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Thread: Inside the Edge - Blackjack Documentary

  1. #1
    it's finally out - I think - but I'm not sure where you can watch the whole thing

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3575954/

    here's the trailer:

    please don't feed the trolls

  2. #2
    Wait a minute now! As a frequent reader of this forum, I have been repeatedly told by the likes of the great Rob Singer and other recently banned members that there is no longer any such thing as professional blackjack players. What gives?

    I am very much looking forward to seeing this video. It has been a long time in the making....a long time coming. Looks like release date is next month.

    I'll reserve judgement until seeing the film but it looks like the approach used and that many of the recent teams like the church team have employed is what I call the "slaughter approach", as in shear vs slaughter. Aggressive, high stakes play, with as large stakes as will allow, for as long as they will allow it. The thinking being there are now hundreds, even thousands of casinos....burn 'em all out! A number of solo players have also recently adopted this same burn 'em out approach. Players usually get a couple years in....maybe less and they are done, unable to get a game anywhere.

    My own approach to the game is just about as opposite as can be. Longevity, find levels that are better tolerated. I think the term "adventure" is important here as that plays into what these kind of short term deals, rack up as much as you can as long as you can approaches are about as much as anything. An adventure, but nor really a career. But I am looking forward to it and hope we can have some legitimate discussion after some of us see it.

  3. #3
    Really looking forward to seeing this too. Someone told me that the KC guy in the trailer is on a GWAE podcast (on the Las Vegas Advisor website) from about 5 years ago. I think I may have listened to it already years ago, but I can`t remember so I`ll have to listen again.

  4. #4
    Originally Posted by kewlJ View Post
    Wait a minute now! As a frequent reader of this forum, I have been repeatedly told by the likes of the great Rob Singer and other recently banned members that there is no longer any such thing as professional blackjack players. What gives?

    I am very much looking forward to seeing this video. It has been a long time in the making....a long time coming. Looks like release date is next month.

    I'll reserve judgement until seeing the film but it looks like the approach used and that many of the recent teams like the church team have employed is what I call the "slaughter approach", as in shear vs slaughter. Aggressive, high stakes play, with as large stakes as will allow, for as long as they will allow it. The thinking being there are now hundreds, even thousands of casinos....burn 'em all out! A number of solo players have also recently adopted this same burn 'em out approach. Players usually get a couple years in....maybe less and they are done, unable to get a game anywhere.

    My own approach to the game is just about as opposite as can be. Longevity, find levels that are better tolerated. I think the term "adventure" is important here as that plays into what these kind of short term deals, rack up as much as you can as long as you can approaches are about as much as anything. An adventure, but nor really a career. But I am looking forward to it and hope we can have some legitimate discussion after some of us see it.
    I'm not in-favor of burning yourself out from casinos, however, if they can make more in a couple of years than you can over 20 years, I would have to think that's a much better deal. Its not like they would be totally out of the AP game. I don't know how well changing your name or using Fake ID's in vegas works for BJ(slots and VP would be more difficult, but it could be done using a legal name change and a tax ID number), but lets assume one did, perhaps they could then slow down and implement your style if they wanted to. Lets not forget they could travel to other countries as well. What is better make a few million in 2 years or 2 million in 20 years? Without a doubt, if you could choose 2 million in a few years that is a much better path IMHO. Because, if you are good enough to do that, you should be smart/good enough to use that 2 million to make even more money.

  5. #5
    Originally Posted by AxelWolf View Post
    What is better make a few million in 2 years or 2 million in 20 years?
    Yeah, that is fine. Valid point. There are different approaches. Mine is to shear rather than slaughter. Different approaches for different players with different circumstances. A few years ago, I had some discussions with a player just starting out. Not going to mention any names, but some might be able to guess. He was leaving his job/career in the financial sector, where he made several hundred thousand a year. So obviously he wasn't going to be content to take my path of "shearing" and making 75-80 thousand a year. He was going the "slaughter" route, playing limits to make 3-400 hundred K a year.

    One of the problems is that I don't know if a player or team playing high stakes aggressive "slaughter" approach, really has 2 years anymore. Technology is and will continue to work against them and all of us for that matter. This is one area we are all going to lose. I had this happen even at my much lower, mid-level stakes. A back off at Valley Forge Pa, (a very active database contributor), resulted in backoffs back in Vegas as soon as I returned home. You can't outrun technology.

