I quit

[Norm]

The act of birth does not automatically entitle you with success. You must continue to strive. Frankly, you haven't shown a willingness to learn from others. Sorry to say that -- it's just the impression you display.

You are very young. But, you don't appear to have any desires other than to succeed. You can't succeed with solely a desire to succeed. You must have actual interests, goals, something that drives you other than gold.

I understand that you 'followed the rules' and believed that that alone would be all that was necessary. Only, that's never been true.

I apologize if this seems rough. It's just that your posts appear to blame others for your lack of immediate success. That's not a way out of your predicament.

[Three]

DigDaddy had a great suggestion. One of my siblings is an accountant and has so much money there isn't enough time to spend it. The accounting firm that this sibling started is one of the leaders in that field of accounting in the country. My sister in-law is also an accountant and makes so much money my brother is a stay at home Dad to 3 children.

The only time it's not a scam is if you go to a top tier school and major in something 'specific', otherwise you will never stand out. The market is saturated with people with degrees, let alone 'business' degrees.

All you need is for someone to hire you. Then you show them you are worth more than anyone they have seen in a long time and negotiate your salary and benefits. Every company is hungry for people that excel at tasks that few can do well. Every employer I ever had appreciated my abilities and had no problem compensating me appropriately when asked to do so. If anyone complained the boss would dare them to be as valuable as I am to the company and tell them, if they can be that valuable they will get the same compensation and benefits.

[ZeeBabar]

The act of birth does not automatically entitle you with success. You must continue to strive. Frankly, you haven't shown a willingness to learn from others. Sorry to say that -- it's just the impression you display.

You are very young. But, you don't appear to have any desires other than to succeed. You can't succeed with solely a desire to succeed. You must have actual interests, goals, something that drives you other than gold.

I understand that you 'followed the rules' and believed that that alone would be all that was necessary. Only, that's never been true.

I apologize if this seems rough. It's just that your posts appear to blame others for your lack of immediate success. That's not a way out of your predicament.

A bit harsh but correct. However, it's not too late to get started in something and then develop serious interests. When you get convinced that the $$$ decide what you will take up in life and you have no serious interests in something for its own sake, it's a tough haul. There are people who make $30k a year and manage to be content.

[Three]

The act of birth does not automatically entitle you with success. You must continue to strive. Frankly, you haven't shown a willingness to learn from others. Sorry to say that -- it's just the impression you display.

You are very young. But, you don't appear to have any desires other than to succeed. You can't succeed with solely a desire to succeed. You must have actual interests, goals, something that drives you other than gold.

I understand that you 'followed the rules' and believed that that alone would be all that was necessary. Only, that's never been true.

I apologize if this seems rough. It's just that your posts appear to blame others for your lack of immediate success. That's not a way out of your predicament.

Well put.

[LoneWoLF]

DigDaddy had a great suggestion. One of my siblings is an accountant and has so much money there isn't enough time to spend it. The accounting firm that this sibling started is one of the leaders in that field of accounting in the country. My sister in-law is also an accountant and makes so much money my brother is a stay at home Dad to 3 children.

All you need is for someone to hire you. Then you show them you are worth more than anyone they have seen in a long time and negotiate your salary and benefits. Every company is hungry for people that excel at tasks that few can do well. Every employer I ever had appreciated my abilities and had no problem compensating me appropriately. If anyone complained the boss would dare them to be as valuable as I am to the company and tell them, if they can be that they will get the same compensation and benefits.

Maybe there is a way to use all this blackjack knowledge that I have gained over the years to a job that will appreciate it and see that as a benefit prior to hiring me? ANy ideas to which jobs would see professional blackjack as a desirable trait? I mean it shows the ability to be analytical, dedication, discipline, etc. This also brings up the much debated topic of should you put being an AP on your CV/Resume? Ive long debated that because in the real world, it's a hit or miss. It can show you some indirect attributes but also to the uneducated, you can be seen as a degenerate and not trustworthy.

