make money. When the bosses see huge bet spreads they “sweat” the action because a gambler could have a win in the 10s of thousands despite not playing a winning game. Pit bosses are accountable to their bosses and those bosses to their superiors, and have to make a decision about letting a person play on and hopefully lose all that money back to the casino. Obviously they don’t want back off gamblers, so they have to get surveillance to monitor their play to see if a player is increasing his bets according to a count. If a skilled player is not being obvious about raising his bets when he has the advantage, and is making mathematically correct playing adjustments which “look” wrong according to basic strategy play, then it can be difficult for surveillance to determine if the player is counting. And if the player leaves after playing shoe where he raised his bets near the end, then he becomes a problem for another pit or another casino, so the sweating pit boss doesn’t have to worry anymore.
@@cr8ziefor me it’s best to spread to two or more hands when you have the advantage (1.5TC ish). you should play around with the BJA betting software or CVCX
Played at a table years ago in Ohio, played an outside bet and won. The dealer looked at me like a deer in headlights, I had to tell the dealer how much to pay me, I was honest, maybe I shouldn't have been!! 😂😂😂
Is it beneficial to get the membership for someone who is 20? I’m limited on casinos that I can go to but have about 10 in a 4-5 hour travel. I’ve been working on my counting for about 100 hours now mostly online (live dealers) with some in person casinos. I’m in a situation where I have enough bankroll and really wanna put some work in to make this a part time thing as well.
If you have the training and the bankroll those are two of the biggest factors. Having a few good options nearby for when you age into them is great. Even with options nearby, you'll also have to be willing to travel too depending on the amount of counting you want to do as well so that's something to keep in mind. You're always welcome to email info@blackjackapprenticeship.com any specific questions too.
Can any one please answer how should I get the true count?? The dealer plays an eight deck game but when it's about 4 an half decks he changes the shoe everytime.
When he changes the shoe is when the entire count resets - anytime before that change the true count is simply the running count divided by the remaining decks. So, if you're at +12 running count with 2 decks in the discard tray at your game the true count is a +2 (+12/6 decks remaining)
Hey colin, i have a question if ur not too famous to respond lmao i have this theory where, during negative counts, maybe you can kind of throw the negative variance towards the dealer & you have all the good variance (during a negative counts) by going from 1 hand to 2 hands back to 1. Lmao i feel like i sound stupid but its worth a shot to see what u think of it. Because the way i see it, the dealer is just another player also, i dont see why the negative counts cant be just as bad for him as it is for u
The dealer isn’t just another player, he plays by different rules and thats why a high count is advantageous for the players. Not because of the positions. So your idea was pretty stupid but i learned not to judge as i once wrote bja an e-mail explaining that my calculations showed martin gale was positive ev. Turns out i just mixed up numbers in the calculation
I mean.. i guess. Just a theory i was trying out because i noticed that when i do it, im still winning multiple hands during the negative counts like dealer kept losing, so i figured maybe the negativeness is on his end or some shit😅😂
so if you win big at blackjack, and they review the cards and the tc is positive, they are kicking you out of the casino regardless? How many just lucky people get banned lol?
For me, worth it. After doing it on my own for near to a year and I didn't have it all pieced together yet. After ONE MONTH in BJA, I was testing out at 100%
We'd love to see you join, but we're also going to suggest to read plenty of books and use all available resources because there's no such thing as over-learning or over-preparing.
So looking from another point of view.. is there any way to "bully the dealer" by playing multiple seats and sacrificing one hand to make the dealer bust?
How exactly do you "make" the dealer bust? They are going to hit or stand regardless of who is playing or by what strategy. The dealer makes no decisions in the game; they perform a purely mechanical, deterministic function. You'll have the same luck "bullying" a computer.