    One thing from the clip that I was going to mention but decided to wait but now will, was that scene where the security guards are waiting outside for the player. This is exactly what I am talking about with technology working against you. And it is funny, it seems each of these type documentary has that kind of scene. This one was in Nevada (not Vegas), in one of the other similar documentaries, that almost identical scene takes place down on the gulf coast. The team traveled to the next location, like 100 miles away and security was waiting for them. THAT is technology working against us.

    I said I was going to reserve judgement and now I feel like I am voicing some opinions...sorry about that. But just based on this clip, I see some things I don't like. They talk about how they can't play at any casino, so they have to resort to disguises as if not being allowed to play is some sort of badge of honor. And this scene where security is waiting for you is the same thing. These are not badges of honor. Figuring out how TO BE ALLOWED TO PLAY, or the terminology I like to use is "tolerated", is the badge of honor. That is the real success.

    Maybe my initial opinion will change as I see more of this documentary. I reserve that right.

  6. #6
    I have no doubt that some scenes are embellished and "staged." That's what the Golden Nugget did with Andy Bloch in "The Casino" reality series.

  7. #7
    Originally Posted by AxelWolf View Post
    Originally Posted by kewlJ View Post
    Wait a minute now! As a frequent reader of this forum, I have been repeatedly told by the likes of the great Rob Singer and other recently banned members that there is no longer any such thing as professional blackjack players. What gives?

    I am very much looking forward to seeing this video. It has been a long time in the making....a long time coming. Looks like release date is next month.

    I'll reserve judgement until seeing the film but it looks like the approach used and that many of the recent teams like the church team have employed is what I call the "slaughter approach", as in shear vs slaughter. Aggressive, high stakes play, with as large stakes as will allow, for as long as they will allow it. The thinking being there are now hundreds, even thousands of casinos....burn 'em all out! A number of solo players have also recently adopted this same burn 'em out approach. Players usually get a couple years in....maybe less and they are done, unable to get a game anywhere.

    My own approach to the game is just about as opposite as can be. Longevity, find levels that are better tolerated. I think the term "adventure" is important here as that plays into what these kind of short term deals, rack up as much as you can as long as you can approaches are about as much as anything. An adventure, but nor really a career. But I am looking forward to it and hope we can have some legitimate discussion after some of us see it.
    I'm not in-favor of burning yourself out from casinos, however, if they can make more in a couple of years than you can over 20 years, I would have to think that's a much better deal. Its not like they would be totally out of the AP game. I don't know how well changing your name or using Fake ID's in vegas works for BJ(slots and VP would be more difficult, but it could be done using a legal name change and a tax ID number), but lets assume one did, perhaps they could then slow down and implement your style if they wanted to. Lets not forget they could travel to other countries as well. What is better make a few million in 2 years or 2 million in 20 years? Without a doubt, if you could choose 2 million in a few years that is a much better path IMHO. Because, if you are good enough to do that, you should be smart/good enough to use that 2 million to make even more money.
    I'm going to have to come to the defense of my arch menace, Kj, on this one. I don't believe the "slash and burn" style gets you more money in the long run or short run. Take the church team, which is a big advocate of playing with no cover and spreading big until you get kicked out. The numbers Blackjack Apprenticeship throws out there sound impressive until you dig a little deeper, which I've done by reading and listening to every interview Colin and people on his team have done. As most know, I was a member on that site until I got the boot for defending casinos for doing what they're suppose to do, and liking to tip. But that's another story.

    The church team operated for about 7 years with at times 20 to 30 members, but most the time it had more like 15 members and made about $4 million. This sounds impressive until you run the numbers. I did a rough calculation and this comes to about $20/hr, probably less if you include travel time and costs. This is supported by the movie, Holly Rollers, where they show team members celebrating in large numbers once they have "closed a bank". What do these checks look like? Only a couple thousand dollars, which is what I've made in a weekend, and I'm a red chipper. Obviously, this isn't every weekend.