[LoneWoLF]

A bit harsh but correct. However, it's not too late to get started in something and then develop serious interests. When you get convinced that the $$$ decide what you will take up in life and you have no serious interests in something for its own sake, it's a tough haul. There are people who make $30k a year and manage to be content.

I have interests, i love sports and wanted to be involved in the industry. Like every youngster I had hopes of going pro, but it wasnt because of skill i didn't make it, it was because I had too many injuries throughout and never had a chance to see my potential. Im also interested in the markets as well as the financial industry. I dont know where you and Norm got the idea I dont have any interests. Believe me, im not just chasing money, I will be the first one to tell you I rather do something I love, rather than something I hate, because if you do something you love, you'll never work a day in your life. The money would be a bonus. That's actually why I got into blackjack, i loved playing cards and to me the hourly win rate potential and becoming an AP seemed to be the perfect match and I did everything in my power to learn everything I could and not once did I ever lose my discipline at the table and overbet. AP blackjack still might be something for me down the road, but for now I think I need to clear my head.

[Three]

You just need to get hired by a company that has potential for advancement. It is all about the interview. You are interviewing them while selling yourself. If you can't sell yourself you might have a problem. Selling yourself can take on many forms. I know people that stuck out of the group because they have a common interest with the employer (hunting and fishing). He noticed the pictures and trophy's in the office of the executive and asked about the hunting and fishing with enthusiasm. The interview was an hour of swapping hunting and fishing stories. He was also a very good amateur taxidermist. The pictures of some of his taxidermy work showed his ability to master difficult things. He was hired out of a field of PHD's. He only had a Masters. He became one of the tops in his area of expertise, Marine Biology. You wouldn't be being interviewed if you weren't qualified. It is about sticking out from the other applicants. The employer probably asks everyone pretty similar questions. Give answers that go where most wouldn't while still covering the obvious. Ask questions that indicate you feel like everyone is competing for you and you will be picking the job you want. It shows a confidence in yourself that is usually found in those that are successful at whatever they try to do. Take any chance you see to connect with the one doing the hiring. I remember at one job interview the guy asked me if i was a hard worker. I responded hard work is good for the soul. He laughed and hired me before the interview was over.

After getting the job it is your responsibility to show you are worth more than the other employees. It is usually not that hard because most don't try to do their job well. That said you want to be better than the ones that do their job well. Show how quickly you learn new things and that you can teach yourself easily (that is all that fancy diploma says. Give me the reference material and I can train myself). You want to look like you were born doing the job at hand. Any good employer will see you are one to keep in his employ as long as he can and do what it takes to keep you happy and working there.

[LoneWoLF]

You just need to get hired by a company that has potential for advancement. It is all about the interview. You are interviewing them while selling yourself. If you can't sell yourself you might have a problem. Selling yourself can take on many forms. I know people that stuck out of the group because they have a common interest with the employer (hunting and fishing). He noticed the pictures and trophy's in the office of the executive and asked about the hunting and fishing with enthusiasm. The interview was an hour of swapping hunting and fishing stories. He was also a very good amateur taxidermist. The pictures of some of his taxidermy work showed his ability to master difficult things. He was hired out of a field of PHD's. He only had a Masters. He became one of the tops in his area of expertise, Marine Biology. You wouldn't be being interviewed if you weren't qualified. It is about sticking out from the other applicants. The employer probably asks everyone pretty similar questions. Give answers that go where most wouldn't while still covering the obvious. Ask questions that indicate you feel like everyone is competing for you and you will be picking the job you want. It shows a confidence in yourself that is usually found in those that are successful at whatever they try to do. Take any chance you see to connect with the one doing the hiring. I remember at one job interview the guy asked me if i was a hard worker. I responded hard work is good for the soul. He laughed and hired me before the interview was over.

After getting the job it is your responsibility to show you are worth more than the other employees. It is usually not that hard because most don't try to do their job well. That said you want to be better than the ones that do their job well. Show how quickly you learn new things and that you can teach yourself easily (that is all that fancy diploma says. Give me the reference material and I can train myself). You want to look like you were born doing the job at hand. Any good employer will see you are one to keep in his employ as long as he can and do what it takes to keep you happy and working there.

