Where I disagree with Don is that those who fail cannot go to the forum and post their failures. Those with regrets about quitting careers or college to play BAj full time cannot share their regrets. Colin monitors and bans people on his forums quickly.
I agree that it is entirely subjective, but I subjectively will not be dumping $3k from my bankroll to pay for a meetup with other APs- you can usually get that for free, or if you want a test out, you can drop someone a small fee. I agree that if this class was being taught be Chang or Duchacht, it may be worth it. I attended a BJ Science class taught by Semyon, and it was one of the most important afternoons of my young life.
Of all the blackjack books I have read so far,,, his book has been the least helpful.. His 'system' is Hi-Lo, nothing earth shattering there. On one hand he tells you to push max bets as much as possible, go for the throat and force the casino to back you off, no cover plays and yet somehow you are expected to get in hundred of hours of playing time.. Hmmm.. Yeah,, I guess he was just lucky in getting some massive variance that allowed him to just take off with a $2,500 bankroll. It seems so easy.. Sorry... not buying it.. In one video he hypes everything and the next video it's him telling you how bad it is being an AP and the low chances of making a living from it. Amazing... He is probably making a lot more in his new business than he ever made in blackjack.. Wish him and everyone the best in what they do but I can buy a real blackjack book, get a copy of the CBJN for $17.00 and do some google searchs for casino research for a lot less than $500.00 a year. But he has his following and I wish them all the best..
My game has evolved significantly over the years. Very little if anything I do would be tolerated in a Colin Jones boot camp - and I don’t really give a shit. My spreads vary based on the importance of the store to me - and what is important is also subject to variables.Originally Posted by VonDox
And yet, despite my “shortcomings”, my returns surpass expectations. If anyone recalls, I stated earlier this year my goals for the year - goals which have been achieved and for which the reward has now been planned. I’ve replaced my one time knock it out of the ballpark strategy per session in favour of maximizing revenue over n sessions. As I’ve also previously stated, I’ve worked diligently over the past few years by reducing my average win and further reducing by a greater percentage my average loss to the inverse of my average win all the while maintaining a high win rate - the effect on overall dollar win being significant. I would encourage others to learn advanced strategies, the execution of which mask skill level and yet greatly contribute to hourlies beyond simmed values.
It’s a shame I no longer keep accurate records, however it seems to me that my November results pretty much mirror my pace over the course of the year. Play is 10-20 hours per month likely ending at 180 hours for the full year.
Hi, I’m new here. Just getting back into blackjack. This was a long thread to read! I too had similar questions about the whole BJA program and boot camp, for the same reasons mentioned by people above: his own results don’t seem that great, he seems way too slick in the marketing, and he makes it seem like there’s a 90% success rate when really, as one poster said, it most likely is closer to 1% (I agree).
But the one thing that really struck me when I watched some of his videos, which while informative, didn’t really teach me much new, was how he would say “don’t back yourself off!”, as if this is some kind of sage advice. Personally, this seems to go completely against everything I once knew about the game. My idol was Ian Andersen after I read Turning the Tables on Las Vegas years ago. After reading Burning the Tables (just yesterday in fact), I’m more amazed than ever at his play. Is he perhaps the cover champion of them all? Playing nearly half a century at the highest stakes without ever getting barred, that’s what I idolize. I don’t admire playing without any cover and getting barred right and left like BJA recommends.
I don’t really have an opinion about whether the course Colin offers gives good instruction about how to count cards in general (it well might), or whether it is actually a good deal price-wise (compared to buying the books and software and making your own damn flash cards). But as far as his advice to not give an inch and to never “back yourself off”, I couldn’t disagree more.
That is in fact why I posted, just today, another thread entitled “Philosophy of Cover”, which was about this exact issue. I didn’t know about this thread already being here or I would have just posted my question here. And now that I’ve read this entire thread and all the great posts in it, I would have to say that I realize there are many level of expertise and attitude amongst all the members here, and as a new member I appreciate all the viewpoints. In particular, on this issue, I thought the posts of G Man, Chaconne, DSchles, houyi, Freighman and bjarg were particularly good. Thanks.
Blackjack Apprenticeship is good. You can probably learn the things they teach from a bunch of books, videos, and posting on forums. That doesn't make it a bad product. People pay $1000 for professional seminars and conferences all the time. I would gladly pay $5000 for a James Grosjean seminar.
People who complain about "slick marketing" are either naive or improperly emotional. They're running a business. They have to market it. This is the kind of thing you hear from people who have never run a business. Or else their feelings are hurt because someone is monetizing something they don't think should be monetized. Who cares if someone monetizes card counting? No one owns it, and casinos deserve to be pounded for the way most of them treat customers.
I don't know that Ian Anderson actually won a lot of money at blackjack. James Grosjean has, and he uses phrases like "sometimes naked is the best disguise." Card counting is neither a strong nor rare game. It doesn't need to be protected as expensively as many think. You certainly shouldn't be doing silly things like artificially playing a low spread (one of the worst forms of cover) for a simple count game.
The Cash Cow.
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