One of my internet friends runs Blackjack Apprenticeship, a membership site and course for counting cards, and I’ve loved hearing his stories of beating casinos at blackjack.
And while it’s fun to share the highlights of any endeavor, the big takeaway I had was that card counting is… kind of boring. It’s just a lot of addition and subtraction. And while movies might make it out to be this glamourous thing, I think a new breed of Youtubers is showing that it’s quite stressful.
One of them, Quattro, shares his story with Slate:
What It’s Like to Be a Professional Card Counter [Slate] – “Growing up, I was never really a huge gambler. Sure, I’d go to the casino from time to time and quickly lose my $50 at blackjack or whatever, but that was it. Things started to change when I made friends with a couple of guys who were into card counting. They wanted to introduce me to their techniques, and initially I didn’t have much interest. Frankly, I didn’t think it was possible. Like, how could anyone beat the casino? But those friends were turning a pretty good profit, and I wanted to make some money myself. So, I decided to learn their tactics, and determine whether or not all of this stuff was made up. I picked up the strategy pretty quickly. It turns out, you can get an edge on the house—so long as you know what you’re doing.”