@@Killaj920 It doesn't matter how many other people at the table have a hand higher than yours, you are not competing with them. You can have the lowest hand at the table with a 12 and you'll still get paid the same as someone with a 19 or 20 if the dealer busts. So what's the point of busting other players at the table if it won't increase your payout? And if the dealer does not bust, other players still won't affect you. Whether they have 21 or 12 won't affect whether you beat the dealer. You are not in competition with other players at all.
@@thebellcurve3437 I know that. I also know that I have personally done it. What I'm trying to say is depending on the count, you can sacrifice a lower card to have a higher odd of the dealer getting a 10.
He's saying "no midshoe" which is a short-hand way of saying "no midshoe entry." It means players can only start betting on a table when a new deck is shuffled and placed in the shoe for the dealer to start dealing cards. Some casinos do this to prevent card counters from joining tables and only betting when the count is high.
I don't understand... if the true count is plus 3 and there are 2 decks left... doesn't that mean that there are 3 more 10s and Aces remaining than a neutral deck... why is 3 extra large cards significant? Why would you increase your bet? They don't deal to the bottom... and you have no idea of the order of the cards...
If there are 2 decks left at a +3 true count, that means you got 6 more large cards assuming playing HiLo count.. you increase your bet since per probability, the player has the advantage. You may not win all the time but after many hands, you should be heads up.
The advantage is so low that it takes a long time to get into the positive. Sure you can make over 6 figures but it takes many hours of play. You can’t hurt the casino at your stakes. Blackjack in the SF Bay Area is completely unplayable.
I appreciate that he understands the art of counting and was able to fly under the radar for so long.
These are some surveillance proof disguises 😂
👍😂👍
...except for his nose! Maybe they could use it against him?!
@@JimStream939😂🙄😂
100%😂
Had to disguise the baby too 😂
Get each participant to record the feed at source, so all the lags don't affect the video quality. Loved the chat, thanks!
This is another person getting it done. Kudos to you Double Time for being awesome.
I wish you continued positive variance,
JD
Finally a local counter from SoCal and a Duck’s fan. I hope our paths cross one day.
I love how he acts like losing a thousand dollars in a night, not out of a bankroll, just gambling, isn't a huge amount of money to spend at a blackjack table
It’s not based on his bankroll and he knows it’s part of the game
Fantastic to see! Thanks, guys.
After watching u non stop for 1 week and counting a deck all day every day I went to my casino. I started with 500 went down to 100 then in 2.5-3 hours I went to 1.3k. And I was doing base bets of 15. I can't wait to see my progress, will be joining your website soon! Can't wait to get more knowledge.
Awesome first time out, we'd be glad to have you whenever you're ready!
@Blackjackapprenticeship omg fan girling here lol.... I'm currently listening to all ur podcasts and doing the free drills. I can currently do the free counting drill at check every 10 hands... I plan to get a membership after I complete all pod casts and all UA-cam videos..... I also watched piñata man last night hahahh and I also watched ur documentary.
I love these!
Dude's bet spread idea is genius, been looking for a way to hide that.
His way looks more like a betting progression system.
Just saw a dealer pay a player 2:1 on a win, he doubled a $30 bet and the dealer payed him $120, 4 25s and 4 5s. I kept my mouth shut.
It's possible the dealer and the player were a team and the player was paid extra money on purpose, then later they split that money. When a dealer and player work together against the casino, it's security's worst nightmare because of how hard they are to catch. But it's a felony and both get years in prison if caught so it's just not worth the risk to most people. Also, maybe what you thought was a $30 bet was actually a $60, then the $120 payout makes sense. It's possible the dealer made an honest mistake and paid double by accident. After many hours of standing and dealing, dealers get tired and make mistakes.
@@thebellcurve3437 doubt that, it was the end of the night, the dealer was clearly quite tired.
