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SubstantialFrivolity  I'm not even supposed to be here today  2yr ago (text post)   2538 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for October 14, 2022

Be advised; this thread is not for serious in depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I recently watched a series on YouTube about card counting. It was made by this English fella, who was a complete beginner at card counting. He just learned the basics and then went to the US, with a large amount of money backed by a friend, and then traveled around to casinos to play blackjack.

I knew nothing about card counting beforehand, but it was an interesting insight into a somewhat unique lifestyle. It is also very entertaining to see the bullshit the casinos try to pull when he is backed off.

There are 12 videos of about 20 minuttes each. I would say it is well worth a watch.

playlist

Is the time investment so high as to require a 'lifestyle' ? I thought it was something poor but brave MIT students did over summer break.

That was also kind of what I thought, and you can definitely do that, but it is unlikely to make any significant amount of money. The edge you get from counting cards is very small, so it requires a lot of playing to make good money. You also need a decent bankroll so you can endure losing streaks.

Combine that with being backed off from playing, sometimes while you are at a loss. At one point he is backed off while down thousands of dollars. It is not easy.

It is also very much a life on the road. Casinos will ban you from entering them, so you have to travel. On top of that they circulate information about suspected card counters, so getting backed off in one can result in not being able to play at others in the same area. He teams up with five other card counters so they can pool their money and hit casinos that others are banned from.

I don’t think you have to be brave necessarily, but you definitely have to be comfortable with confrontation. A couple of times he has the cops called on him even, though he has done nothing illegal. You would assume the casino knows this, but they do it anyway, so I guess it is an attempt to intimidate him into not cashing out.

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