Youngest BlackJack Card Counter

[ZeeBabar]

As a young player with casinos nearby, a plan of attack where you play short sessions, leave with a win of say $200-$300 with an act about being somewhere else (class, job shift) and you would be okay. One person I know has a departure point soon after he crosses $200. He plays 6 days a week at 4 different casinos, sometimes only plays half a deck, wins and leaves, sometimes gets in a hole, plays a longer session. He plays rated, the casino folks, pit and dealers, know him and think he is a degenerate gambler who must spend his entire measly pay check gambling away. He is always dressed very poorly though I once saw him at a Cardinals game looking quite different, well off.

[SplittingFives]

I'm 27, been doing this for a year, enjoying it, but also incredibly grateful that I went to college and got my advanced degree first. Blackjack/AP is a challenge to make a career from what I hear, it'd be a shame to waste your youth on something that may be hard to have longevity over a full career.

No disrespect to those that have been doing it for years, but it isn't practical to make this a lifetime career for 99% of counters.


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[Banjoclan]

Now, to hopefully add some value to my post.

As far as buying-in goes for enough money that gets you attention, you have to play the part. Obviously your duds will help, but have a believable story if someone asks. I hate playing the spoiled rich kid so I have a great background story made up. The beauty of it is

A. Many people have heard about the technology I used to make my money, but know little about it.
-they can't ask questions, or the ones they do are very basic.

B. It fits. Its a new technology. I look young. Many people will never use this technology in their lives, it makes sense a young person would have invested in it before someone older who isn't familiar with technology.

C. It looks like I got lucky and don't care about throwing my money around. I bought my shares at an extremely affordable price, and when I tell people what they peaked at, there are no more questions about why I have money.

I refrain from saying what I sold them at or how much I bought, because even if the story was true, it's none of their business.

The sad part is I actually decided against this investment a few years ago. Such is life for those afraid to take risks.

Was it porn? Bet you it's porn. That's what I always tell people I made my money in and it works just like you said. Old ladies rarely ask about specifics after I tell them I made a bundle in porn.


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[ZenMaster_Flash]

" ... it isn't practical to make this a lifetime career for 99% of counters."

99% is a conservative estimate.

I M H O

[DatabaseGuy]

I met another counter at work. Turns out he sits in the cubicle next to mine and he saw me go through decks... I could not BS him and we now talk card counting every now and then.

He is still going to college and working on his bachelor's in software engineering. He is indeed very young and there is no doubt he counts as I do for sports, just for indeed the high of beating the system and getting away with it.

ZeeZeeBar is right. We hobby counters do it for the high and it's an addiction. At least we're on step 1. We also have a career in something that pays well and if we hit a losing streak well just call it cost of doing an exciting hobby. Some people race cars or shoot guns on the weekend, consider the cost of these hobbies.

[ZenMaster_Flash]

"We hobby counters do it for the high and it's an addiction."

"Therein lies the rub."

The above quotation from DatabaseGuy refers to the majority of those active at this site.

There are just a few Professional Players and a larger group of those with strong expertise

RE: blackjack.

The reason that these (minority) groups are small in number is partially because an expert / professional

needs to have a reasonable measure of altruism in order to find it pleasing to "Cast pearls before swine"

as we assume that everyone wants to learn to play a strong game, with complex counts, etc."

Indeed, words like "hobby" we can ignore, while words like "addiction" are anathema to us.

[DatabaseGuy]

Winning in a game of money provides a high. My first big paychecks in IT provided such a high, because I had studied and worked hard, plus the futile and vain pride of feeling smarter than the rest (I have learned to dampen this feeling and find a fair amount of wisdom among everyone with any substantial life experience). Now a paycheck is just the black ink item in my personal finance ledger.

I guess that, for a professional, blackjack wins are just a paycheck and similarly do not cause a high.

That said, you still play the game...

[Three]

I guess that, for a professional, blackjack wins are just a paycheck and similarly do not cause a high.

It is important to play without emotional involvement if you are a professional. You need to understand what kind of results to expect in the way of wins and losses while understanding if you play long enough you will see it all no matter how rare the event is. Armed with this information you should be able to ride out whatever happens without emotional involvement. That says winning feels better than losing but it shouldn't be a high you must chase. There are many considerations that you must weigh as you play that can be compromised by chasing that high. You can deviate from optimal play or your planned play if it is sub-optimal. You can forget about the need to play and win within tolerances that fit your vision of your longevity. Heat issues need to be considered when determining how you approach winning at various casinos. Of course those practicing slash and burn tactics just want to do what gives them the best chance to extract the most money in a shorter time frame. Often getting big wins means experiencing proportional losing runs so you must be mentally prepared to handle that.

[mjbballar23]

I was Wondering If There is Any Young successful Card counters Out there?

21+ -30

At What Age Did You Become Excellent at Card Counting and beating the Casinos?

I was 18, there are lots of successful players in the 21-30 range. I was lucky to have very good games near me that were tolerant to help build a bankroll but being young white male is a huge disadvantage in a casino.

[DatabaseGuy]

I was 18, there are lots of successful players in the 21-30 range. I was lucky to have very good games near me that were tolerant to help build a bankroll but being young white male is a huge disadvantage in a casino.

That's why I want to come back as an Asian lady.

Sorry, is that racist?

[BlackAce]

I think at such an age the most difficult thing is coming up with an adequate bankroll. I actually began counting at age 18 with $1,000 to devote to the game. Without revealing my exact age, I will say it has been less than 5 years since I played in my first casino, and I have kept detailed records of wins/losses to date. I have a very small profit, but at this point I think it is more about continuing to learn, hone skills, and have a good time. When I have $50,000 I can fully devote to my bankroll I will return to the good games and situations I have found and be able to hit them hard.
I self-taught using online resources and friendly contributors. If you have any specific questions about my experiences I will be happy to answer.

Does keeping the running count eventually become a second nature thing onece you get excellent at it? Or do you still make mistakes?

[BlackAce]

Does keeping the running count eventually become a second nature thing onece you get excellent at it? Or do you still make mistakes?

That's why I want to come back as an Asian lady.

Sorry, is that racist?

Wow thats good. And no.

[DatabaseGuy]

BlackAce: yes, it becomes second nature, but you need to challenge yourself and make your counting technique more efficient, meaning not staring at every card as it's being dealt but adding them in group, which is harder with level 2 and 3 counts. That needs to become second nature.

Something which become second natute fast is gauging game progress and calculating TC without looking at the discard tray. Easier than it seems at first.