My favritoe blackjack youtuber and the best blackjack youtuber
I want to make a living playing blackjack at 17, I'm gonna get it done like him
Wanna work together?
dont do it man, dont get into gambling. Study, learn a skill and make money that way. Eventually open a business, etc
Unless you have at least $50k and are able to keep it at $50k with other sources of income, it will be very hard to make a living playing Blackjack full time
@@shelovelawpersonal4606wanna work?
you are too young lil bro, dont even consider casinos until 20
I been a dealer for 10 years and work in surveillance for 2 years i will try to perfect card counting as my basic strategy is perfect
Let’s train together been training like 8months we can test each other virtually
How are hours calculated when tracking progress? As simple as what time your sessions started and ended? In my case with limited games available I am stuck with dead time of waiting for shuffles, slow tables with many players playing side bets and trying to sit out some of the negative counts.
Its not that complicated. Time you started playing, and time you stopped. Remove time from longer breaks.
If you want it to be super accurate you have to also remove toilet brakes and shuffles but who even cares about that. Its a couple minutes out of hundreds of hours of playtime. Barely even matters in the long run, which is what counting is about (long term gains).
I treat it like work, I clock in when I get there, I clock out when I leave. In a situation like yours, that dead time is a part of the 'job', so I'd count it.
It's not that granular generally - when we start until when we stop. While the hands per hour can vary dramatically based on the environment, we are simply counting the hours at the table to get a general idea of timekeeping for stats.
Casino in my city only allowes 1 card if we split up Aces , Should i Still always split it ?
Yes
1 hand and the chance for 2 blackjacks, always split
The Hypertrichosis makes it hard not to stand out.
The Holloween outfit with his son definitely screams The Hangover. Great idea.
Thank you Colin. Watched a ton of your videos. You're phenomenal. I just bought the 5 dollar little app to learn the basics. From knowing nothing to training for just 72 hours. I can keep the count 90 percent of the time. I know I need to be at 100 percent always but the point im making is, I never thought I'd pick it up this quickly. That's not being said in a cocky way. I plan to train at least 4 hours a day for the next 5 weeks to see where I'm at before I even think about trying my local casino, and even then it's just as a basic training session. I won't be focusing on the stack of my chips. I accept like I have in my career that it takes money to make money.
Im interested in this as a PT gig as well. My ambition is not to make millions or even thousands, at least not for a long while. If I take home anything thats a good day in my book.
I love this ❤😂
Muckleshoot as in Muckleshoot casino in Auburn Washington?? That’s where my career will be starting hahaha😂
The been there since 4am would be the start of their gaming day. Each casino has one and they vary slightly as far as time goes.
Great interview very interesting love earing all the stories.
My question is.....when do you know it's time to go to the high limit area? I'm guessing when the bankroll allows it. But is it the best idea? Is it better to just blend in on the main floor?
A lot of times it is. If high limit is full that's a good time. When it's empty it's way more likely surveillance catches you counting.
When counting cards, does it matter what game you play as far as how many decks there are? For example, 2 deck, 4 deck, 6 deck, or 8 deck.
Less deck the better that basic strategy works better! The house edge is reduced when the decks are smaller
You devide by the number of decks with your running count to get the true count. The less decks to devide the better the count.
Also
Do you play heads up
Single hand or multiple hands !!!
Cache Creek casino any good?
Do you pre set a time to start and stop
After your up
Or say you must go work early
So you say 1AM
OR WHAT ?
How many hands when you are heads up ???????
All blackjack in theSF Bay Area is shoe with continuous shuffle machines, or double or single deck with blackjack paying 6-5 all hit soft 17 games.
Do you ever play heads up when count is good switch to 3 hands to increase your betting?????
That would probably get more attention than just raising your bet. People randomly raise their bet all the time, but rarely randomly start playing 3 hands especially right when count gets juicy
Love this video, just one question!
When you said "El Cortez, Treasure Island and South Point are probably the sweatiest casinos in the country", what exactly did you mean by that?