Thanks t3. Ill keep the interview info in mind in the future.

[Three]

Your trouble is you present yourself as someone that is untrainable. Everyone tells you that you are wrong but you won't take direction. This trait will be your stumbling block if you can't get beyond it.

It is likely why you quit being an AP. You told me you didn't care about the heat or the backs but when the backs came you weren't prepared with a plan of what to do next. You lost your convenient store that you had the most success at and decided that was the last straw to break your AP career's back. At your age I wouldn't recommend AP as your primary focus. Look at it as a fallback. I think listening to KJ talk about playing 100 hours a year screwed you up. I don't know how many a full time AP plays but my bet is a third of that or maybe half that. You need to spread you play pretty thin to keep your exposure low enough if you play 1000 hours a year. In Vegas you have enough stores at hand to do that but the games suck. If you focus on quality of opportunities rather than quantity you will do better with less exposure. All that mantra about playing more to make the same with an easier approach causes you to play too much. That is fine if you are okay with the BO's that come with the added exposure. It is a shame that you envied KJ so much and did what would cause you issues despite everyone's warnings on the site. It is about a balance between exposure and amount won. The more you win the worse the exposure is to get the win in general.

You need a strategy that controls losing runs and makes hitting your win tolerance goal in a short time relatively likely. You need to be happy with a smaller win or a loss if your play exposes you too much. You can't decide you don't like that deal and overexpose yourself without being prepared to do what is necessary when you get the BO you made sure was coming, the only question was how soon. Tarzan would have been one to model your approach after. I am not talking about using the Tarzan Count. I am talking about his way of balancing amount won with exposure at the tables. The simpler your approach the more you have to expose yourself to execute it. That means a simpler approach will generally allow less playing time not more, less EV and more severe losing and winning runs just to maintain the same longevity. Most of the count debate is about EV but I use a complex approach so I can win what I want and the casino is comfortable with my approach. That way I can get in get the money and get out faster with an approach that they are comfortable not acting against me. This allows you to play fewer hours per year and still get the money. Think about all the times you got up 5 to 10 max bets only to play a long day which overexposed you and left with a smaller win or even a loss. And what happened the times you won more. The heat ramped up at that casino. It is about amount won and exposure. It is that simple. If you want to play more or win more you need to play more stores. In your area you can easily visit 3 to 6 stores in one day.

[Norm]

You need a strategy that controls losing runs

I really dislike this statement. It makes no sense to me.

[moses]

I really dislike this statement. It makes no sense to me.

Well Norm. Everyone worries about the upside. Few seem concerned about minimize downside volatility.

In biz or production, we call it bottlenecking. It not something you can put in a SIM. You just recognize and take advantage. It becomes second nature to a point I don't even realize I'm doing it.

[Three]

Originally Posted by Tthree:
You need a strategy that controls losing runs.
Norm's reply:
I really dislike this statement.

It would sound better if you took it in context instead of truncating the sentence it was in.

You need a strategy that controls losing runs and makes hitting your win tolerance goal in a short time relatively likely.

The second half of the conjunction is the part being focused on. The need to control losing runs is to balance it with the more modest wins. Exposure is the main point of it all. You want to limit exposure by not showing your spread as much in a visit. Hitting a more modest win goal far more frequently allows you to leave with a sizable yet tolerable win and little exposure. Large losses are troubling if you don't win as much and they also expose you too much. Like I said it is about balancing winning and exposure. That is the key to longevity and allowing the suits to look the other way without fear of retribution from their superiors.

I will not post my records but if you could see it you would understand what I am talking about. Few large daily losses. Rarely consecutive losing days and close to a 3:1 winning day to losing day ratio and far more frequent and higher magnitude winning days than large losing days. Remember a day may contain visits to many casinos. At each casino you balance your winning amount with your exposure. Usually a moderate loss exposes you enough. But sometimes days just don't present many opportunities. And sometimes you lose a lot quickly.

[stopgambling]

Keep taking steps into the right direction and hope all goes well for you. There are lots of veterans in bj and in life here ,trying listening to them and it would definitely help.