Yes, I know this name was used by Kenny Uston. My meaning is a little different.
Those that know me from Norm's Blackjack Forum and WoV, may remember a pretty popular thread on both sites, entitled "My 10 year, million dollar BJ plan". Having been on a monumental run the past month or so, today, I hit that million dollar mark in career blackjack winnings. It took 14 and half years.(more on that in a moment). I know this will fuel the haters, who will attack and challenge me. I don't care. This is less about bragging, as I will be accused of, and more about marking a milestone important to me.
It's not about the money. A million dollars isn't some big amount of money any more. Surely members of this very site have achieved that mark, and more in the private world. And just as surely, some of the really good AP's here and elsewhere have topped this mark and probably in far less time. It doesn't set me for life or retirement, but I am 30 years away from retirement. It is just an important milestone for me, because I had that 10 year plan (that things worked out very different from).
I want to clarify that this is just blackjack winnings. I actually toped the million dollar mark in total AP winnings several years ago. This includes winnings from machine play, contests and drawings won, hole-carding, the big six wheel and one other AP play that I am not going to mention. But when I made that 10 year plan back in 2004, I had no idea of these non-BJ plays.That original plan was about Blackjack card counting. And today, counting only my blackjack card counting winnings, I hit that number....and yes, I am proud of this.
So obviously it took me considerably longer than that original plan. Four and a half years longer. I really didn't understand how slow the early years would be, while I was building my bankroll and how long I would be playing at that lower stakes level barely making ends meet. THIS part took longer than I anticipated.
And what I am most proud of, is after 5 and a half years playing Atlantic City, most of that very low red chip level, almost as soon as I build a bankroll that allowed me to move up in stakes to green to black levels, Atlantic City basically shut me down, with bet restricting and half shoeing counter measures. That could have been a death blow to my career and goals, but it wasn't. I regrouped, came up with a new plan, which involved moving to Las Vegas and a much larger rotation of games and more importantly, implementing a plan and style of play, that would be better tolerated. And I am really proud of that and that is why this milestone is so important to me.
I am sad that my partner wasn't here to share this moment with me, as he was with me during almost all of this run. I am also sad that circumstances, some my own doing, some other's doing....prevents me from sharing this experience at more legitimate AP type forums, where some of the members could better relate, some having achieved such milestones, others currently on their own journey. But it is, what it is! So I share it here, where the anti-APers and haters can attack and challenge. So have at it.
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