I don't play professionally, wish I did, but one thing I do always look for is 3/2 and no continuous shuffle machines. I enjoy playing (and almost exclusively only play) on Fremont St., particularly at a the D and Golden Gate. Places aren't crazy swamped and the rules are okay, for a casual like me. I have noticed that South Point offers a lot of 3/2 games as well when I checked it out last month. But again, just curious what you meant when you said those 3 were "sweaty".
Thanks Colin! ✊🏼
Pit bosses like to see little variance in bet spreads that most gamblers make, because it means their casino will make money. When the bosses see huge bet spreads they “sweat” the action because a gambler could have a win in the 10s of thousands despite not playing a winning game. Pit bosses are accountable to their bosses and those bosses to their superiors, and have to make a decision about letting a person play on and hopefully lose all that money back to the casino. Obviously they don’t want back off gamblers, so they have to get surveillance to monitor their play to see if a player is increasing his bets according to a count. If a skilled player is not being obvious about raising his bets when he has the advantage, and is making mathematically correct playing adjustments which “look” wrong according to basic strategy play, then it can be difficult for surveillance to determine if the player is counting. And if the player leaves after playing shoe where he raised his bets near the end, then he becomes a problem for another pit or another casino, so the sweating pit boss doesn’t have to worry anymore.
The sweat because it's too hot in Las Vegas
When playing heads up, is it optimal to spread 2x or keep 1 hand?
Depends on the count
@@BadaBing_3 When it’s time for max bet
@@cr8zie by a true 6
@@cr8ziefor me it’s best to spread to two or more hands when you have the advantage (1.5TC ish). you should play around with the BJA betting software or CVCX
@@cr8ziedepends on your bankroll 😂
Played at a table years ago in Ohio, played an outside bet and won. The dealer looked at me like a deer in headlights, I had to tell the dealer how much to pay me, I was honest, maybe I shouldn't have been!! 😂😂😂
Is it beneficial to get the membership for someone who is 20? I’m limited on casinos that I can go to but have about 10 in a 4-5 hour travel. I’ve been working on my counting for about 100 hours now mostly online (live dealers) with some in person casinos. I’m in a situation where I have enough bankroll and really wanna put some work in to make this a part time thing as well.
If you have the training and the bankroll those are two of the biggest factors. Having a few good options nearby for when you age into them is great. Even with options nearby, you'll also have to be willing to travel too depending on the amount of counting you want to do as well so that's something to keep in mind. You're always welcome to email info@blackjackapprenticeship.com any specific questions too.
Can any one please answer how should I get the true count??
The dealer plays an eight deck game but when it's about 4 an half decks he changes the shoe everytime.
When he changes the shoe is when the entire count resets - anytime before that change the true count is simply the running count divided by the remaining decks. So, if you're at +12 running count with 2 decks in the discard tray at your game the true count is a +2 (+12/6 decks remaining)
Also
What limits do you play
Here in OK
THEY USE $500 even quarter
If $100 to $1000 you will play alone not much company
That is to your advantage as you will be able to play more hands per hour.
Them disguises though 😂😂😂
Is that ben with a disguise and changing his voice?
Hey colin, i have a question if ur not too famous to respond lmao i have this theory where, during negative counts, maybe you can kind of throw the negative variance towards the dealer & you have all the good variance (during a negative counts) by going from 1 hand to 2 hands back to 1. Lmao i feel like i sound stupid but its worth a shot to see what u think of it. Because the way i see it, the dealer is just another player also, i dont see why the negative counts cant be just as bad for him as it is for u
The simple answer is no, changing between 1-2 hands would not give all the negative variance to the dealer. Why would you think that would work?
