I’ve visited the site, however a very long time ago when you could pay monthly. Watched thru the video course when I was brand new, and found some things useful.
As for the bootcamps, a lot of very solid pros contribute. Joe748 comes to mind. His knowledge and experience is very awesome. I don’t have anything negative to say about them, I haven’t kept up with them over the years.
”A lot of very solid pros contribute”.....why? Is his pay now better than what they can make for themselves at the casinos? Is it ego? Need for recognition that they are solid pros”? Is it helping fleece some naive boot campers?Originally Posted by Phoenician
what % of his clients actually succeed in making a career of playing Blackjack? What claims does he make off his success rate? What do you think it is? Is it 90% success rate? Is it 60%?
I don’t follow them anywhere close enough (or at all for that matter) to give you statistical data/fact, and I have no answer as to how many are successful, I would purely speculate less than more. Face value comment. I received plenty of help from a couple without attending. As for paying more than making in a casino, not even close I would assume. Again, I don’t put my nose in anyone’s financial business to give Concrete answers on specifics.
And as for why would they contribute, if the pay was less, I make more as a paramedic, than I do running students thru class evolutions, which is pretty much nothing. However I love contributing. Maybe there is a similar conscious. Again, I do not know.
Regards,
Have a good day.
As an AP I will do whatever I can to get the most value out of everything and this doesn't just mean blackjack.
If I can get free intel, free info, free counting advice, I will take it, although I am well aware that a lot of it is not so good. I followed one bad advice from this forum a few years ago and it was absolutely negative EV.
I am therefore not going to spend $3000 to attend Colin's bootcamp or even $300 for his web site.
I thought Colin's site was heavily embellished, but that there was a corpus of good information.
The site is marketed to the "massive +EV, extreme positive variance" crowd, and is an instance of the same survivor bias that Bob Dancer, the trusted name (albeit a pen name) in video poker, reflects in his writings. The seminars, bankroll coaching, and boot camps are not worth the money.
Colin has a few anecdotes (all free) that, in my opinion, give a realistic glimpse into some of the shadier corners of the world of high-stakes blackjack--from attracting the interest of a brass-knuckled million-dollar team leader to hiring several yeah-whatever types that promised him the moon and either played badly or stole from him. Even James Grosjean, holder of a doctorate from the prestigious and mathematically rough Chicago School of Economics and author of the canonical blackjack reference Beyond Blackjack, has walked down some of these dark streets.
The good information concerns the play-all card counter and the importance of mastering basic strategy to three nines, including any adjustments for indices one cares to use. I like to think of Colin as the "good boss" that you call up one day and tell, in a super-relaxed, casual way, "yeah, hey...I'm trying to learn blackjack and want to make a little bit of money. Can you help?" He replies, "sure, come down to my office and let's have a chat." Then: "...right. So we use the I18 and F4 here with the Wakinoff correction. Tell ya what. Take this O'Reilly book (I'm friends with the author), read it tonight, and come at about 11 tomorrow and we'll chat again." He wants you to learn something, and his writing is encouraging.
When the financial slang and demagogic rhetoric comes along, though, I'd move on straight away.
If true, possibly a good move in my humble opinion. Article today saying that newly minted MBA's can't get jobs after spending obscene amounts of money to get them. But then, I've always had a sardonic view of academe.
"I don't think outside the box; I think of what I can do with the box." - Henri Matisse
I would rather take my chances with an MBA than a Doctorate in Gender Studies or any other liberal arts degree at the moment. Unless you plan on leading a social justice warrior group.
The old axiom is those who "can't"; teach but I think there have been good players who are also good teachers. At least in this board's main subject area.
"Women and cats will do as they please, and Men and dogs should just relax and get used to the idea" --- Robert A. Heinlein
seriously???...if you are suggesting that 60-90% make a "career" - assuming you mean as sole income - after a week or 2 bootcamp....that's just silly...that number is <5% for sure...probably closer to 1%
if he's selling that dream...I have some land in Florida I'd like sell them, too
This thread intrigued me. I recently moved to a area where there is actually a casino within half an hour. I’ve always loved blackjack and had previously read some of the easier to find blackjack books (Beat the Dealer, Snyder’s Big Book of Black Jack) I decided to give his course a try, given I had a little extra cash I wasn’t expecting. After I work through it hopefully I can report back. I will say since purchasing the course I’ve read through some of the more anecdotal books (Repeat Until, The Black Jack Life) After reading those I do get the impression BJA is clearly more marketing than substance thus far. As someone said earlier I’ve already gotten more from reading through just some of Wong and Schlesinger.
Bottom line my success will come from the hours upon hours of personal practice and dedication to the foundational skills. But I’ll update on the overall value of the online course, at least from the perspective of a true beginner
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