    This was brought up by some new members on BJA. They were surprised by how small the checks were in the Holly Roller movie once "the bank" was closed. Colin defended this by saying the investors in the church team made much more than this. Basically, the investors were taking advantage of the church grunts doing all the work. It looked like the grunts could have probably made about the same amount working a minimum wage part time job, and not had all the travel expenses and inconvenience of being away from home.

    What about Colin? He claims to have made about $600,000 and his hourly rate is supposedly about $340/hr. Again, this sounds impressive until you run the numbers, which I did. If you consider he played for 7 years this comes to less than $100,000/yr, which is about what kj makes and Kj doesn't play this style, and he doesn't have to travel. As far as how Colin calculated his hourly win rate, I expect he didn't include his travel time or travel costs. If you'd included all that, it'd probably come down to more like $100/hr. I'm just speculating here. I know he got backed off a lot (he said between 50 and 100 times) so I know he was travelling a lot. He probably can't play close to his home base.

    Bottom line is I don't think the "slash and burn" style is as effective at getting the money as some claim.

    I am looking forward to seeing this movie, and reading the book Colin is soon to publish. I wonder if he's going to include a chapter on how he backed me and other members off who questioned or defended practices he believes in. He's big on criticizing casinos when they back people off, but seems to think it's okay when he backs people off. I broke no rules when I was on BJA. I never called anybody names and I never criticized their bootcamp, although I think it's a joke and he's taking advantage of young kids who have dreams of striking it rich in a casino. BJA plays to people's greed, which is why it's done well.

    That brings me back to this forum. It's the only forum I've found where I can express my views and not fear a backoff. That's why this is the best site on the internet, and it's thanks to Dan, and the other people who participate here. Even though I have my quarrels with Kj, I have learned from him and I enjoy reading his posts. Kj's problem is he takes these things way to seriously.

  8. #8
    People who use disguises, fake ID's, illegal SS nos., or any other type scam always eventually pay the piper. They'd be far better off fabricating BJ success on forums like kew has made a career out of.

    That said, I agree more in the "little by little" method than in the foolish "go for broke today" style that has landed so many gambling dummies in trouble. If axel meets up with me, he will understand how what I've successfully done mirrors this almost perfectly.

  9. #9
    Originally Posted by Rob.Singer View Post
    People who use disguises, fake ID's, illegal SS nos., or any other type scam always eventually pay the piper. They'd be far better off fabricating BJ success on forums like kew has made a career out of.

    That said, I agree more in the "little by little" method than in the foolish "go for broke today" style that has landed so many gambling dummies in trouble. If axel meets up with me, he will understand how what I've successfully done mirrors this almost perfectly.
    Yes because little by little goes hand in hand with martingale.
    #SpecialEd4SpecialPlays
    FraudJ's word is worth less than the prop cash in Singer's safe...RIP

  10. #10
    Originally Posted by Bob21 View Post
    If you consider he played for 7 years this comes to less than $100,000/yr, which is about what kj makes
    While you have finally made a post that I agree at least in principal with most of what you are saying, this number as it pertains to me is wrong. It is inflated. And it is not fair to use an inflated number relating to me when doing some sort of comparison. This is exactly why I have shared some of the details of what I make so there would be no fudging of numbers to suite one's needs. MY blackjack EV is roughly $75-80 thousand per year, depending on just how many rounds I play. And my results average about that same amount. I have had years, including last year where I made 100k or close to it, but it is not my average earnings from blackjack play, nor my expectation (accumulated EV).

    The confusion lies in that for a number of years (through 2018) I had supplemental AP earning that were not from blackjack play. This averaged 20-25k a year and bumped my total AP expectation and actual earning up during those years. But I should have never even began sharing those numbers as all it has done is add confusion to what I make. Now that I have returned to my blackjack roots and am all but done with any kind of supplemental play and income, both my expectation and actual income should return (average) back to 75-80k, unless I play more to fill that void and at this point in time I don't want to play any more than I currently do.

    I also don't consider you or anyone an "arch menace". That is apparently your thing.... a troll thing. That is not why I am about.

  11. #11
    Originally Posted by kewlJ View Post
    Originally Posted by Bob21 View Post
    If you consider he played for 7 years this comes to less than $100,000/yr, which is about what kj makes
    While you have finally made a post that I agree at least in principal with most of what you are saying, this number as it pertains to me is wrong. It is inflated. And it is not fair to use an inflated number relating to me when doing some sort of comparison.
    Kj, you and I are saying the same thing. I said LESS than $100,000. I said ABOUT what Kj makes. These are correct statements. It doesn't disagree with anything you said in your post.