The dealer isn’t just another player, he plays by different rules and thats why a high count is advantageous for the players. Not because of the positions. So your idea was pretty stupid but i learned not to judge as i once wrote bja an e-mail explaining that my calculations showed martin gale was positive ev. Turns out i just mixed up numbers in the calculation
I mean.. i guess. Just a theory i was trying out because i noticed that when i do it, im still winning multiple hands during the negative counts like dealer kept losing, so i figured maybe the negativeness is on his end or some shit😅😂
Your idea isn’t wrong because it’s working but In the long run it will be bad
@@shelovelawpersonal4606 his idea is wrong, despite his claim that it’s working
I play magic the gathering too
pretty cool story
Dusty Hill didn't die, he's hiding as Joe748!
I love this lmao 🤣
so if you win big at blackjack, and they review the cards and the tc is positive, they are kicking you out of the casino regardless? How many just lucky people get banned lol?
First! Hi there 👋🏽
Hi guys, quick question is it worth it to buy BJA or just learn all the stuff from books, videos, etc.?
For me, worth it. After doing it on my own for near to a year and I didn't have it all pieced together yet. After ONE MONTH in BJA, I was testing out at 100%
@@Savagemisterwhat 10-15k later ?
We'd love to see you join, but we're also going to suggest to read plenty of books and use all available resources because there's no such thing as over-learning or over-preparing.
As a data scientist / ML engineer how can I help
So looking from another point of view.. is there any way to "bully the dealer" by playing multiple seats and sacrificing one hand to make the dealer bust?
How exactly do you "make" the dealer bust? They are going to hit or stand regardless of who is playing or by what strategy. The dealer makes no decisions in the game; they perform a purely mechanical, deterministic function. You'll have the same luck "bullying" a computer.
@@thebellcurve3437
Playing 2 or 3 hands and hitting on one to sacrifice or bust. Effectively having a higher chance on giving yourself the upper hand.
@@Killaj920 It doesn't matter how many other people at the table have a hand higher than yours, you are not competing with them. You can have the lowest hand at the table with a 12 and you'll still get paid the same as someone with a 19 or 20 if the dealer busts. So what's the point of busting other players at the table if it won't increase your payout?
And if the dealer does not bust, other players still won't affect you. Whether they have 21 or 12 won't affect whether you beat the dealer. You are not in competition with other players at all.
@@thebellcurve3437 I know that.
I also know that I have personally done it.
What I'm trying to say is depending on the count, you can sacrifice a lower card to have a higher odd of the dealer getting a 10.
Aisian man confirmed
I luv how these guys look like super villains lol! But this ain't no game it for real I'm telling you the information is the truth!
Whats the hell is "no mitchu" ?
He's saying "no midshoe" which is a short-hand way of saying "no midshoe entry." It means players can only start betting on a table when a new deck is shuffled and placed in the shoe for the dealer to start dealing cards. Some casinos do this to prevent card counters from joining tables and only betting when the count is high.
@DieHard602 thank you very much 🙏🏾
The MUPPETS play blackjack! 😆
Plug me in I’m tryna do this
I don't understand... if the true count is plus 3 and there are 2 decks left... doesn't that mean that there are 3 more 10s and Aces remaining than a neutral deck... why is 3 extra large cards significant? Why would you increase your bet? They don't deal to the bottom... and you have no idea of the order of the cards...
If there are 2 decks left at a +3 true count, that means you got 6 more large cards assuming playing HiLo count.. you increase your bet since per probability, the player has the advantage. You may not win all the time but after many hands, you should be heads up.
The order of those cards is random. You're right you don't know the exact order but you know over time you have an edge in that situation.
The advantage is so low that it takes a long time to get into the positive. Sure you can make over 6 figures but it takes many hours of play. You can’t hurt the casino at your stakes. Blackjack in the SF Bay Area is completely unplayable.
Will fake Rolex work when pretending to be rich?
Sure if it looks real. Probably safer too so you dont get robbed 😂
@@Robin-ou1gg how does a fake Rolex stop you from getting robbed? Does the robber know it’s fake already?
What exactly is the point of pretending to be rich? What is to be gained from that?
@@thebellcurve3437 just some people feel better by pretending to be something they are not 🤣🤣