    I sometimes wonder if you try to disagree with someone, even though you really agree with them, because you are a closet troll....or because you are a forum harasser. You like to find people to harass, even when you agree with them.

    This is why Dan needs to be commended for not banning you, like other moderators have done.

  12. #12
    Originally Posted by Bob21 View Post
    Originally Posted by kewlJ View Post
    Originally Posted by Bob21 View Post
    If you consider he played for 7 years this comes to less than $100,000/yr, which is about what kj makes
    While you have finally made a post that I agree at least in principal with most of what you are saying, this number as it pertains to me is wrong. It is inflated. And it is not fair to use an inflated number relating to me when doing some sort of comparison.


    This is why Dan needs to be commended for not banning you, like other moderators have done.
    Credit were credit is due boob, this is an example of, as you would put it, some top notch trolling right here.

  13. #13
    Originally Posted by mcap View Post
    Originally Posted by Bob21 View Post
    Originally Posted by kewlJ View Post

    While you have finally made a post that I agree at least in principal with most of what you are saying, this number as it pertains to me is wrong. It is inflated. And it is not fair to use an inflated number relating to me when doing some sort of comparison.


    This is why Dan needs to be commended for not banning you, like other moderators have done.
    Credit were credit is due boob, this is an example of, as you would put it, some top notch trolling right here.
    Thanks for the compliment mcap! I've learned from some of the best trollers out there, Kj and his kind. It takes time, but I'm getting better at it!

  14. #14
    I'm sure they felt that to a make a doc marketable they had to show the slash and burn guys going after the big, big, buckeroonis


    not too many are going to want to watch a doc about some grinders making 70K per year
    please don't feed the trolls

  15. #15
    Originally Posted by Half Smoke View Post
    I'm sure they felt that to a make a doc marketable they had to show the slash and burn guys going after the big, big, buckeroonis


    not too many are going to want to watch a doc about some grinders making 70K per year
    Excellent point! And that documentary would also involve showing that person spending most of their day on the internet getting into some feud with someone on a forum over something stupid. Yeah, that movie wouldn't be much fun to watch. Lol

  16. #16
    Originally Posted by Bob21 View Post
    Originally Posted by Half Smoke View Post
    I'm sure they felt that to a make a doc marketable they had to show the slash and burn guys going after the big, big, buckeroonis


    not too many are going to want to watch a doc about some grinders making 70K per year
    Excellent point! And that documentary would also involve showing that person spending most of their day on the internet getting into some feud with someone on a forum over something stupid.

    When you are already successful you can afford to play at your leisure.


    " Yeah, that movie wouldn't be much fun to watch. Lol"


    Yes Bob realities and hard work are not exciting to the American public. Bob, why are you still playing the kiss ass sock puppet?

  17. #17
    Originally Posted by BoSox View Post
    Originally Posted by Bob21 View Post
    Originally Posted by Half Smoke View Post
    I'm sure they felt that to a make a doc marketable they had to show the slash and burn guys going after the big, big, buckeroonis


    not too many are going to want to watch a doc about some grinders making 70K per year
    Excellent point! And that documentary would also involve showing that person spending most of their day on the internet getting into some feud with someone on a forum over something stupid.

    When you are already successful you can afford to play at your leisure.


    " Yeah, that movie wouldn't be much fun to watch. Lol"


    Yes Bob realities and hard work are not exciting to the American public. Bob, why are you still playing the kiss ass sock puppet?
    Moses, could you please translate for me? You’re the best at trying to somewhat figure out what Bosox is trying to say. How did what I say have anything to do with being a sock puppet?

    And by the way, Moses, thank you for your kind words on zenzone today. You get that people can have different opinions and still respect each other and not see it as “trolling”.

    I didn’t even know what the word “troll” meant in the Internet world till I got on these forums. I had to look it up. And contrary to what most APs think, trolling is not having an opinion different than your own. That’s the standard definition within the AP cult world. Lol. That’s a joke, I meant within the AP community.

  18. #18
    Originally Posted by Bob21 View Post
    The church team operated for about 7 years with at times 20 to 30 members, but most the time it had more like 15 members and made about $4 million. This sounds impressive until you run the numbers. I did a rough calculation and this comes to about $20/hr, probably less if you include travel time and costs. This is supported by the movie, Holly Rollers, where they show team members celebrating in large numbers once they have "closed a bank". What do these checks look like? Only a couple thousand dollars, which is what I've made in a weekend, and I'm a red chipper. Obviously, this isn't every weekend.
    You make it sound like you can make a couple thousand dollars quite often over a couple days of playing time at the red chip level. I'm also a red chipper and agree it can be done, but it sure doesn't happen very often which you seem to imply.

    Both 2017 and 2018 were very good blackjack years for me, and most of my play was not on crowded weekends. However, when I go on a blackjack trip it is usually for more than one day and I play very long sessions over the length of the trip. So I decided to look at how many two days in a row were $2,000 or more in 2017 and 2018.

    In 2018 there was only one consecutive 2 day period where I made over $2,000, and it was only for a little over $2,200. In 2018 I played on 44 days. In 2017 I played on a total of 31 days and again only one time where I made over $2,000 over a consecutive two day period. And in 2016 there was only one time over a two day period where I made almost $2,600, but that was in Wendover where some of that play was at the green chip level.

    So Bob if you had good records I think you could see the times you made two thousand playing red chips on weekends are few and far between.

  19. #19
    Originally Posted by Midwest Player View Post
    Originally Posted by Bob21 View Post
    The church team operated for about 7 years with at times 20 to 30 members, but most the time it had more like 15 members and made about $4 million. This sounds impressive until you run the numbers. I did a rough calculation and this comes to about $20/hr, probably less if you include travel time and costs. This is supported by the movie, Holly Rollers, where they show team members celebrating in large numbers once they have "closed a bank". What do these checks look like? Only a couple thousand dollars, which is what I've made in a weekend, and I'm a red chipper. Obviously, this isn't every weekend.
    You make it sound like you can make a couple thousand dollars quite often over a couple days of playing time at the red chip level. I'm also a red chipper and agree it can be done, but it sure doesn't happen very often which you seem to imply.

    Both 2017 and 2018 were very good blackjack years for me, and most of my play was not on crowded weekends. However, when I go on a blackjack trip it is usually for more than one day and I play very long sessions over the length of the trip. So I decided to look at how many two days in a row were $2,000 or more in 2017 and 2018.

    In 2018 there was only one consecutive 2 day period where I made over $2,000, and it was only for a little over $2,200. In 2018 I played on 44 days. In 2017 I played on a total of 31 days and again only one time where I made over $2,000 over a consecutive two day period. And in 2016 there was only one time over a two day period where I made almost $2,600, but that was in Wendover where some of that play was at the green chip level.

    So Bob if you had good records I think you could see the times you made two thousand playing red chips on weekends are few and far between.
    Midwest Player, I agree with everything you said, but you’re kind of missing my point. My point was the church team in the Holly Roller movie was having a big celebration dinner and then handing out checks to team members that were under $10,000. When I watched the movie, I was surprised by how small the checks were for. I was not the only person that thought this. There were several BJA members who commented about this on their forum. Please reread my post again.

    My point was the BJA guys are “slash and burn” type and believe in no cover, and spreading big. They throw out big numbers on their web site, like they won close to $4 million. It’s only later when you read the fine print, you find it took them many years and many team members to win this amount. When you run the numbers, you find out they really didn’t win that much per person....and the movie confirms this by the small checks the members got when they “broke the bank”.

    Anyway, I was just adding my two cents to the discussion when someone commented on how much “the slash and burn” style can win. I don’t think it’s as much as some people think. That’s all.

  20. #20
    Moses, I just reread your last post on zenzone. I really liked the post you pasted from Zengrifter who copied something from sonny. This is a nice summary of what we’re dealing with in bj and how to reduce the number of hours to get to NO. I sent it to some of the people I play with. Thanks!

    And by the way, I liked your comments about trolling, brought back memories. Yes, I remember putting out troll and bank lines in rivers in Kansas. I grew up loving to fish, but haven’t done much lately.

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